Comprehensive Guide to replacing a USDM Evo 8/9 rear bumper with a JDM Evo 9 rear bumper.


This guide covers every single step of the swap process from start to finish. If a picture is not included with a step it is because the step is so simple and obvious I did not think it needed a picture.


Differences between the rears of USDM and JDM Evos —



USDM Evos are designed to mount a rear crash beam. JDM Evos do not have a crash beam. The USDM rear bumper protrudes out farther than the JDM rear bumper in order to accommodate the crash beam.



USDM rear bumpers have a large piece of Styrofoam that sits inside the bumper cover.



The USDM rear crash beam does not fit beneath the JDM rear bumper. Installing a JDM rear bumper on a USDM Evo requires removal, modification, or replacement of the USDM crash beam with an aftermarket beam.



Both USDM and JDM rear bumpers have a three-piece metal bracket running along the inside of the entire upper edge of the bumper. This bumper bracket contains mounting points for securing the bumper to the car.



The middle piece of the three-piece bumper bracket on USDM bumpers is different from the middle piece of the JDM bumper bracket. The USDM variant has two “arms” that protrude downward and serve as mounting points for the USDM license plate bracket. The US license plate bracket is riveted to these two arms.



On JDM Evos, the license plate bracket does not connect to the bumper like US cars. Instead, JDM Evos have mounting points in the rear sheet metal of the car which allow the JDM license plate bracket to mount directly to the car.



JDM Evos have a unique mounting point on the lower driver’s side portion of the rear sheet metal. This mounting point is used to connect to a bracket that runs along part of the bottom edge of the JDM rear bumper. This bracket is designed to keep the diffuser portion of the JDM rear bumper stable. USDM Evos do not have this mounting point in their sheet metal.



USDM rear bumpers have two plastic arms that extend towards the car and are secured to the bottom of the car via plastic clips.



The USDM license plate bracket houses the license plate lights, whereas the JDM license plate bracket does not. The JDM rear bumper has built-in mounting points for a separate piece that houses the JDM license plate lights.



USDM rear bumpers have powered side markers. JDM rear bumpers do not. The USDM light wire harness has additional connectors that run to the powered side markers. The JDM light wire harness only connects to the license plate lights.




Parts Needed –



All of the brackets and mounting hardware from a USDM rear bumper can be removed and reused on a JDM rear bumper. The brackets inside of the bumpers are secured via rivets. Removal of the brackets requires drilling out the rivets. Instead of reusing my old brackets and hardware I decided to replace most of them with new parts from my local Mitsubishi dealership.



6410A378 – JDM rear bumper

6415A011HA – JDM rear bumper tow hook cover



JDM rear bumpers come unpainted from Mitsubishi, while tow hook covers come painted. Tow hook covers are painted in A02 Eisen Gray. I paint matched the diffuser portion of my rear bumper to my tow hook cover. This is how all Evos sold outside of the USA are painted from the factory.



MN126781 – USDM license plate bracket



This part has been discontinued. I reused the license plate bracket from my USDM rear bumper.



MN126732 – Harness, Rr Bumper (USDM with side markers)

MR522149 – Harness, Rr Bumper (JDM without side markers)



These are the wire harnesses for the license plate lights. Both of these parts have been discontinued. I reused the wire harness from my USDM rear bumper.



8341A099 (x2) – Lamp, License Plate



These are the USDM license plate lights. I reused the lights from my USDM rear bumper.



MN169769 – USDM center section of bracket used to mount bumper to car (DID NOT USE)

MR520343 – JDM center section of bracket used to mount bumper to car

MR574335 – left section of bracket used to mount bumper to car

MR574336 – right section of bracket used to mount bumper to car



These three pieces form the bracket that runs along the upper edge of the rear bumper that is used to mount the bumper to the car. If the USDM center piece is used, the arms that protrude down from the center piece to mount the USDM license plate bracket to do not line up correctly with the license plate area of the JDM rear bumper.



