So I'm aligning/fixing my fenders. I KNOW the fenders are the issue. Gaps at the doors for one, and the driver side sits a good 1/4" lower than the passenger side. ....and of course the front bumper cover being aligned with the fenders is also uneven.

My question is this: Should I just take the whole front cover off, and get the fenders right first? That sounds like the "proper" way to do it, but I don't know how much of a PITA it is to put back on. I know HOW to do it, but I've never actually DONE the job. Is it easy? Should I try to do it still attached to the fenders?

 

It's easier than one would think to remove the front bumper. Just the studs down the front of the fenders, bolts across the top under the hood, and plastic push pins underneath. Worst part aside from getting at the hardware inside the fenders is that the nuts may be firmly rusted to the studs. Expect to break at least one or two. Not all that big a deal since new studs can be welded in later.

Now that I think about it, I've never pulled a front bumper cover with GFX... That could make things a little more involved, but I wouldn't expect much added difficulty.

I'm not sure that removing the front bumper cover would really improve anything, maybe just loosen the studs to the fenders so they can float a bit. The manuals all show the various measurements for aligning the fender and front impact bumper, but most of them key off of data points that I'm not sure we as home mechanics can really use. I suppose mostly we just have to use the Eyeball, Calibrated - MK1 to line everything up.

 

That's what I was envisioning. ....i'll give that a shot first. I pulled the front skirt/GFX off and the bolts were all fairly rusted, but I did get them off. Envisioned the bumper cover being just as bad and was hoping to avoid pulling it, lol.

I'll give it a shot....see what happens.