Fender Removal
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Junior User
Joined: May 2004
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Fender Removal
Hello, I have a 1986 f-150 and I am going to buy a new fender. Last night I went out to remove it and I cant figure out how to get it off. I do not have much experiance working on cars/trucks. Please anybody give some help on where all the bolts and what not are.
Junior User
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 89
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From: Sierra Vista Az
It's been a while since I have done it but let me see what I can remember. There are two underneath the hood by the firewall. There is one or two on the bottom of the fender and you have to get under the truck to find. There is one where you have to open the door and get an extension to get to. Then there are a ton of them on the front of the fender. Just keep looking everytime you think you got them all there usually another one left. There are also a ton of screws that attach the fender to the inner fender well. Good luck with it you can do it.
Senior User
Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 216
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From: Elizabethtown,KY
Several screws hold the plastic inner liner, along with two bolts that are kinda hidden. Two bolts hold it to the radiator support. Two hold it to the metal panel behind the bumper.
I'm not sure if your new fender will have the bracket that mounts to the radiator support. If not it easily removed from the fender.
I'm not sure if your new fender will have the bracket that mounts to the radiator support. If not it easily removed from the fender.
Senior User
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 153
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From: Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
F150 Fender transplant
All you need is time and patience (and some screwdrivers and a good 1/2" drive set with some extensions and a smaller set for diggin out some of the ineterior screws). Plus some luck and maybe a drill and/or grinder for some of the rusted away screws that hold the fender skirt on!
open up the hood and have a looksee. There are a row of (9/16"?) screws along the top of the fender, including the two that hold your hinge bracket down. You can go ahead and crack these loose, but I would leave the hinge bracket bolts alone til later since you will either have to take off the hood altogether (mark the bracket locations on the hood) and get a friend to help with the on and off or if you just remove the hinge on the side you are working you need to have the hood securely propped so it will not come crashing down on you like a rattrap when you are leaning on some bolt or another!
Remove the stuff that is going to get in your way: the battery and tray, solenoid (if passenger side fender), the overflow jug/washer reservoir (if on driver side), the headlight bezel (possible Torx alert!) and headlight, the side turn signal bulb. If memory serves, it is MUCH easier to remove and replace the fender if the bumper is removed, but I guess you can leave it on and see.
Now you can start attacking the bolts that hold the fender to the rad support - have a trouble light handy and clear out any debris between the rad support and front inner fender 'cause there are a couple in their righ at the bottom that can get covered up. Then crawl underneath and look for more at the front. The valance that goes across right above and behind the bumper ties the fenders together with 1 or two screws that can be ugly to get loose.
Now you can get the inner fender loose from the outer (steel) one. These are philips (X screwdriver) headed and probably rusted away and hostile. If you are DEFINITELY replacing the fender it can be therapeutic to grind these heads off and go after the sups and J-clips left in the inner fender later, once the out fender is off. Just be carefull not to gouge too deep with the grinder (ie: destroy chunks of the inner fender) Work your way back along the underside of the fender, removing screws as you go along.
To the rear of the wheelwell, underneath the truck, there is one vertical bolthead (9/16"?) sticking down which you need to remove. This will tend to have been rusted into place by GCA (gravitational crud accumulation) inside the fender. Use a good six-sided socket on your trusty 1/2" breaker bar (if you have a 3/4" set you may have recourse to it unless fortune is smiling). You don't really want to break this one off (can try opening the door and sqirting down some WD-40 if it's stubborn) but try leaning on the breaker bar and hopefully it will come.
Open the door and peer forward into the space between the fender and the body. About a 1/3 of the way up and a pice forward there is a small (7/16 or 1/2) bolthead staring back at you. You will need to cobble together a couple of extensions on your 3/8" set to reach this one and break it loose. Also there is one more bolt head midway up the door piller you will have to remove.
On driver's fender, the antenna must be disconnected. Undo the nut/retainer (I forget - is it a nut or a thingie with to holes to drive on to loosen?) and carefully push the antenna down inside the fender.
Go back and deal with your top bolts and hinge bracket (probably a good idea to remove the hood, unless you can block or restrain it securely). Now go all the way around again, to find the bolts/screws you missed the first time! You should now be able to wiggle the fender loose at the back, then the front. Missed fasteners will bring themselves to your attention as you find the fender is "stuck" in some places. The reason it is easier to remove with the bumper off is that it has to move forward and out to disengage from the rad support. This is the part that can take time and patience, 'cause there always seems to be one more screw! Just keep working at it, identify the screws that are still holding, and go after them!