MF243623 (x2) – Bolt, Washer



These are the bolts used to connect the three pieces of the main bumper bracket.



MF453093 (x4) – Screw, Trim Panel



These are the screws that secure the taillights.



MS240141 (x2) – Bolt, Washer Assembled



These bolts connect to the bumper from beneath the taillights.



MB253964 (x2) – Clip, Retainer



These clips connect to the bumper from beneath the taillights.



MS440522 (x4) – Nut, Washer Assembled

MA156028 (x4) – Gasket, Rr



These nuts and gaskets connect to the center section of the bumper bracket from the inside of the trunk. MA156028 has been discontinued.



MF453029 (x3) – Screw, Rr



These screws secure the center piece of the bumper bracket to the bumper cover.



MB480177 (x4) – Gasket, Rr



These foam gaskets sit atop four screw holes along the top edge of the bumper. They have adhesive on the bottom side to stick to the bumper.



MB612553 (x2) – Bolt, Rr



These bolts are found in each side compartment of the trunk.



MS452393 (x2) – Screw, Washer Assembled

MR393386 (x2) – Grommet



These screws are located at the top of the rear wheel wells. Each screw is paired with a grommet.



MU000716 (x2) – Screw, Bumper Cover

MB481588 (x2) – Grommet, Front Bumper



These screws and grommets are located at the bottom of the rear wheel wells and connect to the bottom corners of the bumper.



MS240616 (x4) – Bolt, Washer Assembled



These large bolts secure the crash beam to the rear sheet metal. I reused these to mount my aftermarket crash beam.



MU488006 (x2) – Clip, Retainer



These clips secure the bottom of the bumper to the underside of the car.



MS240121 (x2) – Bolt, Washer Assembled

MU480007 (x2) – Grommet



These bolts and grommets secure the license plate to the license plate bracket.





Installation –



I chose to replace my OEM crash beam with an aftermarket crash beam from Afterhours Automotive. This aftermarket beam provides mounting points to properly position the USDM license plate bracket in the opening of the JDM rear bumper. The crash beam also comes with a separate custom support that runs along the bottom edge of the JDM rear bumper and secures it to the car.



1. Unscrew the two bolts securing the license plate and remove the license plate.



2. Open the trunk lid.



3. Remove the four screws holding the taillights in place.






4. Unplug taillights and set aside.



5. Remove the two bolts and two clips hidden under the taillights.




6. Remove the six plastic clips holding the interior trunk trim in place.



7. Remove the two plastic threaded “clips” in the trunk behind each taillight.



8. Remove plastic interior trunk trim.




9. Use long socket to reach through openings in sheet metal and remove the four nuts securing the bumper




10. Open each side compartment in the trunk and use a long socket to remove the two large bolts hidden inside.





11. Unscrew each side marker, then unplug and remove them.



12. Remove the two bolts at the top of the wheel wells.




13. Remove the two bolts at the bottom of the wheel wells.




14. Remove the two plastic clips in the "arms" underneath the bumper.




At this point the bumper can be removed. In total, the bumper is secured by 16 various screws/bolts/clips. The wire harness for the license plate lights is secured inside of the rear bumper. Unplug the wire harness before pulling the bumper too far away from the car.





15. Rivet the left and right pieces of the bumper bracket to the new bumper (18 rivets total).


16. Slide the ends of the center piece of the bumper bracket behind and over the left and right pieces. As the picture shows, the center piece of the bumper bracket (the left metal piece) rests in front of the right piece of the bumper bracket (right metal piece).



17. Secure the center piece of the bumper bracket with the three screws.



18. Connect the pieces of the bumper bracket using the two bolts.



19. Apply the four adhesive foam gaskets around the four upward protrusions on the top of the bumper.



20. Use a long socket to remove the four bolts securing the factory crash beam to the car.



At this point the only part of the JDM rear bumper install left to address is the license plate bracket. Unfortunately, there is no OEM way to mount a USDM license plate bracket to a JDM rear bumper. The Afterhours Automotive aftermarket crash beam I purchased provides mounting points that properly align the US license plate bracket with the license plate opening in the JDM rear bumper. The following instructions will explain how to remove the US license plate bracket and wire harness from the OEM rear bumper and transplant them onto the Afterhours crash beam in what I believe is the cleanest way currently possible.



