Car accident, fender replacement

[Insaniac]

Hello everyone,

I wish my first post here was under better circumstances, but it ain't. I was in a car accident a few days ago. It's a 97 Toyota Camry CE. Nothing too bad, no injuries or anything, but there is substantial damage to the front end of the car.

I have already payed for a new fender and bumper with paint. My main concern is getting the driver-side fender on. I've been looking over it, and it appears to be pretty much a bolt on thing, am I correct? I plan on doing this myself to save money on labor costs, so I was wondering if there's any info, tips, or whatever you guys can give me about doing this. Secret bolts, some sort of clips, you know, something I might not notice until I get into it which may cause some problems.

thanks alot!

[LynchburgCSI]

I'd look over the FSM (full service manual) for the car. It should help A LOT. Check your PMs in a sec.

[DM616]

Let me know how it goes, I have a bumper sitting in my garage waiting to be painted and put on

[rusty9]

lol, toyota sees fit to use 16 bolts to hold the fender on. good luck finding them all!

[Insaniac]

LynchburgCSI, i checked my PMs but I haven't received anything.

Yeah, finding all the bolts is the part that has made me slightly worried, but I believe I should be able to find them, especially when I get the fender cuz I should be able to see all the holes.

DM616, the front bumper cover is pretty easy, there should be 2 bolts on the top when you open the hood, and a plastic clip in the middle. There are two more bolts, 1 in each corner connecting to the fender. Then besides that there should be some sort of clips with screws on the very bottom to hold on the splash shield. If I remember there was either 2 or 3 per side.

[rusty9]

its not that bad, once you get the wheel well liner out, you'll see them all.

[LynchburgCSI]

Sent again.

[Mister_Perkins]

Yeah there is a ton of bolts holding the fenders on!

When you put that fender on make sure to line it up right between the door and the fender before tightening it down. If its mis-aligned your gonna crunch the fender with the door

[Deadly Sushi]

Actually once you get the NEW fender, you will see where all the bolts holes are at

[Insaniac]

Thanks alot guys. The deed is done, super easy and finished in less than 20 mins. Only like 7 bolts to undo, hardest part was getting the clips out of the fender liner which only took a few minutes. Don't pay the enormous fees of body shops if you don't have to! Most things can easily be done by yourself.