Need to replace driver side fender

garypriceomaha

My wife dented up the fender pretty good-can't claim on insurance. Found a "same color" fender at a salvage yard. My question: It looks like there's just about 5 or 6 bolts on the top and a couple of screws to hold the black plastic around the wheel well. Are there any other hidden bolts that's going to make me wish I never tore into this?
Thanks!

xwesx

It will be a pain, as there are likely a lot of various pieces that will require removal before you get to all the fender bolts, such as headlamp, bumper shell, etc., but unless there is hidden damage or you do not have the time to see the project through, you will likely not regret tearing into it.

garypriceomaha

Hey, thanks for responding! Don't suppose you'd have a schematic or some sort of step by step on this? I tried googling for a couple of hours yesterday but didn't have much luck.

xwesx

What year is the van?

garypriceomaha

Thanks again for trying to help.

It's a 2005. Now the salvage yard just called and said they don't have a gold fender. I really don't have the means to paint it so I kinda have to find gold.

My wife's going to drive this car until it has high miles so I'm not really worried about a exact match but I'd like it to be the same color.

xwesx

My repair manual is only for the third generation vans ('96-'00), but it indicates that you must remove the bumper, wheel, wheelwell insert, headlight assembly, and a small piece of trim under the sideview mirror in order to fully access the quarter panel bolts.

You might consider picking up a repair manual for your van to assist, especially if your wife plans to keep it into high mileage.

Best of luck to you in your search - gold is a fairly common color within your compatible model years, so the trick will be to find a parts van that has a good panel on it!

garypriceomaha

Thanks again. Was hoping I wouldn't have to remove that much stuff.

Thought about buying the manual. I guess that's a small investment if I plan on fixing and repairing myself. If I find a gold fender I'll for sure buy the manual since your's was for an earlier model.