Fender Removal

Technical info on the Pontiac Vibe and Toyota Matrix including do-it-yourself info
Post Reply
FrankenVibe
Posts: 34
Joined: Wed Feb 05, 2020 1:04 pm
Location: Orange County, NY

Fender Removal

Post by FrankenVibe »

So I had an accident involving the front passenger fender area a couple of weeks ago. I’m making this post because I couldn’t figure out how to get the fender off. I searched and searched, but couldn’t find pics or details online. I know it’s simple for more experienced people, but hopefully these pics can help someone in the future.

This is what the area looks like from the bottom, you cant see much. Edit: Now that I look at it again, I think that's the bolt. Didn't realize it was visible from the bottom. I'll double check in the morning and edit this post accordingly. Either way, you gotta separate the trim from the fender to get the fender off. (This is the driver side, rest of the pics are passenger side):
https://imgur.com/e31KR1f

There’s a white clip that goes into the rear of the fender where it meets the “trim” that runs along the lower side:
https://imgur.com/IMaMF5D

Once you pull back that trim, there’s a bolt that connect the Fender to the body:
https://imgur.com/OUkQmuY

Mine broke off as soon as I tried to turn it, so I had to drill it out. I eventually used a zip tie, since I drilled the hole off-center and made it too large. Anyway, hope that helps someone. Now I just gotta deal with the broken off downstream Oxygen sensor so I can pass inspection. God I hate rust.
andrewclaus
Posts: 481
Joined: Tue Oct 03, 2017 6:38 pm
Location: Golden, CO

Re: Fender Removal

Post by andrewclaus »

If you can't get a new fender to examine, look at the drawing. It looks like there are seven fasteners (14 shown for both sides).

Those white plastic trip clips are designed to be broken and have to be replaced once removed.
531234E.jpg
531234E.jpg (60.98 KiB) Viewed 1398 times
FrankenVibe
Posts: 34
Joined: Wed Feb 05, 2020 1:04 pm
Location: Orange County, NY

Re: Fender Removal

Post by FrankenVibe »

Thanks for the pic, didn't even think to look for something like that. It shows the bolt at the bottom rear I’m talking about, but not the trim panel that covers it.

I had some extra white clips that were good from my old fender, so I swapped them for the broken ones. Saw a video where a guy used a deep 7mm socket to push them out without breaking them. I haven’t tried it myself, but it appeared to work.

Edit: Any idea what that 53882 piece is? I don’t recall anything like that on either vehicle I took apart, but it could be a spacer or something.

Edit 2: Found a pic on this site https://parts.ganleygm.com/a/Pontiac_20 ... 03080.html, calls it a fender seal, and I do remember seeing one, gotta go put that in lol, thanks

Image

Edit 3: Found the piece, can’t figure out where to put it. Opposite fender doesn’t have one that I can see, and I removed the black plastic support that covers the top area of the fender to make sure it wasn’t hiding. Any ideas anyone?
Post Reply