Adjusting Body Line - Buick Fender

[sunedog]

I'm trying to sell my late father's 2005 Buick Park Avenue. The car is in really good shape, but the driver's side front fender is sprung a little at the bottom. I don't think the car has ever been wrecked so I am at a loss to explain why it is out of line.



I am hoping it is an easy adjustment. I can't see the lower bolts holding the fender on. I think I need to jack it up, remove the wheel and inner fender to expose the bolts. Then just loosen bolt(s), push in and tighten. Voila!

Am I on the right track? Any tips or advice?

[Stretch]

Why oh why did they copy the vents from the '50s on a modern car? That looks stupid - anyway - sorry about that...

First thing I would do is open the door and see if I can see any rust / obvious problems.

Then I'd jack up - wheel off - plastic liner (if it exists) out etc

[SwampYankee]

Originally Posted by sunedog

I am hoping it is an easy adjustment. I can't see the lower bolts holding the fender on. I think I need to jack it up, remove the wheel and inner fender to expose the bolts. Then just loosen bolt(s), push in and tighten. Voila!

Am I on the right track? Any tips or advice?

Purely a WAG on my part, but I'd think you're on the right track. May need to encourage that lower mounting point, wherever that may be, to assume a position slightly inward with a tool capable of exerting sufficient force.

[catmandoo62]

typical GM quality.one thing to note a tool of sufficient force would be a palm leaf as that fender is plastic.so watch it they will crack.

[JB3]

looks to me like it was tapped in the front and popped out of alignment, maybe with no marks. i bet youll find some broken tabs or fastners

reminds me of weird damage i had on a quantum once, the fender wouldnt line up at all. after taking the whole thing apart i finally found that the unibody was tweaked up on one corner weirdly. i had to make a pattern to compare side to side. the strange part is that the twist to the body was all from directly underneath the front left. from what i could figure my guess was it must have fallen off a lift onto its nose.

could be something like that happened when your dad wasnt around the car. maybe it was lightly tapped with a soft bumper

[sunedog]

Thanks for the comments. No rust and no apparent issues inside the door jam. And it is not made of plastic.

I have the afternoon off and will dive into it later today. I'll share what I learn.

[t walgamuth]

It might be fixable with an adjustment of the hinge locations.

[sunedog]

Jacked the car up and removed the wheel and inner fender. Loosened some clips on some trim that runs from the bottom of the fender to under the driver's door. Discovered the two bolts were tight and there was no adjustment built into the design (i.e. the holes were not elongated to allow for adjustment).

Determined the relatively thin inner panel the fender is bolted to must have been pushed out somehow.

This is a shot from the wheel well looking towards the rear of the car. You can see the two fender bolts and the panel it is bolted to.



I simply took a MFH (not as big as a BFH) and adjusted it by tapping it inward (towards the center of the car). It moved surprisingly easy.

Here is the finished job. It is dead on perfect.



As Edd China would say..........job sorted.

Thanks for your help and interest.

[SwampYankee]

Originally Posted by sunedog

Here is the finished job. It is dead on perfect.



As Edd China would say..........job sorted.

Thanks for your help and interest.

Well done!

Coincidentally I'm watching Edd as we speak.