Fender oh my :(
01-04-2008, 09:37 PM
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Fender oh my :( Alright, i'm guessing some jackass tried to lift the car before I got it by the underneath fender part, you know what i'm talking about, where the fender raps around and flat right underneath the front wheels towards the back of the well. Well i'm super irritated by it 
. What do I need to do to fix it? Are those bolts on the bottom just lose has a ***** on nickel night? You see that flat part on that bottom, I bet one of the tards tried to lift it from there. Sorry for the dirt, I just drove home on the highway.
I took more pics if needed.
. What do I need to do to fix it? Are those bolts on the bottom just lose has a ***** on nickel night? You see that flat part on that bottom, I bet one of the tards tried to lift it from there. Sorry for the dirt, I just drove home on the highway.
I took more pics if needed.
01-04-2008, 09:45 PM
#2
Damn. Thats one of the worse ive seen in a while. You can straighten it out most of the time by getting a big set of channel locks and bending it back. Be careful when you bend it back and watch the gap between the door and fender. Open the door slowly and make sure it dosen't hit the fender. Pretty easy fix. Ive had 3 F bodies and they all were like this. Good luck
01-04-2008, 09:48 PM
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Is what I think happened the cause, or something else? If it's something else I'd like to know so I make sure it doesn't happen again. Thanks for the reply.
01-04-2008, 11:01 PM
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My buddy's 94 was the same way. He just beat it back or something. I know he fixed real easy. I don't waht causes it tho, i just assumed it was people being dumbasses.
01-04-2008, 11:31 PM
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Dont just grab a big hammer and a 2/4 and drive it back. You could easily end up breaking the lower fender mounting flange completely off the fender by doing this. I have seen a few careless/impatient people do this to there car, then they want me to fix it for them for free..lol
You can no longer get the OEM fenders and aftermarket ones fit and look like crap. If you look for a used one 80% of them are also broken so take your time and do it right.
Here is the best way to repair the flange with the peace of mind knowing it wont break.....
First remove the two mounting bolts, if your car still has the plastic push tab in the lower wheel well opening you need to remove it also. There is also a bolt behind the splash apron that is easy to acess once the bolts and push tab are out. This lets you pull the lower fender out plenty far enough to repair the metal mounting tab. You can use whatever means works best to repair it being steel, channel locks, hammer dolley ect.
To repair the fender flange you should use a heat gun to soften the plastic, this makes it relax and settle back into its original shape. You may have to help it a little to get it just right... use gloves.
Re attatch the fender and allign with door.
You can no longer get the OEM fenders and aftermarket ones fit and look like crap. If you look for a used one 80% of them are also broken so take your time and do it right.
Here is the best way to repair the flange with the peace of mind knowing it wont break.....
First remove the two mounting bolts, if your car still has the plastic push tab in the lower wheel well opening you need to remove it also. There is also a bolt behind the splash apron that is easy to acess once the bolts and push tab are out. This lets you pull the lower fender out plenty far enough to repair the metal mounting tab. You can use whatever means works best to repair it being steel, channel locks, hammer dolley ect.
To repair the fender flange you should use a heat gun to soften the plastic, this makes it relax and settle back into its original shape. You may have to help it a little to get it just right... use gloves.
Re attatch the fender and allign with door.
01-05-2008, 01:00 AM
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My '98 has an interesting device that protects aganist this issue.
Just inside of the mounting tab (meaning just behind it, towards the center of the car), there is a black plastic guard or "foot". It has a flat, wide bottom, and it runs the lenght of the mounting tab, hanging down exactly as far as the tab. You can't see it from the side, but it's clearly visible from underneath. It's large and sturdy enough that if some asshat were to try and set lift arms on those fender tabs, this guard would protect the tabs from bending and help support the car.
Odd thing is, I've never seen another 4th gen have these. They all have the mounting holes for them (it's held in place by two bolts), you'll notice two holes in the floor pan just above and behind the mounting tab on every 4th gen. Yet for some reason, most of the cars don't have these.
My '99, '00, and '02 did not come with the guard. I bought the '99 & '00 brand new, so it's not like someone before me could have removed them. First time I saw them was on my '98, so I figured it must be a '98 thing, but since then I've checked other '98s, and they are missing this guard.
Anyone else ever see or have this? Wonder why mine has this and other's don't? Seems like this is the perfect fix to protect aganist the very issue you see in this thread.
Just inside of the mounting tab (meaning just behind it, towards the center of the car), there is a black plastic guard or "foot". It has a flat, wide bottom, and it runs the lenght of the mounting tab, hanging down exactly as far as the tab. You can't see it from the side, but it's clearly visible from underneath. It's large and sturdy enough that if some asshat were to try and set lift arms on those fender tabs, this guard would protect the tabs from bending and help support the car.
Odd thing is, I've never seen another 4th gen have these. They all have the mounting holes for them (it's held in place by two bolts), you'll notice two holes in the floor pan just above and behind the mounting tab on every 4th gen. Yet for some reason, most of the cars don't have these.