With the fender off you can go after the remnants of srews you broke/ground the heads off. A set of pliers is handy to twist any stubs out of the J clips especially on the inner fenders.
Take an inventory of your salvaged fasteners. Spending a bit to replace rusted out body screws and buggered J-clips will make the reatachment process much sweeter. Oh, yea, try and save the shims from under the hinge bolts and the door piller - you're probaly going to need them or maybe a couple extra.
As Haynes likes to say, "installation is the reverse of removal" (heh!). Take your time, and get the door/fender/hood alignment right before you put in all the screws and tighten them down.
That's all I remember.
Good Luck,
Bill
PS I see some good succinct advise recieved while I was typing in the above. This is a great site - lots of friendly helpful people who like working on trucks!
open up the hood and have a looksee. There are a row of (9/16"?) screws along the top of the fender, including the two that hold your hinge bracket down. You can go ahead and crack these loose, but I would leave the hinge bracket bolts alone til later since you will either have to take off the hood altogether (mark the bracket locations on the hood) and get a friend to help with the on and off or if you just remove the hinge on the side you are working you need to have the hood securely propped so it will not come crashing down on you like a rattrap when you are leaning on some bolt or another!
Remove the stuff that is going to get in your way: the battery and tray, solenoid (if passenger side fender), the overflow jug/washer reservoir (if on driver side), the headlight bezel (possible Torx alert!) and headlight, the side turn signal bulb. If memory serves, it is MUCH easier to remove and replace the fender if the bumper is removed, but I guess you can leave it on and see.
Now you can start attacking the bolts that hold the fender to the rad support - have a trouble light handy and clear out any debris between the rad support and front inner fender 'cause there are a couple in their righ at the bottom that can get covered up. Then crawl underneath and look for more at the front. The valance that goes across right above and behind the bumper ties the fenders together with 1 or two screws that can be ugly to get loose.
Now you can get the inner fender loose from the outer (steel) one. These are philips (X screwdriver) headed and probably rusted away and hostile. If you are DEFINITELY replacing the fender it can be therapeutic to grind these heads off and go after the sups and J-clips left in the inner fender later, once the out fender is off. Just be carefull not to gouge too deep with the grinder (ie: destroy chunks of the inner fender) Work your way back along the underside of the fender, removing screws as you go along.
To the rear of the wheelwell, underneath the truck, there is one vertical bolthead (9/16"?) sticking down which you need to remove. This will tend to have been rusted into place by GCA (gravitational crud accumulation) inside the fender. Use a good six-sided socket on your trusty 1/2" breaker bar (if you have a 3/4" set you may have recourse to it unless fortune is smiling). You don't really want to break this one off (can try opening the door and sqirting down some WD-40 if it's stubborn) but try leaning on the breaker bar and hopefully it will come.
Open the door and peer forward into the space between the fender and the body. About a 1/3 of the way up and a pice forward there is a small (7/16 or 1/2) bolthead staring back at you. You will need to cobble together a couple of extensions on your 3/8" set to reach this one and break it loose. Also there is one more bolt head midway up the door piller you will have to remove.
On driver's fender, the antenna must be disconnected. Undo the nut/retainer (I forget - is it a nut or a thingie with to holes to drive on to loosen?) and carefully push the antenna down inside the fender.
Go back and deal with your top bolts and hinge bracket (probably a good idea to remove the hood, unless you can block or restrain it securely). Now go all the way around again, to find the bolts/screws you missed the first time! You should now be able to wiggle the fender loose at the back, then the front. Missed fasteners will bring themselves to your attention as you find the fender is "stuck" in some places. The reason it is easier to remove with the bumper off is that it has to move forward and out to disengage from the rad support. This is the part that can take time and patience, 'cause there always seems to be one more screw! Just keep working at it, identify the screws that are still holding, and go after them!
With the fender off you can go after the remnants of srews you broke/ground the heads off. A set of pliers is handy to twist any stubs out of the J clips especially on the inner fenders.
Take an inventory of your salvaged fasteners. Spending a bit to replace rusted out body screws and buggered J-clips will make the reatachment process much sweeter. Oh, yea, try and save the shims from under the hinge bolts and the door piller - you're probaly going to need them or maybe a couple extra.
As Haynes likes to say, "installation is the reverse of removal" (heh!). Take your time, and get the door/fender/hood alignment right before you put in all the screws and tighten them down.
That's all I remember.
Good Luck,
Bill
PS I see some good succinct advise recieved while I was typing in the above. This is a great site - lots of friendly helpful people who like working on trucks!
Last edited by crerar; Sep 17, 2004 at 09:38 PM. Reason: good advice already received
whoops
