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how to remove grill and fender

Ripcity

Full Member
Joined
Jan 31, 2008
Messages
220
Loc.
Coos Bay, OR
I actually know how to do it my problem is the bolts holding the grill to the fender are so rusty that during removal the clips that they bolt into broke and now the bolt just spins with the clip on the back. Any tricks on how to get them out? I did use my saws all for the one I can reach but as you know the other ones are up high in a tight spot. Any ideas?
 

cgbexec

Bronco Guru
Joined
Sep 19, 2006
Messages
2,071
Loc.
Naples, FL
You need Vice Grips & needle nose vice grips to grab the broken sections of the clips. Soak the bolts in a some type of penetrant oil the night before. You also need a cordless drill (bigger the better) with a socket driver. Vice grip the broken clip and hold tight. Put the drill on the bolt in reverse and hang on. This should get 90% of the broken clips. For the other 10% I used a sawzall where I could get the panels apart far enough to cut the bolt. In one case I had to use a hack saw blade by hand to get a bolt. It took forever, but it worked. For the bolts that hold the aft section of the fenders to the door frame, I used a small butane torch to heat them and an impact driver. Everyone came out just fine.
 

Wyflyer

Bronco Guru
Joined
Apr 1, 2008
Messages
2,920
Yep, i learned the hard way.
For now, leave the fenders bolted to the grill.

Take the radiator out (so you don't smack a hole in the core) remove the two front bolts that hold the radiator support/grill to the frame. The rubber body mounts.
Unhook the headlight/park light wiring.
Remove/cut/grind the three bolts holding the fender to the inner fender on each side. They are at the very front of the inner fender, about even with the radiator. You will have to pull the battery out to get to the passenger side ones.
Then remove the row of bolts that bolt the top of the fender to the inner fender lip, from the grill all the way back to the firewall.
Remove the three big phillips screws holding the fender to each door post.
Underneath the fender, front and rear are some braces that support the bottom fender lips. remove them too.
Have I missed anything? this should let you lift the entire front clip (fender and grill) off as a unit.
Once you get it off and laying in the floor you can get to all the other bolts easier.
 

Scrapper_MV

Sr. Member
Joined
Dec 14, 2006
Messages
948
I recently bought one of these;

http://www.makita.com/en-us/Modules/Tools/ToolDetails.aspx?ID=24056

And I love it! It makes short work of stuck fasteners with out stripping the head out. And it drives wood screws very well, drills holes better and the battery lasts a long time. This is my new favorite tool. If you could get a pair of vice grips on that broken clip, I'm sure it would remove the rusty bolt quickly and easily.

I have another cordless drill that is not an impact type, and it never sees the light of day any more. Get yourself a cordless impact driver, you will love it.
 

tk1218

Bronco Guru
Joined
Nov 23, 2008
Messages
1,067
Loc.
Flower Mound
Ditto to what recoiljunky said. Easy solution if you are not reusing fenders, just cut the fenders until you get access to cut the bolts out.
 

Johnny

Sr. Member
Joined
Feb 26, 2008
Messages
501
I've found over the years that a car crusher works great for bolts that don't want to come out....
 

Doyle

Bronco Guru
Joined
Jun 12, 2006
Messages
1,015
Went thru this recently myself. Removing the whole front clip as a unit is what I ended up doing. After you get it off, flip it upside down. This makes getting to those bolts easier. Good luck.+
 

turleydog

New Member
Joined
Feb 20, 2013
Messages
18
Three of the clips on mine broke and the screws started to spin just like you mentioned. Luckily, I was able to get a few turns on them before they broke. Using a pybar, I was able to get just enough of a gap to slide a Sawzall blade in there and cut them off.
 

Timmy390

Bronco Guru
Joined
Jan 1, 2011
Messages
5,609
Loc.
Conway, AR
just had my PS finder off. Liek all the others several clips broke. I was lucky and the ones that broke could be reached with a cutoff wheel.

Tim
 
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