Front right fender got smashed. Need a new one - Exterior Forum

Forum Post / Reply
You must log in before you can post or reply to messages.
Front right fender got smashed. Need a new one
Wednesday, September 02, 2009 9:18 AM
Several months ago, I hit a sheep. Yes, a fricken sheep. I had slowed down quite a bit since I saw the herd of sheep but one still ran out and I tagged it. Smashed up the front right of my front right fender and knocked the light assembly loose. Probably just broke the mounting bracket as I was able to shove the light assembly back in place and it's secure for the most part and still works fine.

I got a quote of $600 to have everything fixed. That was for a new fender and paint.

Somebody suggested that I go to a "U-Pull-It" place and pull a fender off a diff cavalier for like $50. I called the local U-Pull-It place and they didnt have any 03 cavaliers in so..

Can I pull a fender off any Cavalier that is around a 2003? I have a 2003 LS Sport

Any thoughts?




"There were some Luddites with some kind of PC-based, primitive [operating system], I think it's called Windows, who couldn't figure out how I got a TV on the plane." Trent Reznor referring to peoples reaction to his PowerBook G4 Titanium

Re: Front right fender got smashed. Need a new one
Wednesday, September 02, 2009 10:53 AM
You can use any Cavalier fender from 00-05.





Re: Front right fender got smashed. Need a new one
Wednesday, September 02, 2009 12:26 PM
Shadowfire wrote:You can use any Cavalier fender from 00-05.


You sure? Even if I have an LS Sport and I take a fender from some base model 2001?

How easy is it to remove the fender from these things? Pretty simple?




"There were some Luddites with some kind of PC-based, primitive [operating system], I think it's called Windows, who couldn't figure out how I got a TV on the plane." Trent Reznor referring to peoples reaction to his PowerBook G4 Titanium
Re: Front right fender got smashed. Need a new one
Wednesday, September 02, 2009 12:43 PM
TwitchOSX wrote:You sure?

How easy is it to remove the fender from these things? Pretty simple?


Yes and quite easy



Re: Front right fender got smashed. Need a new one
Wednesday, September 02, 2009 12:50 PM
You should be able to have the fender off in less than 15 min...

4 bolts in the top of the fender (where the hood rests on), two of those pass through the hood hinge.
2 bolts at the very bottom of the fender (behind the wheel, almost directly under the door)
Remove the inner fender liner (the curved black plastic piece that sits between the fender and wheel)
3 bolts that hold the fender to the front bumper
Then there is a small dust guard inside the fender you can directly see...open your door and from inside look through the door jam at the fender, at the top towards your windshield there is a small bolt to remove, then I think the bottom part it just held to the bracket with a plastic push pin.

It sounds involved, but really isn't. Just take a ratchet and some sockets and go to town.




Re: Front right fender got smashed. Need a new one
Wednesday, September 02, 2009 1:00 PM
You could actually take the fender from any 95-05 cavalier.

If you get one older the 00 tho you will need to cut off the 95-99 corner light bracket, but otherwise same fender.



JGM T-SHIRTS!!!!


In Loving Memory of Phil Martin December 14 2005
Alexis: Dustin, you're ghey, lol. I am better. I have tits, and tits rule all.

Re: Front right fender got smashed. Need a new one
Wednesday, September 02, 2009 1:11 PM
Cool. Thanks for all the info guys. I really didnt want to pay $600 for a new fender. Now.. my only issue is the front right headlight. I need to figure out what to do about that since the mounting bracket is broken I assume since I could, if I wanted to, just pull the whole assembly out and hold it in my hand.




"There were some Luddites with some kind of PC-based, primitive [operating system], I think it's called Windows, who couldn't figure out how I got a TV on the plane." Trent Reznor referring to peoples reaction to his PowerBook G4 Titanium
Re: Front right fender got smashed. Need a new one
Wednesday, September 02, 2009 4:21 PM
What mounting bracket? The plastic one on the actual headlamp? Because on the 03+ the headlamp is only head in by the two plastic brackets that are cast into the assembly that just bolt right on. If that's what is busted, I would just grab a new head lamp. You can try to epoxy the plastic back together but it usually isn't so strong after.

I've even gotten used 03+ head lamps off ebay for $50 shipped.




Re: Front right fender got smashed. Need a new one
Sunday, July 22, 2012 10:33 AM
I know this post is several years old but I think people still find it using Google and I wanted to add my 2 cents:

I find that this job is easier if you take the headlamp out. That is a 2 minute job and will also keep you from having to try to get to the bolts that attach the fender to the bumper through the wheel well. These bolts turn somewhat hard and the more leverage you can get on them the better.

Also: YOU NEED A 7mm SOCKET AND EITHER EXTENSION OR DRIVER HANDLE. YOU'LL KNOW WHY WHEN YOU GET THERE! DON"T BEGIN UNTIL YOU HAVE ONE!

And lastly: Start at the bottom. I mean start with the 2 bolts that are under the car. The ones you can get to without opening the hood or the door. Before you start to remove the splash guards or anything else. The bolts you will have the most problems to remove happen to be the ones that are easiest to get to. But that goes for years of water and road grime as well. These bolts can be pretty frozen on. Get these off first or else you'll be sitting with a fender (and hood) hanging loose and maybe needing to run to the store for some extra tool or something. If you find yourself in a situation where you can't get them off, you'll be glad you started there!

Hope this helps!
Forum Post / Reply
You must log in before you can post or reply to messages.

 

Start New Topic Advanced Search