My '99, '00, and '02 did not come with the guard. I bought the '99 & '00 brand new, so it's not like someone before me could have removed them. First time I saw them was on my '98, so I figured it must be a '98 thing, but since then I've checked other '98s, and they are missing this guard.
Anyone else ever see or have this? Wonder why mine has this and other's don't? Seems like this is the perfect fix to protect aganist the very issue you see in this thread.
01-05-2008, 01:03 AM
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+1 for the big set of channel locks!! I had that happen on my old Z28 when I got my Z06 Wheels mounted and balanced. I noticed it, the manager of the store fired the guy on the spot and I just asked the manager to fix it w/ channellocks. Pretty easy.
Fortunatly my 02 SS LE has never been victimized like that lol!!
Fortunatly my 02 SS LE has never been victimized like that lol!!
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01-05-2008, 01:04 AM
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Nope my 98 has nothing like that. Also, as stupid as the previous owners of my car may have been maintenance-wise, they apparently never jacked it up improperly. Frustrating thing is I need a new driver fender so it should be fun getting an OEM one in good shape without spending an arm and a leg. I'm hoping a local boneyard has one.
01-05-2008, 01:11 AM
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01-05-2008, 01:29 AM
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Alright.... I'll go take a pic and post it up, give me about 10 mins....
01-05-2008, 01:34 AM
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tires plus did a way better job f*cking my fenders up. easy fix with a vise grip. if you heat up the fender (!!only where the 2 bolts are!!) with a propane torch it wont rip the plastic when you bend it back. keep the heat away a bit though so you dont screw up the paint.
01-05-2008, 01:41 AM
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I mean i'm gonna bring it somewhere, I have no tools for this, and this thing is my savings atm. I just wanted to knwo the proper procedure to fix it so I can bring it somewhere or have a few buddies of mine help fix it. So it's a lose bolt then behind the fender? So there's more than one way to fix this problem?
01-05-2008, 01:45 AM
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I mean i'm gonna bring it somewhere, I have no tools for this, and this thing is my savings atm. I just wanted to knwo the proper procedure to fix it so I can bring it somewhere or have a few buddies of mine help fix it. So it's a lose bolt then behind the fender? So there's more than one way to fix this problem?
01-05-2008, 01:48 AM
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Here are the pics of the "black guard" that seemed to come on very few F-bodies:
Not sure why mine has it and other's don't. But then again, my car has some other unique assembly line oddities as well. Gives it character
Not sure why mine has it and other's don't. But then again, my car has some other unique assembly line oddities as well. Gives it character
01-05-2008, 01:35 PM
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Hi guys, I'm new here and have learned a lot from this site. I've had the same problem, but it was an easy fix. I sure would like to have a set of those fender protectors (or what ever they are called). Does anyone have a part number or source for those? They could probably be fabricated from a block of wood or some other material. What size bolts holds those in? Thanks!
01-05-2008, 01:44 PM
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My '98 has an interesting device that protects aganist this issue.
Just inside of the mounting tab (meaning just behind it, towards the center of the car), there is a black plastic guard or "foot". It has a flat, wide bottom, and it runs the lenght of the mounting tab, hanging down exactly as far as the tab. You can't see it from the side, but it's clearly visible from underneath. It's large and sturdy enough that if some asshat were to try and set lift arms on those fender tabs, this guard would protect the tabs from bending and help support the car.
Odd thing is, I've never seen another 4th gen have these. They all have the mounting holes for them (it's held in place by two bolts), you'll notice two holes in the floor pan just above and behind the mounting tab on every 4th gen. Yet for some reason, most of the cars don't have these.
My '99, '00, and '02 did not come with the guard. I bought the '99 & '00 brand new, so it's not like someone before me could have removed them. First time I saw them was on my '98, so I figured it must be a '98 thing, but since then I've checked other '98s, and they are missing this guard.
Anyone else ever see or have this? Wonder why mine has this and other's don't? Seems like this is the perfect fix to protect aganist the very issue you see in this thread.
Just inside of the mounting tab (meaning just behind it, towards the center of the car), there is a black plastic guard or "foot". It has a flat, wide bottom, and it runs the lenght of the mounting tab, hanging down exactly as far as the tab. You can't see it from the side, but it's clearly visible from underneath. It's large and sturdy enough that if some asshat were to try and set lift arms on those fender tabs, this guard would protect the tabs from bending and help support the car.
Odd thing is, I've never seen another 4th gen have these. They all have the mounting holes for them (it's held in place by two bolts), you'll notice two holes in the floor pan just above and behind the mounting tab on every 4th gen. Yet for some reason, most of the cars don't have these.
My '99, '00, and '02 did not come with the guard. I bought the '99 & '00 brand new, so it's not like someone before me could have removed them. First time I saw them was on my '98, so I figured it must be a '98 thing, but since then I've checked other '98s, and they are missing this guard.
Anyone else ever see or have this? Wonder why mine has this and other's don't? Seems like this is the perfect fix to protect aganist the very issue you see in this thread.
My 1996 has em.
