Fender removal

Twixboy · 08-11-2015, 09:44 PM

Has anyone removed the front passenger fender? I can see the hex screws in the engine bay, but I'd imagine those are the last screws to remove. There's probably more screws along the bumper, in the wheel well, above the side skirts and by the door hinge as well. Has anyone seen a diagram detailing the locations of the body screws holding the fender in place?

Efthreeoh · 08-13-2015, 05:52 AM

RealOEM helps here...

inTgr8r · 08-13-2015, 06:38 AM

There is a thread by Shipkiller where he removed fenders.
http://www.zpost.com/forums/showthread.php?t=621668

Varinn · 08-13-2015, 03:19 PM

Been there done that, it's not that bad.

Turn the side marker housing counter clockwise and disconnect the wire.

Carefully remove the plastic trim piece that surrounds it (it just unclips and pulls out real simple)

Using a nice ratchet and a couple extensions remove the bolts in the fender near the back (you can see where they are with the door open, inside the door jam). I used a miniature snapon 3/8" with a very tight arc between teeth. It still sucked a bit. With the right setup you can put the ratchet so it swings in the opening from the side marker.

Remove the side-skirt from the bottom of the car, a few push rivets and a couple bolts then slide it back and it unclips. Also need to lift and remove the trim where it goes over it inside the door jam. I remember this being stupid easy to do.

Undo all the push rivets that hold the fender liner to the fender.

Undo the bolts hidden by the side skirt and I think one under the liner.

Grab hold of the front bumper at the corner where it meets the fender, cringe, and pull. It will unclip and pull away, revealing another 10mm (??) bolt near the headlight.

Undo the bolts that run along the top edge of the fender that you were talking about in the first post.

If my memory is right (and this is all by memory, so double check that nothing looks to be missed) the fender can be carefully lifted away.

Removal took me a few minutes longer cause some of the plastic clips on the skirt and front bumper scared me, but despite the loud noises it was all ok. Re-install took realistically 15-20 minutes while being very careful to make sure everything was exactly lined up with the other body panels and nothing was scratched or dinged by tools etc.

EDIT: Looks like I deleted the pictures I took of the car with the fender removed or I'd post them up to show mount points

Twixboy · 08-14-2015, 08:02 AM

Thanks everyone for all the helpful posts. I had a slight mishap with my garage door rail and the body shop wants $1000 to take out a small dent

The paint's scraped down to the metal so I can't take it to a PDR guy. I'm thinking it might be cheaper to either remove it myself and bring it to them to fix/respray, or buy a used one that's already painted jet black. Not sure how a used one will match up color-wise. Is this a bad idea?

08-11-2015, 09:44 PM	#1
Twixboy Captain 124 Rep 904 Posts Drives: '04 Z4 3.0i 6spd Join Date: Mar 2015 Location: MA iTrader: (2)	Fender removal Has anyone removed the front passenger fender? I can see the hex screws in the engine bay, but I'd imagine those are the last screws to remove. There's probably more screws along the bumper, in the wheel well, above the side skirts and by the door hinge as well. Has anyone seen a diagram detailing the locations of the body screws holding the fender in place?
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08-13-2015, 05:52 AM	#2
Efthreeoh General 17303 Rep 18,731 Posts Drives: The E90 + Z4 Coupe & Z3 R'ster Join Date: May 2012 Location: Virginia iTrader: (0)	RealOEM helps here... Attached Images __________________ A manual transmission can be set to "comfort", "sport", and "track" modes simply by the technique and speed at which you shift it; it doesn't need "modes", modes are for manumatics that try to behave like a real 3-pedal manual transmission. If you can money-shift it, it's a manual transmission. "Yeah, but NO ONE puts an automatic trans shift knob on a manual transmission."
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08-13-2015, 06:38 AM	#3
inTgr8r Lieutenant General 2429 Rep 11,667 Posts Drives: M2 Comp Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Toronto iTrader: (10)	There is a thread by Shipkiller where he removed fenders. http://www.zpost.com/forums/showthread.php?t=621668 __________________ '21 M2C Hockenheim Silver '18 718 Cayman S Lava Orange (sold) '13 E92 M3 Santorini Blue (sold) '07 Z4 M Coupe Alpine White (sold)
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08-13-2015, 03:19 PM	#4
Varinn Private First Class 57 Rep 187 Posts Drives: 2007 Z4MC Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: Vancouver, BC, Canada iTrader: (0)	Been there done that, it's not that bad. Turn the side marker housing counter clockwise and disconnect the wire. Carefully remove the plastic trim piece that surrounds it (it just unclips and pulls out real simple) Using a nice ratchet and a couple extensions remove the bolts in the fender near the back (you can see where they are with the door open, inside the door jam). I used a miniature snapon 3/8" with a very tight arc between teeth. It still sucked a bit. With the right setup you can put the ratchet so it swings in the opening from the side marker. Remove the side-skirt from the bottom of the car, a few push rivets and a couple bolts then slide it back and it unclips. Also need to lift and remove the trim where it goes over it inside the door jam. I remember this being stupid easy to do. Undo all the push rivets that hold the fender liner to the fender. Undo the bolts hidden by the side skirt and I think one under the liner. Grab hold of the front bumper at the corner where it meets the fender, cringe, and pull. It will unclip and pull away, revealing another 10mm (??) bolt near the headlight. Undo the bolts that run along the top edge of the fender that you were talking about in the first post. If my memory is right (and this is all by memory, so double check that nothing looks to be missed) the fender can be carefully lifted away. Removal took me a few minutes longer cause some of the plastic clips on the skirt and front bumper scared me, but despite the loud noises it was all ok. Re-install took realistically 15-20 minutes while being very careful to make sure everything was exactly lined up with the other body panels and nothing was scratched or dinged by tools etc. EDIT: Looks like I deleted the pictures I took of the car with the fender removed or I'd post them up to show mount points __________________ 1990 332i 5 speed (OBD2 S52 Swap) 2018 VW Golf R (6spd manual/copper orange metallic) 2008 KTM SuperDuke 990 2007 Z4M Coupe (#1026/1815) SOLD Last edited by Varinn; 08-13-2015 at 03:28 PM..
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08-14-2015, 08:02 AM	#5
Twixboy Captain 124 Rep 904 Posts Drives: '04 Z4 3.0i 6spd Join Date: Mar 2015 Location: MA iTrader: (2)	Thanks everyone for all the helpful posts. I had a slight mishap with my garage door rail and the body shop wants $1000 to take out a small dent The paint's scraped down to the metal so I can't take it to a PDR guy. I'm thinking it might be cheaper to either remove it myself and bring it to them to fix/respray, or buy a used one that's already painted jet black. Not sure how a used one will match up color-wise. Is this a bad idea?
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