WWGRMD: collision made door rub fender

The bottom front corner of my truck’s front door rubs very slightly on the fender. It had a minor left front collision prior to my ownership. I know that because I “fixed it” after buying, but all I fixed was the bumper cover. I know the fender alignment at the headlight is slightly imperfect. Old truck...

my question: is fender adjustment a DIY job?  Note the panel gap between driver door and front fender tightens from “good” at the top to “none” at the bottom:

Bottom corner of door rubs every time the door opens.  Door closed:

Door open:

Slight body misalignment at headlight:

would this thingamabob work. pricey for one job. 

I do like anything that can be solved with a “monkey on a stick“

Are you sure the  door hinge isn’t worn? 

My guess is that you have a slight bend  in the frame just behind the front wheel.  The frame wants to be pulled straight down.

Might be worth the $$ to take it to a shop and have the frame checked and or adjusted.

The alignment of the fender to the front giblets also agrees with my guess.

Pete 

The portion of the fender between the wheelwell and the door has rolled back a bit.  You need to roll that portion of the fender clockwise, which will open the gap at the door.  Open the door, put a thick shingle or similar into the gap, and gently close the door.  Pull the shingle, check gap, repeat with a bit more weight on the door until the fender moves.  Don't get too brutal, and be careful not to bend the front lip of the door.  You can see which portion is moving.

If that doesn't do it, start unbolting the fender until it does.

Streetwiseguy said:

The portion of the fender between the wheelwell and the door has rolled back a bit.  You need to roll that portion of the fender clockwise, which will open the gap at the door.  Open the door, put a thick shingle or similar into the gap, and gently close the door.  Pull the shingle, check gap, repeat with a bit more weight on the door until the fender moves.  Don't get too brutal, and be careful not to bend the front lip of the door.  You can see which portion is moving.

If that doesn't do it, start unbolting the fender until it does.

I will give this a try. I also picked up a service manual that probably will say how to unbolt the fender. Thx

rustybugkiller said:

Are you sure the  door hinge isn’t worn? 

Not sure at all. Everything else about it is quite worn. 

NOHOME said:

My guess is that you have a slight bend  in the frame just behind the front wheel.  The frame wants to be pulled straight down.

Might be worth the $$ to take it to a shop and have the frame checked and or adjusted.

The alignment of the fender to the front giblets also agrees with my guess.

 

Pete 

Does this pre-bumper cover replacement  photo of the hit damage (that I am aware of) look consistent with the door pinching?

Fenders are usually mounted with bolts or screws through oversized holes. Loosen the bolts, adjust fender, tighten bolts. 

That said, if it was mine, I would probably stick a wood shim in the crack with the door shut and open the door. That might just open the gap enough to stop it from rubbing. 

I highly doubt the frame is bent. I’ve had a couple of cars with similar interference and a little not so gentle massaging usually got the fender to clear the door. I’ve used thin lumber, padded prybars, whatever fits in there that I can get some leverage on without damaging the door. It helps that I didn’t care too much about the cosmetics. 

I think it just pushed the fender back.  Frame is possible, but that looks pretty gentle.

I highly doubt it's a frame issue.  Good suggestions above.

Streetwiseguy said:

I think it just pushed the fender back.  Frame is possible, but that looks pretty gentle.

I’ll try to loosen the fender and wedge it.

I’m a little bit wondering if the accident damage I showed above was not the bump that caused the door to pinch...  a lot could have happened in twelve years and 250k miles. 

You should have enough adjustment in the fender bolts to get that out.

I’m back to report success. I loosened all the fender bolts and used a crowbar to get it adjusted to a proper gap. All done except for some touch up paint. You can see where the door had been rubbing every time it opened. 

Thanks everybody for the words. .