Fender bender last night -- few q's

[Shadowless]

got into a little fender bender last night.

What is the best way to pull out a medium sized dent from my driver's side fender? Also, what's the easiest way to fix the gap between my DS fender and my hood -- nothing is bent but now there's a bit of a gap; hood functions 100%.

[Elysian]

Originally Posted by Shadowless

got into a little fender bender last night.

What is the best way to pull out a medium sized dent from my driver's side fender? Also, what's the easiest way to fix the gap between my DS fender and my hood -- nothing is bent but now there's a bit of a gap; hood functions 100%.

The gap should be easy, loosen the bolts that hold the fender on directly under the edge of the hood, and push the fender back in. Removing the dent is trickier, and without knowing everything about how your fender is constructed and how bad the dent is, I really can't give you any pointers there...

[Shadowless]

Originally Posted by Elysian

The gap should be easy, loosen the bolts that hold the fender on directly under the edge of the hood, and push the fender back in. Removing the dent is trickier, and without knowing everything about how your fender is constructed and how bad the dent is, I really can't give you any pointers there...

Thanks for the tip on the gap.

I'll post pics of the fender later when I go out; it's 23degrees out so i'm not jumping to go out there right now .

[Shadowless]

[wabbitslayer]

IMHO, I don't think loosening and re-adjusting the fit of the fender will work, b/c the fender is probably bent away from where it should align with the hood....so if you loosen the bolts and move the fender to re-align it with the hood, it's going to be out of adjustment as to something else (bumper cover, etc.)

If you can get a mallet in there, you might be able to pound it back out while holding a flat piece of metal against the outside, but if the metal's stretched too far, it won't go back, then your only option (as far as I know) is drill several small holes and use a slide hammer to pull it out, then level/sand it down, prime it, etc....which would still leave you with the issue of the alignement with the hood.

sucks, sorry to hear about it....it could have been worse?

[Shadowless]

Originally Posted by wabbitslayer

IMHO, I don't think loosening and re-adjusting the fit of the fender will work, b/c the fender is probably bent away from where it should align with the hood....so if you loosen the bolts and move the fender to re-align it with the hood, it's going to be out of adjustment as to something else (bumper cover, etc.)

If you can get a mallet in there, you might be able to pound it back out while holding a flat piece of metal against the outside, but if the metal's stretched too far, it won't go back, then your only option (as far as I know) is drill several small holes and use a slide hammer to pull it out, then level/sand it down, prime it, etc....which would still leave you with the issue of the alignement with the hood.

sucks, sorry to hear about it....it could have been worse?

I'm waiting for my body guy to get back from a job so he can look at it. I might just get a used fender and be done with it.