DIY Fender Rolling w/Tool

[wastedonanime]

Dropped my E to a fairly low setting with the Teins on Monday just to see what it would be like. Tonight I heard that awful but famillar sound of the tire rubbing against something. I got out to find that three of the clips have been ripped out and some minor scarring on my tires. It's an old story and the answer is fender rolling/cutting. For my wheel/tire size, it seems like a viable option after evaluating the contact points on the tire. It comes down to a DIY project or take it to a shop. I've read people using all kinds of 'techniques' including wedging a baseball bat into the well while slowly moving the car. Didn't sound appealing so I decided to go the DIY route and came across a tool which will make it a bit easier, more 'professional' and will cost the same or less than taking it to a local shop here.

It will be here by next week and I'll have some pictures up. The procedure is going to look like:

1. Remove the rear quarter panel pieces (being an EX-P)
2. Jack the rear of the E onto stands.
3. Remove the rear wheels.
4. Fender roll both sides.
5. Fit the q.panel pieces back on, trim away the excess plastic and sand the edges smooth.
6. Put it all back together and properly torque the lugs to specification.

To be continued in 8 days.


---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Eight days later.


Ok ladies and gentlemen: here's how it went down.

Preparation: Tools Needed

• Two Ton Jack
• Pair of Jackstands
• Socket Wrench w/extension & 10mm Socket
• Smallish medium-sized head flathead screwdriver
• Medium Phillipshead screwdriver
• Tire Iron
• Fender Rolling Tool
• Dremel w/cutting attachment & cylindrical sanding attachment (optionally a hacksaw and a pack of rough sandpaper)
• Durable Paint (to replace chipped paint) or a Heat Gun
• Torque Wrench*

*optional - for proper lug nut reapplication



Step 1: Jacking the Car Up & Removing the Wheels
For those of you who are inexperienced with changing tires, there is a procedure which I will run though quickly.

1. Park the car on level ground. If you have a MT, place it into first gear. Optionally you can use blocks infront of the wheels to ensure it won't go anywhere. Pull the E-brake up. Loosen all the lug nuts on the wheels that are going to be removed. Just release the tension so they are loose after the car is jacked up. In this case, do it for all 10 rear lug nuts. Start with any lug and continue in a star pattern ensuring that the lug you were previously working on is not adjacent to the one that you are currently on. If you need a point of reference, draw a 5 point star where the lines intersect. Follow that pattern.

2. Jack the car up so the wheels are at least an inch off the ground. The jack point I used is the rear axle -there is a bar where the rear strut bars connect to. Jack it in the center so you can insert the jackstands on either side. Slide the jackstands underneath so they will contact symmetrical points. Lift the stands as high as they will go. Slowly lower the car until it is resting on the stands. If the wheels are not touching the ground at this point, it is good and you can continue. Raise the jack back up so it is assisting the jackstands with supporting the weight.



3. With the car securely in place, remove the lug nuts following the star pattern and take the wheels off. If you have aftermarket wheels, make sure the hubcentric ring does not come out. If it does, make sure you take note of which direction it is supposed to face.

Step 2: Removing the Rear Quarter Panel Pieces
It helps to have a service manual for this part, but I'll try to explain as best as I can.

Driver's Side Only:
Open the gas cover. With your 10mm socket wrench & extension, remove the two silver colored bolts which will allow you to completely remove the cover. Either unscrew the cap or disconnect the tether by pulling the clip out with your flathead screwdriver.



1. Under the wheel well, you must remove 4 clips and 4 screws on each side. The 4 screws which you have to remove are 2 towards the front and two towards the rear immediately following the clips. If you're considering doing this mod, then chances are most of your clips have been ripped out already. I found 3/8 left after two weeks w/the new ride height. Clips are like every other clip (like the ones found under the hood holding the radiator cover). Insert the flathead into the center portion, pop it out then remove the entire clip. The screws are phillipshead screws.



2. Open the tailgate. Locate two bolts (which are clearly a part of the rear quarter panel) under the rear tailights on each side. Remove with your 10mm socket wrench. There are 4 total.



3. Open the suicide door. The plastic where the hinge is - unscrew the clip and physically pull the cover off. There are three clips holding the quarter panel on in this area. either pull gently to pop the clips out or consult the service manual on how the piece can be slid off the clips. In the end I popped these clips out to reapply it anyway...



4. There is a series of 6 clips stretching across the top of the Q.P. which is the primary support holding it on. These clips are VERY hard to pull out. In order to get the piece off initially, I loosened all the other pieces and lifted upward to free it from the bracket. Be careful not to scratch the paint above or scratch the Q.P. paint from the rear door. Once it becomes free, you'll have to carefully maneuver the piece off w/the suicide door. I advise you have a second person available so they can position the door optimally to reduce damage to the paint (assuming you have an EX-P or painted your own panels).

[wastedonanime]

Step 3: Rolling the Metal

It's pretty self explanatory. You can look up videos on how people did it. Mount the roller tool and secure it with 4 lug nuts. Have the second person disengage the E-brake and adjust the tool accordingly. The only things I can really note here are two things:
--A. For some reason the front 1/3 of the fender absolutely refuses to roll. I've tried nearly everything and was unsuccessful in rolling it like the rest. Why I'm not sure and it is this reason why I am inclined to say take it to a shop to have them just cut it all off but, there seems to be enough clearance so it's worth a shot.
--B. The wheel well is not a perfect semi-circle. The tool will end up coming up short towards the rear and will be too-forward on the front. Basically, you will have a harder time rolling the front (aside from what I mentioned above) because of the position of the tool. The rear flares out farther than the front . Luckily, the rear rolls very easily.
Re-engage the e-brake when removing/applying the tool. This this the longest part and should not be rushed. Go slowly with steady increases in pressure/positioning. I used 1/4 turns every two full lap passes. If you have a heat gun, you should be heating the paint as you do this so it becomes more pliable and will not chip off. The alternative to this is to get a can of durable paint and coat the area which will become chipped a few times to ensure that it will not rust. Since the area will not affect cosmetic appearance, it does not have to color match. Although, you may want to consider purchasing something which is close.







