Rear panel removal

[dguy 22]

G'day!

 

I'm attempting to remove the rear panels in order to do some exhaust work.  Using FQ101's guide I am at the stage which claims that I should be able to pull the light surrounds away from the chassis "and they should free without a problem", but there is a fair bit of resistance there.  Can anyone who has done this before provide any tips or suggestions?  I'm leery of breaking things...

[tolsen 630]

The 451 is just hopeless to work on.

[Huronlad 186]

It has been several years since I removed the rear panels. I do not remember any issue with unclipping them, pulled away from the side of the car and pulled the whole works straight back .

 

Hopeless is just fine when just regular maintenance is needed.  I lost track of the number of times I had to take the panels off the 450.  Rear panels of the 451 removed once in 6.5 years.

[dguy 22]

Got it, thanks for the reassurance Huronlad.  The direction of pull seems to have been the key - rather than starting at the tail lights as shown in the FQ101 guide, I started at the lower leading edge(near the side skirts).  Pulling the panel toward the outside of the chassis freed the first couple of clips with moderate resistance, and the remaining clips were reasonably well behaved.

 

...and I too will take an occasional wrestling match with "hopeless" over routine dances with a finicky partner.  We have put 57,000km on our 2011 since purchasing it and it has for all intents and purposes been a turn-key vehicle since day one.  The only thing close to a major repair which it has needed to date has been a rotted-out muffler flex pipe.  Compared to our 2005 which, at 62,000km, had a laundry list of failed components and was becoming ever more needy for attention as the odometer climbed.

[tolsen 630]

Smart 450 diesel. Pretty, frugal and reliable. Driven by smart drivers. 

 

Smart 451 petrol. Ugly, thirsty and unreliable. Driven by foolish drivers. 

[Huronlad 186]

Tolsen we have read your opinion.  For those of us that have owned both a 450 and 451 we know how ignorant your opinion is.

[Lamplighter 1]

On 1/21/2018 at 9:39 AM, Huronlad said:

Tolsen we have read your opinion.  For those of us that have owned both a 450 and 451 we know how ignorant your opinion is.

couldn't agree more.  I love my 451, and easy AF to work on.

 

L.

[LooseLugNuts 557]

ive never owned a 451 but ive had many people approach me in parking lots to say they upgraded to a newer one and wish they would have stayed with the 450 diesel

Edited March 27, 2019 by LooseLugNuts

[Willys 747]

4 hours ago, LooseLugNuts said:

ive never owned a 451 but ive had many people approach me in parking lots to say they upgraded to a newer one and wish they would have stayed with the 450 diesel

I have also heard this...not paying attention to what year or model they went to, but heard them say they wished they had the diesel still.