123 fender removal

[stayalert]

Is it misleading or does the front fender on the drivers side of my '85 300D look very easy and straightforward to remove? I might remove it to chase some hidden rust.

[leathermang]

Should be pretty straightforward...
Thankfully you don't have one of the 123's which had the front fenders glued on with HOT GLUE....

[stayalert]

I don't know whether to shudder or chuckle.....Are you serious???

[bennett]

I have recently pulled 2 fenders off 123s... sometime it is not just as easy as loosening a few bolts.

one was a vehicle purchased in germany and shipped over..
the othere was a US version...

the US version came right off with no trouble. The german 123 has so much incredible thick rubber undercoat I could not pull it without heat. Since I was repainting the fender anyway I heated from the outside with a propane torch .
I would heat the inner edge where the bolts attach to the fender and scrape off what i could from underneath. Took a while but worked. Way thick btw.
There was a real thick layer where the front end of the fender meets the radiator support near the signal/headlight cavity.
I really wish I could reproduce that oem undercoat. It was true rubber like a car tire rubber.
Getting the antenna off to was a beeyotch too.

[leathermang]

Very Serious....
I had an 81 wagon.... and it was past the years which used the Hot Glue...
in the manual they show the Heat Lamp Bank used to provide the heat....and the number of degrees you must reach...
I was really thankful when I found that mine was not glued on....

[rs899]

I think the break year for that goo on the fenders was 82 on the 123s. After that they went to a plastic screw-in inner fender and dispensed with that stuff. It's not glue- just the very effective undercoating they use on the bottom of the car that is like rubberized epoxy.

[junqueyardjim]

I removed both front fenders from my 83 parts car this week. Kind of nasty, but not difficult. There are two screws, one each fender which cannot really be seen as they are under the rubber coat. I cleaned them off with the wire brush dremel tool. As previously mentioned, there is a wad of "stickum" between each fender and the center support, which really held tight on the drivers side. When you think you have them all loose, lift up and move them forward. I think it is a great way to get in that rust prone area right behind the front fenders. This parts car was is perfect in that area, though it could use some "POR". I am worried about what I might run into with my driver because the rear of the front fenders does show rust on each side. Well, we will get back with you folks in about 3 weeks. Leaving in the morning for Montana, Alberta for family reunion and then to Denver to see #1 great grand daughter Alexandria, who is a year old today. Those grandkids and greatgrand kids are so wonderful we should have had them first!

If is was easy everybody would do it!


junqueyardjim