Step 4: Cutting the Plastic
This plastic cuts very easily. Trim it down accordingly to the amount that you rolled the metal. Keep in mind that if you rolled the fender all the way, cutting the plastic down to nothing is not what you should do. Optionally you can put this step off until reapplication for a more flush look. Sand down the edges for a smooth finish and less chance of gouging your tires in the event rubbing continues. I ended up trimming again after re-assembling the car to get any excess plastic out of the way.



Step 4: Putting the Quarter Panels Back On
Open the suicide door. With a lot of force, push the metal bracket forward (towards the front) so you can take it off the plastic clips. After it is removed, carefully remove each of the 6 plastic white clips w/o breaking them. If you do break any, I would highly suggest you wait to reapply the piece or get some crazy glue and piece it back together. Slide the bracket onto the quarter panel piece. On the backside you will notice a few flaps of plastic hanging down. With the indented arrows pointing up, slide the metal underneath the flaps and have the arrows poke through the rectangle cutouts. When it is in, reapply the plastic clips. You have to insert them vertically, rotate horizontally, then slide it over to lock it into the metal bracket. Pop out the three plastic clips towards the front and reapply them to the inside of the quarter panel if you didn't pop them out together earlier. Carefully slide the piece back on (you'll have to slide the front piece under between the body and the suicide door. Make sure it all lines up, and fit it into place. There is a plastic tab which extends out on the bottom of the Q.P. under the taillight. Make sure it slides into the bumper trim. Push all the clip points in and reinsert the bolts at the tailgate section with your 10mm socket wrench.



Gas Cap:
Put the cap back on and hand tighten the bolts on. Close the cap and adjust it so it is aligned properly (so it looks good). Carefully open it so it does not move and tighten the bolts.



Step 5: Reapplying the Wheels and Lowering the Vehicle
First, re-engage the e-brake. It helps to sit down with your legs out and the wheel in your lap. Line up the holes by eye and slide forward so you can put the wheel back on. Put the lugs back on and hand tighten so the wheel will stay on its own. Raise the jack up so the car is no longer resting on the stands. Drop the stands (push the lever up) and pull them clear of the vehicle. SLOWLY drop the car by releasing the pressure on the jack. This usually involves turning the screw knob with the handle. Slowly apply force until it is freely moving... then slowly drop the vehicle. The more you turn, the more air will be let out and the faster it will drop. Once the car is standing on its own, you can open the valve and release the remaining pressure. Pull the jack out.


Step 5 1/2: Torquing the Lug Nuts
You can do one of two things: over tighten with your tire iron and take it to a shop to properly torque the lugs or use your torque wrench. Set the wrench to 79.6 ft*lbs and tighten in a star pattern. You can do another once over in a circle to ensure they are on tightly.



Step 6: Final Trimming
I used the dremel tool and the cylindrical sandpaper attachment to trim away at the excess plastic. Smoothed out the angles and made sure there were no corners, jagged edges, etc.




Yay! You're done. Now hope and pray you have enough clearance. You may have to adjust your camber to be a bit negative to make the clearance at this point.

[dancetiludrop]

Sounds good! Maybe once you get the tool you can lease it to the rest of us! :D

I'll be keeping an eye out on your DIY!

[perfdata]

That's one expensive tool ($259), you're going to need to have a mini-meet at your garage and do this for other to recoup your investment.

I'd be there if I was an urban guy but out here I need all of the clearance I can get.

[1fastvx]

Im not sure if they do it anymore, but the Tire Rack used to rent those out. Keeps you from having to fork out for the whole cost, but you get to use a quality tool.

John

[wastedonanime]

Originally Posted by dancetiludrop

Sounds good! Maybe once you get the tool you can lease it to the rest of us! :D

Sounds like a plan actually. I guess we can use this thread to start a list and set up a chain mailing to everyone who wants to use it. I'll front the cost of the tool as long as I see it in the end and as long as I don't have to pay for any of the shipping charges to get it to everyone else. : )

[Critical_level2]

I always thought the fender openings of the E were plastic and only teh upper part was metal. Is there actually metal around teh wheel opening behind teh cladding?

[biocube]

my thoughts exactly!

the fenders are plastic. you will have to heat them to get them to deform permanently, i think.

that tool is for metal fenders, no?

[lizzurd]

Originally Posted by Critical_level2

I always thought the fender openings of the E were plastic and only teh upper part was metal. Is there actually metal around teh wheel opening behind teh cladding?

The lower part of the fender does follow the wheel opening....the plastic cladding is supported by clips going into the metal fender.

Post #1 here has a couple of good pics showing this.

http://www.elementownersclub.com/for...light=cladding

[dancetiludrop]

Yep lizzurd's right....it too thought at first that the lip was plastic but behind the plastic is the metal of the fender so it's kinda a double job....roll the metal fender and then cut the plastic cover down to match. The lip is quite large too at least 2" and really is a problem when trying to lower the E.

I posted a link to Burns job he did of it in another thread but I'll post it here too.http://www.elementownersclub.com/for...ad.php?t=35961

Only thing you'll have to be careful of is the plastic now rattling due to no clips holding it down.