Front Fender Replacement

[gator_dub]

I hope this is the right section to ask, but has anyone here removed or replaced a front fender? It seems pretty straightforward....unclipping the wheel liner and part of the side skirt. The fender itself appears to be bolted on. However, I’m concerned about any potential crash sensors I should be aware of. Does anyone have experience with this process? Any tips would be greatly appreciated!

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[Sticks]

It's bolt-on, no sensors. However, it is a very involved process. The front bumper, headlight, and fender liner all come off. The shop manual even calls for removing the front door, though I suspect you could work around it.

I'm not a professional, but I have done this on other vehicles as a DIY-er. It can be pretty tough to dial-in the body lines and panel gaps. Make sure you have a friend and a lot of patience.

The fender metal is very thin and can be a little warped by shipping and handling. I don't know the professional method, but here's how I dial-in the fitment:

Lightly bolt down one section (just enough to provide resistance, but not enough to pin it in place), pivot and translate to get the panel gap even, then have a friend apply light pressure as needed to make the body curvature match. And you have to make it line up with the door, hood, and headlight all at the same time. Torque the fender bolts to 80 inch-lb.

 

[gator_dub]

That’s awesome! Thanks for sharing that info. I have replaced bumpers on other vehicles and even hung doors so I do have some experience. Are you able to DM me the service manual info you have? I’d like to plan it out before I start taking things apart.

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