How hard is it to take off my front bumper to find out why it doesn't sit flush around the lights? I am not sure what is causingthis but I am going to get the chipping paint bumper repainted so I figured I'd also take it off and find out why it doesn't fit right. Also, I just got hit and run the other day and got my driver side door and fender mashed up. The door dent can be fixed, but I need a new fender. How hard is it to replace the fender. Futhermore, what new parts would I need to order to do these things. If I do both of these things myself I can just have the body shop fix the door and do the painting, thus I will save a ton of money. One last question, if the bumper is chippig should i buy a new bumper or can the shop sand it down and repaint for cheaper than buying new?

Thanks

 

we have a DIY showing all the bolts and everywhere that is needed to be taken off for the bumper to come off.

fenders are cheap, around 160 on ebay. 97 to 01 front fenders are all the same, dont let anyone try and tell you they are different. trust me, i have and had to try really hard not to laugh in their face even when i had the fender next to the one on the car.

the bumper is no big deal for the body shop as well in terms of the chipped paint.

ask the body shop what you can do for them to make it cheaper. in this instance there might not be much except for the removal of the bumper for painting.

 

if your headlights dont sit right your radiator support is probably bent...

 

Great tip. I'm not sure if it is the headlights or something else causing the bumper to have a small gap between the headlights. Also, the corner lens on the passenger side does not fit properly. I think that the car was in a wreck before I bought it, so it may have had a new radiator installed. If what the poster before this post suggested, is it expensive or hard to fix the radiator support. What else could be causing this. I need to start looking into it before I take off the bumper so I have some ideas of how to fix it.

Thanks

 

In simplest words... You DO NOT want to get yourself waist deep in a rad support project, especially on these cars

 

^^ thats sort of a matter of opinion, it's not necessarily a nightmare. Are you sure the bumper isnt just missing the headlight gaskets?

 

Fender = bolts

Rad. Support = hundred spot welds