gregwils

Someone (wife) backed into my car and the drivers side fender was dented/damaged bad enough that the fender needs replaced. Before anyone dumps on her, the car was not parked where it normally was parked and the car is outside, because I have an old porsche parked in the other garage spot. We both share in the blame.

I found an undamaged fender in the same factory color at a junk yard for $165 plus shipping. I am thinking a DIY repair for less than $200 is better than paying my $500 deductable, or paying the entire cost out of pocket to avoid a recordable incident on my insurance.

I don't have a service manaual yet for the TSX, but was hoping that someone who did might be able to verify there are no welds on the front fender. I have seen skematic drawings which show six bolts attaching the fender to the body. Three on top along the hood line, one near the door hinges, one at the bottom behind the wheel and covered by the rocker panel cover and the last one in front of the wheel.

If anyone has a service manual handy and do a quick read of the installation/removal process for the fender, I would really appreciate it. If you have a scanner and could send me the document, that would be awesome. Thanks.

Audioserf

Do a search for a DIY installation of the J's Racing fender braces. While they didn't remove the fender (I don't think) you may be able to get a better look at the underbody of the fender area.

And something else to consider: part of what you would be paying the bodyshop to do is blend the paint to match the rest of the car. The paint on the new fender will be brand new while the paint on the rest of the front end of the car will be somewhat faded over the years (assuming it's not a brand-new TSX). It will look slightly off.

Good luck!

WICKEDFX

Sorry no manuel, but this fix is a lot easier than you could imagine. Just take off the bumper, theres 1 bolt. pop the hood and there's 3 more. Open your door half way, theres 1 more. Then unscrew the front of your side skirt (you don't need to completely remove it) There's the last one. Very easy to do.

dimskees

guys, i know this thread is sorta old but i wonder if anyone can help.

my 2007 tsx was in the accident and the fender got messed up. i ordered the fender but it came in labeled year 04-on. I know that it is considered the first generation so, technically it should fit. However, there were some changes made in years 06-08.

can someone tell me if the fender was altered in anyway in the 06-08 tsx, that having this 04 fender on my 07 will make it look "cheap "? THANKS IN ADVANCE

Rocket_man

You mean the front quarter panel I assume, not the front bumper cover? I don't think there was any change to the front quarter panel in the 06 MMC. I'm not sure about the front bumper cover. I think there may have been cosmetic changes around the fog lights. But don't quote me on that.

boone7

Sorry but WickedFX made it sound a lot easier than it is.

Here is a quick overview:

- Remove bumper
- Remove headlight
- Remove bolt near windshield
- Remove bolts and clips in door jam
- Remove sideskirt

And longer version

- Remove plastic panel covering top of radiator (all clips)
- Remove clips and 4 bolts that fasten the bottom of the bumper to the rest of the plastic underneath your car
- Remove angled screw in wheel well closest to front of car to unfasten bumper
- Pull the bumper until its clips release; main clips are directly under the headlights, smaller clips closer to the wheel well; pull out from part closest to wheel well, followed by under headlight then pull top part of bumper upward and swing bottom part out away from car
- Remove plastic that runs along the inside of the fender within the hood; this reveals 2-3 more bolts that need to be removed
- Remove the headlights; One bolt on top, one bolt on the side near where the bumper meets the fender, one bolt recessed under the headlight about one third of the way across the headlight's from center of car; unplug the four harnesses leading to the individual bulbs in the headlight assembly
- The bolt by the windshield is tricky. I broke a clip holding on the strip that runs up along the side of the windshield. You have to pry the plastic piece that surrounds the wipers up so that you can pull the strip up and out of the way, revealing a bolt near the hood bracket. Mine was covered in dirt/mud/pine needles. Be gentle with all of this and pay attention to the clip on that windshield strip.
- Remove all of the clips and screws along the inner fender; these go into - you guess it - the fender
- Remove the bolt and two flat clips in the door jam; the bolt faces outward from the car (top of the door jam) and can be got to with a skinny extension with the door open, but be careful not to gouge your door, or fender when putting back in. If you have ratcheting box end wrench, all the better.
- Remove the side skirt; 3-4 clips and one bolt hold it on. It also has a screw in the front wheel well and 3 in the read wheel well. Once those are removed, try to slide the skirt toward the rear of the car. This should pop the clips out the correct way, as it is designed to do this. You will see what I mean.
- Install the new fender. This will take plenty of adjustment, especially with aftermarket. I had to manually bend several spots with pliers to even get the damn thing in there. The downside is that you have to fasten in virtually all areas before you can tell if its properly fitted, including closing the hood. Take your time on this part as its PITA to do this whole process again.

Reinstallation

- For the skirts, rotate the clips and pull them out of the metal on the body and slide them into the slots on the inside of the side skirt. Pay attention to their orientation, so that they will pop back into the metal slots. You will still need to slide in the front of the skirt and possibly the rear too. The skirts were a PITA for me as I had little room to work and I was trying to 'slide back forward' like a dumb ass. Do the clips like I mention above and save yourself some time and grief.
- The lights go in easy but pay attention to the nub toward the rear of the car that mounts into the fender.
- Bumper can be a pain, be sure nothing is obstructing it on the bottom, it should go over the other plastic pieces. There is a plastic piece that doesnt come with your new fender that helps mount the bumper. It has a couple of clips that pop into the fender near where it meets the bumper and two screws faster it in place. Also when popping the clips back in, make sure the little tabs under the headlight are over the bumper plastic, otherwise they can obstruct you from pushing the bumper in to have the clips pop in place on their little ridges.

There is probably more that I am not thinking of but you get the idea. It took me about 4 hours but if I had a proper write-up and tools I could have done it in maybe 2 or less, including proper fitting.