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Door hitting fender

G

GTPNovak

New member
GTP coupe drivers door hits fender when opening the door. Fender is bent now. Researched the fix, ordered the Dorman 38490 hinge pin kit and installed it. unfortunately it did not help.

I tried shims and it helped but kinda at a loss for why it is still hitting. Door shuts fine looks lined up. Wondering if because the fender bent is why it is still hitting i bent it back out but maybe it just wasn't enough. Guess i need to adjust the fender next?

Any advice from others who had this issue?
 


I am NO bodyman..That said, don't rip on me for this. Don't do this if you super care about your super paint job.
1.) Open door past point of interference.
2.) Insert thin semi crushable disposable item. (wood paint stir stick)
3.) Gently move door so as to pinch stick and thus slightly bend fender out/ curl edge of door in.
4.) Open door and move stick up/down and repeat step 3.
5.) Remove stick and check fitment. If needed repeat steps 1 thru 4, possibly with thicker stick.
 
I'm no bodyman by any stretch of the imagination, but when I had this issue on another car, all I had to do was open the door all the way, stuck my plastic ended hammer on the backside of the fender and gently pulled on it, starting from about the middle of the fender and worked my way down. Little by little it finally came out w/o damaging the paint, door, or the fender, and actually pulled most of the dent from the fender too. Just get the edge of the fender a touch past the outside of the door edge or you might get wind noise as the door edge would catch it (kinda like a scoop).
 
One additional item i for got to add was i had the car supported on jack stand on the pinch welds doing some work and lowered the rear of the sub frame for a sway bar swap and header install.

I re bolted the sub frame on when the car was still in the air. Should i loosen it and re tighten with all 4 wheels on the ground, or would this not matter.
 
That should not matter. If the bottom edge of the fender is bent from lifting, that could be the cause. The mounting point halfway up the rear of the fender (must remove splash shield and wind stop for access) controls the in and out at the back of the fender. These fenders are notorious for hitting the door and it's due to super flimsy construction at mounting points. I have had best luck straightening these weak areas with fender removed. But there are complications in removing the fender such as it's spot welded to the hood hinge, and riveted to the rocker molding retainer. I am a bodyman but just leave dents and scratches as long as the door doesn't rub (on my personal GPs).
 


idrivejunk said:
That should not matter. If the bottom edge of the fender is bent from lifting, that could be the cause. The mounting point halfway up the rear of the fender (must remove splash shield and wind stop for access) controls the in and out at the back of the fender. These fenders are notorious for hitting the door and it's due to super flimsy construction at mounting points. I have had best luck straightening these weak areas with fender removed. But there are complications in removing the fender such as it's spot welded to the hood hinge, and riveted to the rocker molding retainer. I am a bodyman but just leave dents and scratches as long as the door doesn't rub (on my personal GPs).
Click to expand...


Thanks i was able to follow part of the fender removal you posted and then work the fender back out. Only problem i ran into was the rear lower bolt on the pinch weld broke off first turn. But the door opens and closes without hitting now.
 
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