How to repair Right Rear fender?

Sorry I haven't been online in a long while, but working 5am-6pm 4days/wk is killing me. No time, no energy, no interest and no motivation... but NOW I have a reason to jump in here and ask for help/advice.

FYI, I did repair the noisy engine on my '95 by replacing 3 Rocker and pivot assys, and ALL 12 hardened bolts holding the bridges in place. All were over-torqued and two of the three pivots were cracked. Bolts are $4.50ea at Jeep and (exact replacements) $1.30ea at the BigToolBox on Holly ;-)

Been driving it ever since... however, Daughter needed brakework on her Jeep, so I loaned her mine for a week or two....

She hit ice on 26Mar in that freak Rain/Hail/Snow/Hail we had on I25/225 area, had major spinout, hit the wall 2x and smashed up the front and rear of my beloved 'Emmie'. Everything back to the radiator is gone, bumper mangled, hood frozen, both fenders jammed into the doors, and the Rt Rear bashed in. Rail rash down the Rt side. No glass damage (!)

Have ID'd some of the many parts to start the fix, but could use more

Problem... no one has or makes or sells any Rear fenders (?) So, what's the fix, or do any of you specialize in this and what will it cost me? Need Rt Rear + Taillight.

Thanks!
Steve

im not saying it cant be done... ive seen body panels for sale at many places. but if you consider your time invested in doing the repairs as labor hours, its not worth it IMO. consider how much itd be to have a shop do it. thats probably a driving factor for you to do it yourself. youll be lightyears ahead if you buy an unmolested XJ and swap all of your goodies over. you can then scrap the old one. if your set on doing the repairs yourself, grab your favorite sawzall and head to the JY, thats going to be where youll find panels for the best prices.




body work sucks... i was ASE certified in collision repair. hope your a patient man.

OK... I think

So I have to saw off a RRear and weld it on mine?
Anyone here have any exp with doing this ? Any special tool(s) I need?

I'm guessing I need size the cut of the replacement RR piece I need 1/2" larger than the piece I cut out of mine, then weld and beat-down, putty over and paint?

What is recommended... Gas, Mig/Tig, Low-Amp Arc? I suppose a McGuyver - 12v battery and Nickle won't do?

Pictures would help a lot on the how to's.

Where are you located?

Another option is get a set of rear quarter guards that are made by a couple of companies and put them in place. Then for the lower portion a simple cut and fold will remove any damage done.

http://www.teamgrandwagoneer.com/parts/XJ_Parts/Body_Parts/more2.html

About 3/4 of the way down the page is a picture of the drivers side rear quarter panel. You can also get the passenger side for either 2 or 4 door xj's.

dave92cherokee said:

Another option is get a set of rear quarter guards that are made by a couple of companies and put them in place. Then for the lower portion a simple cut and fold will remove any damage done.

http://www.teamgrandwagoneer.com/parts/XJ_Parts/Body_Parts/more2.html

About 3/4 of the way down the page is a picture of the drivers side rear quarter panel. You can also get the passenger side for either 2 or 4 door xj's.

Click to expand...

Holy expensive parts batman!

got to rockauto.com its alot cheaper and great quality parts

All,
Thanks for the replies and advice!

Old_Manunno how to attach a pic... I have several I could share.
I am located in So. Denver, CO.

Dave9Cherokee - Thanks for the tip/link. $$$ but a real timesaver having to do surgery on only 1 Jeep, eh?

G.P_XJ - Agreed... Rockauto rocks! ...but they don't have Rear Fenders ;-)

steevej said:

All,
Thanks for the replies and advice!

Old_Manunno how to attach a pic... I have several I could share.
I am located in So. Denver, CO.

Dave9Cherokee - Thanks for the tip/link. $$$ but a real timesaver having to do surgery on only 1 Jeep, eh?

G.P_XJ - Agreed... Rockauto rocks! ...but they don't have Rear Fenders ;-)

Click to expand...

Take the pix and put them on a hosting service such as PhotoBucket, then they will give you a web address for the pix. Use the little button that shows a pix when writing your thread and put the web address in the box.

Once I see the pix, I can give you an idea what is the best way to fix it.

