How to replace a right Fender?

[jackbegone43]

Hello all, this is my first post.

My niece has a 1994 EB Explorer. She had a crash the other day and it needs some repares. Well, I will try to help her save some money by doing some of the work myself. The right front fender is damaged and needs to be replaced. Does anyone have some instructions on how to do this? Usually I jump into something like this and realize later that if I done it a certain way I could have saved myself hours of work.

Any help would be greatly appreaciated.

thanks
Jack

 

[BrooklynBay]

Welcome to this forum! Disconnect the screws holding the head light doors, and the push pins holding the wheel base. The rest of the bolts are on the top under the hood.

 

[Blacksheep Josh]

Might want to take off the bumper, I recently removed my left fender but it's the same for the right. Also might want to check there's no dog cage damage, it's the metal between the fender and the engine, it has wrinkles in it so if it's hit it'll collapse.

Undo 1-2 screws by openign up the door about half way, you should see them through the door hinge area. You have screws along top under the hood. These are easy. You also have some towards the headlight on teh bottom. I believe the wheel well is connected so you might want to take those off first.

Taking off the fender is nothing but screws/bolts. It's easy. Just make sure when you put the newer one on by taking your time and lining it up right. If you used a used fender it's easier, brand new fenders that dont' have holes predrilled are a biatch to install. With used ones they're from an explorer, so they literally bolt right back on.

Good Luck

 

[ilh]

passenger side quarter panel, eh? been there, done that!

buddy justin's explorer after i screwed it up. im sure i've mentioned it before but anyways. notice basically the whole frontend is apart, but thats because the damage was between the front of the vehicle and before the front wheel, thus all the bolts were bent and screwed up.

you need an 8mm socket, (an 8mm open wrench helps at times,) a small phillips screwdriver, a couple of big sockets for the bumper, and a light hammer for tapping out the bumper retainers. A flashlight is handy at times. I think thats about it.

here's what i did in the order:
-remove the 6? 7? phillips screws that hold the plastic shroud in place. these loosen the plugs that hold the shroud in place. take those out and take the shroud off.
-that should give you access to the grille? that comes out easily i believe.
-take the bumper off. it'll open up access to the lower bolts cause they're otherwise a pain in the ass IMO. it's two big bolts (i want to say 13/16") on each side that hold in a retainer. get these real loose and have a buddy hold the bumper while you pop the rest of the retainer out. pretty easy.
-i cant remember if you have to take the headlight off. i had to because it was broken, but im not 100% if its fixed to the fender. i would be tempted to take if off anyways so you dont get surprises. take out the 2 light bulbs and then i think its 4 bolts.
-start taking out fender bolts. there's about 6-8 ontop you'll see easily, 5 screws for the inner fender plastic, two or three up front on the bottom (why i said to take off the bumper,) and there's two more at the back of the quarter panel. check in the door, there may be one or two there as well.

reverse that order for installation. you may want to spend a couple tries just with the bolts snug, shut the hood, check the alignment of the fender in relation to both the door and the hood.

best of luck!
dont hesitate to PM me if you have a specific question.
-ian

 

[FROADER]

There is one more at the bottom by the door and at the front. This picture is after I trimmed mine so I'm missing those now. The one by the back, you have to open the door to get to it.

 

[ilh]

There is one more at the bottom. This picture is after I trimmed mine so I'm missing that one now. The one by the back, you have to open the door to get to it.

okay, so my numbers are wrong. froader is right.

 

[Blacksheep Josh]

honestly, it's not a hard project. just take your time, and don't force it. it'll come loose when everything is properly disconnected.

 

[jackbegone43]

Wow,,, guys thanks a lot!! You gave me all I need other than doing it for me, haha.. and yes, I did have to remove the bumper and thats another part that I will have to replace. I'm going to try not to replace the metal piece between the fenders that's sets below the grille. It is bent a little in the center just like what ilh is showing. I'm now looking for used replacement parts instead of new ones. I assumed exactly like what you are saying. New ones can be a bi..h to install. But this is my first time doing this so easy things can be difficult if you don't know the tricks of the trade. So far the hardest thing that I've done is straighten out the rear bumper bracket, which require a huge hammer and a vise..

Thanks for all the help and advise
Jack

 

[ilh]

jack,

best of luck! its a tough enough job... at least you're doing it out of goodwill for your relatives, not because you broke your buddys truck (yours truly. )

the trim below the lights that wraps around isnt a structural piece and on both justin's 91 and my friend james' 94 they're both damaged. just bend it enough so that it'll bolt back up to the fenders and you'll be fine. people who arent car junkies dont see it anyways.

keep posting if you run into trouble! (but you shouldn't, its easy.)
regards,
ian

 

[jackbegone43]

i know with isn't the fender issue but i thought i would keep it in the same post.

something is wrong with the 4x4. when it's in 4x4 there's a cracking and popping sound. when it not in 4x4 it doesn't make that sound but there is a winding sound that doesn't sound normal. Also when it's not in 4x4 i can turn the 4x4 drive shaft which at the same time it turns the shaft connecting to the front wheels.

any ideas what may be wrong?

Thanks
Jack

 

[Blacksheep Josh]

sounds like transfer case. look in the 4x4 forums, there you can find better help.