Who has Replaced a Fender? - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

Strife · #1 03-09-2007, 10:16 PM

Well, looking at the labor it's going to take me to get my 85 380SL rusted fender even passable, I think that I'd like to replace it. The patch panel from K+K is so expensive, that by the time I bought that and a welder, I could have a repro fender. I have the shop manual but there are a few aspects of this job that worry me, and I'd like to know any one else's experiences.

1. Did you use MB or aftermarket? If aftermarket, is it noticeably flimsier or ill-fitting (first person experiences, please)

2. Did you have to take the door off? It looks almost oh-so-doable without taking off the door...

3. Did you need the heat gun as described in the shop manual.

4. From experience replacing a domestic fender, it becomes obvious how to remove/install the new one when you get your hands on the new one and see where the bolt holes are. But were there any "gotchas"?

5. How nasty was the realignment?

Thanks. I searched the "bodywork" forum but there wasn't too much there.

cth350 · #2 03-09-2007, 10:25 PM

It's straight forward to get it off. I've pulled enough of them apart. Putting one back on is a bit for problematic. The fun part is getting it aligned "just right". The seams have to be evenly spaced around the fender for the hood and door. Hang it a bit off and you'll notice, especially when the parts rub.

A fellow on ebay, something like Huston European, was parting out at least one W107 car over the past few months. He can sell you a used fender. Perhaps the color will happen to be "just right".

-CTH

Roncallo · #3 03-10-2007, 05:01 AM

Sorry Strief, I have no answers just a few more questions to add to your list, because I also considered removing my fenders for some modifications.

1) I can find repro fenders all over the place for abour $137. Sounds too good to be true. Are they any good? Or is used OE the way to go.

2) Once you bust the seal with the heat gun, what kind of glue do you use to reinstall it.

3) One tip I may offer. I asked an MB dealer about replacing and spraying the trunk lid only on my black 560 due to a combination of water spots, scratches and dings from within. He told me that he would have to spray everything aft of the doors or I would see the color mis match. I told him, I thought black would not have a color match problem. He replied that black is the most difficult color to match??? and silver was the least difficult. So I'm thinking gold may be like silver and you may luck out with your gold 380 and be able to buy a used gold fender and not have to do a repaint.

John Roncallo

Strife · #4 03-10-2007, 10:33 AM

I's still torn between repair or replace-this rust damage is unusual because it is highly localized. Other than the trailing edge of the wheel opening, the fender is absolutely rust-free, and other than the two openings for the bumper sliders, so is the rest of the car. A patch panel would be great but for $50 more I can get an entire repro fender, and then, there is the welding issue.

I have to paint the entire car because the clearcoat on all horizontal surfaces of the car is blown. The hood was so bad I had to strip it to bare aluminum (and that, I have to buy special primer for). I have the paint on order, and I'm assembling what I need to do it right now.

jdhill · #5 03-10-2007, 01:39 PM

You will need to cut through the undercoating where the fender joins the body to free the fender, you'll also have to replace the undercoat on the new fender or you'll have a million small dents from inside. I definitely had to heat and reheat and reheat to get the old fender loose. You will probably run into the same problem I did (see thumbnail) so be prepared. Other side is worse.

Strife · #6 03-10-2007, 09:24 PM

Thanks for the picture - now I see how _crucial_ that small gasket really is. Obviously, the above picture shows that water was sneaking around it. I'm now convinced that most MB "rustbuckets" could have all been preserved with body seal maintenance.

I'm ordering 4 of them monday (for the 560, too). The body seals behind the rocker aluminum trim was shot, too - it's made of plastic and has proven impossible to clean up. The rust actually distorted it at the front.

I did wind up repairing the area for now, with a sheetmetal patch and plumber's epoxy. It's going to take a little "bondo sculpture" with the last rib at the bottom of the fender. I'm going to seal the **** out of this when I'm done.

BTW, because right now I have more time than money to spend on this, I sanded/polished the side chrome trim, and even knocked out the small rock dents with a screwdriver from behind and a sanding block (from the front). My buffer made out of a bench grinder has paid for itself over and over again. With a little work, they look almost new!

jdhill · #7 03-11-2007, 06:24 PM

Strife.
After reading your above post I realized I had better do some research. According to STARtek info only the 560 in this country and the 300 and 420 in Europe got inner fender panels. I thought my 280 in the picture was representative of all 107's and they all had nothing but undercoating. Your post makes it sound like your 380 has panels, true? My Benz source carries them for $64.50 a piece so I will definitely be ordering them. Typical MBz not to spend $100 to protect their lower price cars.

Strife · #8 03-11-2007, 10:23 PM

The 560SL has the plastic fender liners, but the 380SL doesn't. In addition to the plastic, there is a long rubber body seal involved, and, of course, the sheet metal screws with built-in "seals" (there is probably a technical term for this).

The shop manual mentions that all 86+ cars (not just 107's) have these.

There is a removable plate with rubber on the outer edge between the wheel well and fender on both cars, and in the 380SL's case, this seal had failed at the bottom.

I'm not so worried about the 560SL, because I don't drive it in bad weather and/or the winter, but I'm going to have to do some thinking about how to make sure this doesn't happen to the 380SL again. The first step is going to be replacing the rubber on the plate shown in your post. I may get the 86+ liners for it. There may be subtle differences between the 380 and 560, though, and of course, you have to drill the pilot holes for the screws (very exciting when you aren't certain what's on the other side).