OK, Pix uploaded to photobucket: <<http://photobucket.com/steevej>>
Hope it works

Thanks for the tip!

to the op xj dont have rear fenders. its not like unbolting the front ones. its a bitch and a half to do. either claim it on your insurance and let them fix it or hack em off and go for the cut look. my recent experience with body mods on my xj wasnt fun. it tokk a lot of time and patience.

Before you start working on the rear fender You're going to want to look over the front end real careful. If both front fenders got pushed into the doors, the whole nose may be crumpled back. Make sure the damage to the front is repairable before you look at the back.

The Nissley racing team had to replace a fender on their jeepspeed Cherokee(Rt rear, as it happens) and posted some pics of the work on facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/pages/Nissley-Racing-Team/108670596670?sk=photos

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.352212861670.162650.108670596670

Kind of give you an idea what you're getting into.
If you are going to do the work yourself, get a spot weld cutter. You're going to need it.

Let's retry these photos.
<<http://s1210.photobucket.com/albums/cc414/Steevej/?action=view&current=JeepRR1.jpg>>
<<http://s1210.photobucket.com/albums/cc414/Steevej/?action=view&current=JeepRR3.jpg>>
<<http://s1210.photobucket.com/albums/cc414/Steevej/?action=view&current=JeepRR4.jpg>>
<<http://s1210.photobucket.com/albums/cc414/Steevej/?action=view&current=JeepFront.jpg>>
<<http://s1210.photobucket.com/albums/cc414/Steevej/?action=view&current=P1340479.jpg>>
<<http://s1210.photobucket.com/albums/cc414/Steevej/?action=view&current=P1340480.jpg>>
<<http://s1210.photobucket.com/albums/cc414/Steevej/?action=view&current=P1340481.jpg>>

I the meantime I've bought replacement Valance/Lightbucket grill mount piece, Grille, Lighting, Hood, R&L Fenders and Rear Pass door. I also bought a complete RRear incl fender, window, pan, etc. Awhile back. the Guy just took a sawzall and chopped his Jeep in half and then cut the rear in half again down the middle at the bottom and at the Rain gutter at the top. I got the RRear (1/4 of the Jeep) today. No doubt I'll be re-cutting it to fit my needs as I don't need 1/2 of the floor, just the side bits... or I will find and pay someone to do the surgery for me.

Hope those photobucket links work now.
Thanks for all the great advice ;-)

You can use the imaging tools in photobucket to the right of the individual photos, or you can copy the URL of photo itself(address will end in ".jpg") using the insert image button in the tool bar above the forum message window.
Here ya go:






The way the fender looks pushed up and forward in that first photo looks scary bad. Maybe it's just the angle the photo was shot from. Is the load floor buckled or warped? If that happened to my baby, I'd bite the bullet and take it somewhere with a frame rack and have the whole thing checked/pulled straight before any other work.
Front end doesn't look so bad. The frame horns are probably bent around the bumper mounts, but that can be fixed with a BFH, They might be pushed back a little. Doesn't really matter, with the damage to the rear, I'd just have the guys straighten the front while checking/fixing the rear.

The gap between the tire and rear of the rear wheelwell on the rt side has always been 1" smaller than the right. I expect at some point in the past, someone backed into something low and immoveable and pushed it in and up. I'll try to fix all that too when I replace the RR panel.

Well, I spent 3hr on it today before the rain set in and managed to pull the RR fender off. All of the front mounting bits (behind/alongside the headlight were crushed together and it took most of the last hour to pry it apart far enough (with a 1/2wide, squareshank flat-tip) to get a torx bit on the screws and back em out a tad.. then I reinserted the BFS under the loose washers and used it as a prybar against the opposite side - Cheap wood-handle cracked, but the 'tang' goes clear thru the handle so I'll just wrap it with something... 12' of SS wire and call it fixed. Once the gap was big enough/had the proper angle, I got in there with a pair of duckbill Vise Grips and backed the bolts out and repeated the prybar process again. After 3x, it was spread and all bolts were out.

You are also right about the bits south of the grille and bumper. All are all bent out of shape. The Vacuum canister and horn are busted too - but the horn still works. I think the Vacuum cannister is part of the braking system? Looks odd, but no doubt a Critical Item(?) Anyway, I def. need one.

