Prepping for fog lamp install; 96 base wagon

[SonicAdventure]

Hi,

I finally sourced a set of fogs for my 850 and I'm planning to get them installed sometime in the next month or so.

Looking under the bumper, I see the circle indents where the lamps are supposed to go through. I have the gaskets that go in the hole, but the hole is on an angle and tough to reach.

My plan is to drill around the circle mark with a cordless drill until it's all but released and finish it with a small fine-toothed handsaw, and then Dremel the surface smooth once the hole is cut out. I will likely tape the heck out of the front bumper surface to prevent tear-out.

My question is: should I use the hole marker on the bumper as an outer limit for my cut or as in inner limit? In carpenter-speak, should I cut the line or leave the line?

[SonicAdventure]

Bumping this...I'm going to have a narrow window of free time in a few weeks and I'm trying to figure out what I can get done on the car. Thanks.

[scot850]

I see a lot of lookers but no help here. I don't own a 850 any longer so to help me (and others) can you take a picture of the front and back of the fog lamp and if possible the bumper where the fog lights fit. It is much easier to talk to something you can see if possible.

Neil.

[misha]

If you want it to be done properly...you will need to pull off the bumper.
Cut from the inside of the bumper following the lines and perform fine finish at the outside.

You will need a FRONT fog light switch and a relay to wire them.

[abscate]

Sonic..I think I have the fog light switch from the 1998.

Yours free if needed.

[erikv11]

Regarding OP's actual question: you need someone with factory fogs on an 850 to simply pull the rings out and measure the hole size in the bumper. This will determine if the line is still there or cut; better yet maybe you can see the line. My 95 is out of state right now or I'd do it.

[SonicAdventure]

It’s kinda hard to see the outline of the circle, but it’s there.

I was hoping maybe someone who’s done this before could chime in. Volvo got smart with these foglamps on the 70s series, they were a breeze to do in that car and required no cutting of the bumper.

Not sure why the picture is posting sideways I e tried it a few times now. In the shot, the “right” side is the bottom of the bumper.

[erikv11]

I see them, good pic. I know the two circles because I considered doing this in my 96 at one point. However I never checked if a factory-fogs bumper has anything similar.

[SonicAdventure]

I was determined to find a way to cut these holes without pulling the front bumper off. I could not get a drill anywhere near the circle indents except along the bottom. Plus, the bumper is really curved and the drill bits had a hard time gaining initial purchase.

Looking around, I found my Weller battery operated soldering iron. After testing it on some similar plastic types (bumper seems to be ABS; not too hard), I determined it was a good fit. I put blue painter's tape on the outside of the bumper in the general area. Punching the holes with the soldering iron went slow; the angle of attack is still wonky but it did the trick. The tip kept coming off when I would retract it, so I put a small cable clamp on it. The soldering iron is just hot enough to slowly melt through the plastic, but doesn't seem to be hot enough to cause flames or even adversely affect the paint in the surrounding areas where I missed with the blue tape:

Warning: This should be obvious, but if anyone else tries this, do remember the soldering iron is HOT! Don't burn yourself. Work slow and pay close attention to what you are doing.

Not having anything to base the size off of other than the OEM trim rings (which are hard to measure being an irregular oval-ish shape), I opted to keep the holes just on the inside of the inner ring of circles on the inside of the bumper. Once I get the basic cut-out done with a cordless rotary tool and sheetrock cutter bit, I will use the drum sander attachment to round out the cavities little by little until they are big enough to install the trim rings.

The foglight setup was def. improved in the 70 Series suite of updates when they were enlarged and moved to the pre-made cutouts. Having to cut/saw/melt holes in your bumper to install fog lamps in a vehicle that the manufacturer prememptively wired and otherwise prepped for seems an odd approach. At least they pressed the circles into the bumper moulds...

More photos to come:

[abscate]

Make a hole start with the soldering iron then a thin hacksaw blade or a loose jig saw blade would go through like butter. Or, my favourite tool of late, a Dremel and an excuse to go to the store and buy yet another bit, amidst eye rolling from the Admiral.