C4S Front PU / Headlight Alignment Help?

Hi all Im new here as far as posting goes but have been browsing for a few weeks since i bought a 2004 C4S. Anyway, my front pu gaps seem a little large when looking at bonnet (hood) gap and especially around the bottom of the headlights and im wondering if the previous owner removed it for some radiator cleaning or similar?. The hood lines up with the wings and the wings wings with the doors etc perfectly and the lights sit nicely around the curved tops of the wings so im not inclined to think its been damaged (all welded internal shell is 100%) just that the front pu needs pushing in to create tighter gaps. I tried simply removing the front cover (where the opening handle is located) and adjusting by the loosening the 2 screws and pushing in but it put the lines off around the headlights because the pu was still fixed at the side indicators so i returned it back. The fit at the indicators in the wings is fine and im not sure if removing the pu, setting the front and refitting will affect the lines of the wheel arch because the pu will go past the indicator position? I have attached a picture to try and show what i mean, the gap around the bottom of the headlights is such that i can nearly get my little finger into it, surely thats not right? I also wonder if i maybe need to drop the headlights down slightly to help close the gap, how much seal is there around the top of the wing, would this create a gap there?. Any help with this would be really great. Thanks Carl

Anyone?.

That gap does seem large. I'll check mine this morning and see how big my gap is.

Thanks Dennis, id appreciate any feedback on this. The gap does seem large and im sure the pu needs to be adjusted but thought id ask other owners what their C4S is like for this before i start pulling the front end apart. The gap between pu and bonnet edge is perfect , measuring the factory setting 6mm but the gap around the bottom of the lights are 10mm at one side and about 7-8mm the other so suggesting the gap is too big if its meant to be constant 6mm?. Everything seems to fit correctly / line up where its meant to etc apart from this gap on each headlight so im stuck as to what to adjust. Dropping the lights will leave a gap at the top around the wings, im confused Thanks Carl

I don't know what you mean by PU but I checked my C4S after reading your post and the gap between the headlight and the top of the bumper is a bit wide. There is a rubberized strip in between but the gap is still there and yes I can fit my pinky in there...So, normal, I think.

PU is the Porsche reference for front bumper. Im surprised to hear that yours has a gap aswell but glad to hear it because it means mine is ok. Have you owned your car from new or can you be sure the bumper has never been removed?.

Did you get to check your front bumper Dennis, does yours have gaps around the bottom of the lights also?

That gap seems a bit excessive! Is the gap the exact same on both sides? A way to check is see if the front bumper lines up flush with the clear side markers! You have to look at it side-ways of course. If somone cleaned the rads, usually you would get this on one side only...

i had that om my mk1, take off the bumper and you can readjust the headlight assembly.... IIRC, you have to take off the radiaator shroud to access the bolts.

The gap is a little bigger at one side than the other but i may have assisted with that when i loosened the 2 screws for the front of the bumper to adjust the gap. The alignment at the side indicator looks ok to me, picture attached for reference. The alignment down the bonnet along the face of the headlights doesn't though so something isn't right. Another picture attached of this aswell. The alignment of the bonnet, wings etc all seems fine so perhaps its the lights that need adjustment rather than the bumper, or a bit of both.

I hate to ask the obvious....but do you know if the car was involved in an accident? I don't know where you are located, but did you have a carfax report or something similar? sean

Im in the UK, we have HPI over here which identifies if a vehicle is stolen, under finance or has sustained significant damage which resulted in an insurance claim. A minor bump would not be shown on this sort of report. I have checked the car over and all looks original and as per the previous posts the wings align with the doors, bonnet with wings and i have checked the gaps, they are all perfect, as if factory aligned. I cant see why somebody would go to this level of repair only to leave the lights or front bumper out of position and make the repair obvious. This seems more like somebody has removed the bumper and / or lights to do maintenance of some sort then made a poor job or refitting. I am a bit of a perfectionist and want everything back to A1 again hence the questions here. If the best option is to remove the bumper and lights then realign everything i will do that but id like some guidance on the adjustment part of the reassembly so that it is better than it currently fits once im done. Anyone have any instructions / guidelines they can pass on to me?. A local Porsche specialist bodyshop has seen these photographs and assures me he can have it all perfect again in 1 day (at quite a high cost i might add) so it must be minor adjustment thats necessary only. What i cant get my head around is if the lights are pulled up over to align with the bonnet this make the gaps around the front bumper worse so i add to the problem? I think the bonnet needs to go down so more, how do i do that and will the bumper be able to drop to match the new bonnet end position? If anyone has some hints / tips id really appreciate them. Thanks Carl

My best advice is to pass by a Porsche body shop and ask for advice! Or try taking the front bumper off and re-install it to fit better... Find the DIY for bumper removal/Rad cleaning, and while you are at it, clean the rads!

So the gap around the top of the headlights...against the fender and boot at perfect? It's just the bottom? Is it the same for both headlights? I would completely remove the front bumper and look for anything that is in the way, or mis aligned. When people reinstall bumpers, they sometimes rush and force/bend alignment tabs, connection points. That would be my guess. Hope you get it sorted. sean

Yes the gap around the tops of the lights is perfect and tight with the gap being at the bottom on both. I will seek advice from a bodyshop then start the removal and realignment process, any tips for light and bumper removal / adjustment anyone?.

I don't think the lights need to be removed... The bumper is at fault.

Topaz330ci Do you have a few pictures of your bumper and lights from different angles so i can compare mine to what i should be like?. This will help when i start to refit the bumper and align it up. Has your bumper ever been removed?. PM me if you want to email direct. Thanks Carl

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