21. Remove the two bolts and two plastic clips securing the license plate bracket to the bumper cover.



22. Press out all the clips securing the light wire harness to the interior of the original bumper.



23. Cut the two pieces of foam securing the side marker connectors to the inside of the bumper. Unfortunately this cannot be avoided because new wire harnesses are no longer available.



24. Remove the three screws and two bolts securing the center piece of the bumper bracket in the original bumper.



25. Slide the center piece of the bumper bracket around and off the edges of the left and right pieces of the bumper bracket.



The center piece of the bumper bracket with the connected license plate bracket and wiring is now separated from the bumper.



26. Drill out the two rivets securing the license plate bracket to the arms of the bumper bracket.



27. Separate the license plate bracket with lights and light wire harness from the center piece of the bumper bracket.



28. Reinstall plastic clips into license plate bracket. The license plate bolts screw into these clips.



29. Install license plate bracket with lights and light wire harness onto aftermarket crash beam.


30. Use hot glue to cover and isolate the side marker connectors from outside moisture. I used hot glue because hot glue can be easily removed.



31. Install aftermarket crash beam and secure loose light wire harness to crash beam using plastic zip ties.




The bumper is now able to be reinstalled. Reinstalling the JDM bumper this way results in the bottom of the bumper “catching” oncoming air and ballooning outwards because it is not secured by anything. The Afterhours Automotive crash beam comes with a custom bracket designed to secure the diffuser of a JDM rear bumper to a USDM Evo. The crash beam comes with detailed instructions on how to install this bracket and secure the bumper to the bracket, so I won’t include instructions here.

By following these steps only one permanent change is made to an original piece, the car still has a crash beam, and the diffuser at the bottom of the bumper is fully secured.

 

Thanks for posting up a new updated version of this thread. The directions are easy to follow.

 

What are the odds you are relatively close to Maryland? lol. I'm currently switching over to the JDM rear bumper and did not realize it was this big of a project. I will base it on the information you have provided, but holy moly that's a lot!

 

If this is a big project to you, then perhaps you bought the wrong car.

 

Lol that’s not nice to say. Some people are willing to pay for it because they don’t have the confidence to carry it out. (And they can afford it) Doesn’t mean he got the wrong vehicle at all.

working on it your self can be rewarding. But it isn’t for everyone.

 

lol JDM

 

These are the prices I paid for everything required to complete this swap. Listed below are the purchase prices:

1. Bumper cover - $598.90
2. Tow hook cover - $36.22
3. All mounting hardware - $258.19
4. Afterhours Automotive crash beam - $420
5. Paint - $650 (I was quoted $540 for the complete two-tone paint job, but got stiffed when I picked up the bumper)

I paid full price for everything. No discounts, deals, or hookups. Total before taxes, shipping, etc was $1963.31. I purchased all the OEM parts from a local Mitsubishi dealership, so the only piece I paid shipping on was the crash beam. My final total spent was $2125.93.

 

sounds like pre runaway inflation prices. Remember those days

 

what rear bumper is @LV///R running? seems like a good alternative

 

Great write up OP. I just switched to the JDM bumper with modifying the stock crash bar. How crucial is securing the bottom of the diffuser? Does anyone have a DIY solution?

 

I've never run the bumper without the diffuser being secured so I have no experience with the bumper catching air and ballooning outwards. The diffuser bracket included with the Afterhours crash beam secures the diffuser to the charcoal canister so if I was trying to DIY a bracket I would consider buying the OEM diffuser bracket and finding a way to connect it to the charcoal canister.