Hi all. I am in the process of doing a fender swap on my 1990 F250 SC LB 7.3. I started with the driver's side fender, as it was the toughest to do. When I put the fender on, it lined up no problem, with only a minimal amount of jigging around to match up the holes. Bolted it up, all is well.

Next afternoon, going to do passenger side. Had the fender off in no-time, and started preparing other fender. Got it ready, put it on, and it was like it wants to push itself off of the two top bolts by the windshield wiper-cowling-cover whatever its called. No problem, pulled it off and got rid of the insulation attached to the fender. Put it on this morning, no major improvements. The fender still wants to push itself off of the two bolts, and when I put the hood on, the hood is lower than the front corner of the fender, where the lights sit underneath. The driver's side fender is not like this, and when you look down the side of the hood, you can see that the gap gets bigger when you get closer to the front on the passenger side. The fender had to be pushed in at the front corner quite aways to align properly with the stone deflecter, and those small screws.

The fender is in more than the passenger door, (could be sagging door too, as the door will touch the fender, or clear it with a hair's width to spare), whereas the drivers fender is a little bit out more, which I think is the proper way. These fenders came off of a 1990 F150 parts truck, and have no noticeable dings or bends. Also, there is more space between the lip where the hood sits and the rad support on the drivers side as opposed to the passenger side; but everything lines up.

What do I do? Is there anything I am missing? Has anyone ever had a problem(s) like this? I am getting frustrated, as nothing is working. I havn't tackled a project as big as this before, so any help is EXTREMELY appreciated!!

 

If these are aftermarket fenders, then that's probably your problem. Match the new fender to the old fender side by side and look at the differences between the two.

 

Mike1, these are OEM Ford fenders, that is why I'm frustrated. The driver's side fender fit perfect, and this passenger side fender doesn't. There isn't any bends or dings, so I'm confused. Thank you for you're input, any other thoughts??

 

Ford has shims between the radiator support and the body mounts. The radiator support is attached to the fender at the front with two bolts. My experience has taught me the shims are there for adjustment when it comes time to align the hood, doors and fender. I suspect each truck has it's own custom adjustment when leaving the production line. Installing new OEM fenders may alter this spacing. You may play with this adjustment and see what it does for you.



Passenger side fender and radiator support.

 

Thank you Mike1, and mtcox for your help, especially that picture mtcox. I have mocked it up well enough to book it in to the local autobody shop to have the professionals adjust it properly. This was my first body repair project, and I think it went pretty well all around!! Thanks again guys!!



If anyone has any body work-adjusting-fitting tips or tricks on these trucks, feel free to post here!