Later on today, when the rain lets up, I'll attack the front Bumper and try to get it off the car. Looks like #45 or #60 Torx-bolts through the "A" shaped mounts hold it to the body. I'll need to remember to take a 2 or 3' long 3/8 extension to reach back in there and get em loose ;-)

The 'inner-fenders/liners' on both sides are are all trashed too, so will have to pick up some replacements before I put the new fenders on, which happily already have the flares. Will use 2 to 2 1/2" or larger fender washers for when I put it back together.

No doubt I'll have to remove and straighten the bent bits first so the fenders and new grille-mount will attach properly. Will use a hardwood block and a 2x4 (with a largish hammer) for that.

New pictures will be posted.
The RF fender is gone!

Fender Removal1: http://s1210.photobucket.com/albums/cc414/Steevej/?action=view&current=Going2.jpg
Fender Removal2: http://s1210.photobucket.com/albums/cc414/Steevej/?action=view&current=Gone.jpg
New RR Panel, Window and Floorpan Piece (1/4 of Jeep(!) on top of a Jeep):http://s1210.photobucket.com/albums/cc414/Steevej/?action=view&current=NewRRearLoaded.jpg

That's all for now.

Quite a project. Might be a lot easier to cut the old bumper off just outboard of the mounts with a cutoff wheel/grinder combo rather then trying to get under to get at the mounts.

The teal XJ parts runner is pretty :thumbup:

Thanks.. We all love the Teal... Nicknamed 'er Zulie (Spanish twist on Azul - Blue)

Those Canyon wheels cost me next to nothing - bought 'em as a set (4) 3yr ago from an oilrigger in N. Denver. He'd pulled em off a Wrangler or GCherokee and let them sit for 8yrs(!) in the corner of the garage after lifting his ride and slapping 30's on it.

DOT datecodes prevent any repairs on the tires themselves - so I'll be replacing them soon as well. The only fault on Zulie is some (darnit) lower Right Rear QP bash-in between wheel and bumper cap. Strictly 'visual'

OK.. Back to 'Emmie'. I hooked up a 30' tow strap to each end of the bumper, and snatched it using Zulie in 4wdLow, then got a beefy 1/2drive 5/8 or 9/16 socket on those 6 bolts and backed em out. Mounts are shot. All of the thin sheetmetal angles, braces and struts south of the bumper are shot too - beyond any reasonable straightening and re-use, and the radiator plastic end piece has a 4" crack so it's gone too. The Fan runs clear of the Rad. so it didn't get bashed back too far and if I can just remove and replace ALL the metal that goes from one side of the Jeep to the other, behind and above the bumper and lighting, I should be OK. No bends or cracks in the frame that I can see. Haven't pulled the other Fender off yet b/c I gotta pry the sheetmetal apart where the screws hold the front bit to the metal adjacent to the headlight, and the 2 1" long studs that hold the Grill mount and all bent sideways too... the piece the fenders screw into is a 90deg angle about 10" long (like the other side, and all smashed together. She hit the wall with the front while sliding sideways at ~45mph so the damage is more restricted to the first 4-6" of the nose. Kind of a bump and swipe. Today I just wanted that bumper off.

So where can I get all that sheetmetal in one nice piece? Does anyone have it?
If not, I'll be visiting a JY during my free time this next week

Forgot the camera.. will take and post new pics tomorrow

OK, found a Radiator Support and a Radiator Upper bar on the rockauto parts site that looks like it 'might' be what I need. I'm going back over to have another look in the daylight, take some more pics to see if that's all I need... and come back home and start calling around to see who might have them avail locally.

S.

Here's the pics promised ~1wk ago. Long 10hr workdays and rainy weather kept me away.
Code:<<http://s1210.photobucket.com/albums/cc414/Steevej/Jeep%20Repair/>>

Repairs are underway, sraightening bent metal where I can and eventually wil get it all put right, but need a radiator, fan shroud, E. Fan assy (Mine's cracked). Will probably just weld an angle Iron on where the Drv Side bumper mount was - no way I know to pull that out again...

With the right parts and a bit of work/welding/hammering ;-) I should have the frontend incl fenders, grille, hood (ex bumper) back on it by Sunday.

UPDATE:
Bought and installed a new radiator today ;-)
We're getting there...