Uneven fender panel gaps = accident damage? Or am I being paranoid?
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Newbie
Joined: Feb 2021
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From: Dublin
Uneven fender panel gaps = accident damage? Or am I being paranoid?
Hey fellas.
I've had my FD for a few months now and I've just noticed that my right fender is slightly misaligned.
- The hood to fender gap is wider on the right side
- The door juts out compared to the fender slightly (the bit I've circled in red in my images)
here are some photos: https://imgur.com/a/YyiCNze
maybe doesn't look so bad in pictures but you can definitely notice it in person.
In comparison, all the gaps around the left fender are pretty damn perfect.
Would this bug you guys too or am I just being a little paranoid b*tch? Lol
Kind of annoyed I didn't notice this when I bought the car...
Could it have frame damage or do you guys think it's just a badly installed fender?
I've had my FD for a few months now and I've just noticed that my right fender is slightly misaligned.
- The hood to fender gap is wider on the right side
- The door juts out compared to the fender slightly (the bit I've circled in red in my images)
here are some photos: https://imgur.com/a/YyiCNze
maybe doesn't look so bad in pictures but you can definitely notice it in person.
In comparison, all the gaps around the left fender are pretty damn perfect.
Would this bug you guys too or am I just being a little paranoid b*tch? Lol
Kind of annoyed I didn't notice this when I bought the car...
Could it have frame damage or do you guys think it's just a badly installed fender?
The gaps from the factory would have been spot on. These cars have all been around a while (close on 30 years) and a lot can happen. Could have been a minor fender bender and they didn't do a good job bolting it back on.
There's quite a bit of slop to play with if you loosen the fender bolts. You can see if you can get it better.
Dale
There's quite a bit of slop to play with if you loosen the fender bolts. You can see if you can get it better.
Dale
Thread Starter
Newbie
Joined: Feb 2021
Posts: 4
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From: Dublin
The gaps from the factory would have been spot on. These cars have all been around a while (close on 30 years) and a lot can happen. Could have been a minor fender bender and they didn't do a good job bolting it back on.
There's quite a bit of slop to play with if you loosen the fender bolts. You can see if you can get it better.
Dale
There's quite a bit of slop to play with if you loosen the fender bolts. You can see if you can get it better.
Dale
I was actually just flicking through the factory service manual and couldn't find anything relating to fender removal (or maybe I'm blind).
i haven't really adjusted bodywork before:
should i loosen just the ones on top of the fender, under the fender near the jack points and the one behind the door?
or should i do all of them including the ones that attach to the bumper?
thanks.
Rotary Freak
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 1,679
Likes: 288
From: sydney
Very easy to chip the paint on the leading edge of the door skin adjusting the front guard. About the only "tricky" fastener is the one up the top of the trailing edge of the guard - door has to be open to access. Did I mention it's very easy to chip paint as the door opens and closes if you don't get this right!
The bodywork manual has the diagonals which you can measure for accident damage. I've got a jpg of all the engine bay measurements on a hard drive somewhere, but pretty sure it came from here in the dim past.
The bodywork manual has the diagonals which you can measure for accident damage. I've got a jpg of all the engine bay measurements on a hard drive somewhere, but pretty sure it came from here in the dim past.
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 31,859
Likes: 3,243
From: https://www2.mazda.com/en/100th/
Body shop manual is here http://foxed.ca/rx7manual/manuals/FD...p%20manual.pdf
with the fenders there are a couple of clues to see if they have been off/replaced. the first is that there are holes in the body and holes in the fender to align the fender, and these were covered with tape before paint (its oval in 1993-1994, and square 1995+). they used these holes ate the factory, if everything is new, you can align the holes (11mm deep socket works pretty well), and tighten the fender down and its good. if everything is not new, its a good place to start.
second clue is the undercoating, it is on the bottom of the car, and it should have a crisp line and go all the way around on the sheet metal.
How to Line everything up:
Tools: you need a 10mm socket, if you need to move the fender the had to get nut needs a really long extension.
you also need a way to measure the gaps, you can buy these or i have a couple section of shingles, its a tapered piece of wood, and i just cut out the part that fits.
Step One: is to get a piece of paper, and make a quick drawing of the gaps,
Step Two: is to measure the gaps. the fenders and hood can move, so you need to see what needs to move where. if you measure first it kind of tells you what and how much you need to move.
Step Three: If the fender has been off before, and the alignment holes are exposed, i will align the fender using these holes to start with. if the fender hasn't been off, then i will leave it. just snug up the bolts for now, you might end up moving stuff more than once
Step Four: the first gap to adjust is the fender to door gap. this lets you set the first gap to something that doesn't move. you stick the shim in the gap, and just push the fender back... very easy.
Step Five: is to align the front of the fender, if the headlights haven't moved, these are nice to use. if they have you're a little on you own.
Step Six: is to measure again and then move the hood.
Step Seven: is to measure all the gaps again, and tweak as needed.
i've noticed that an even gap is more important than having it spot on. Your eye is also pretty sensitive, the gap can be in spec (4.5mm +/-1mm), but your eye can see a 1mm difference, and its pretty obvious.
with the fenders there are a couple of clues to see if they have been off/replaced. the first is that there are holes in the body and holes in the fender to align the fender, and these were covered with tape before paint (its oval in 1993-1994, and square 1995+). they used these holes ate the factory, if everything is new, you can align the holes (11mm deep socket works pretty well), and tighten the fender down and its good. if everything is not new, its a good place to start.
second clue is the undercoating, it is on the bottom of the car, and it should have a crisp line and go all the way around on the sheet metal.
How to Line everything up:
Tools: you need a 10mm socket, if you need to move the fender the had to get nut needs a really long extension.
you also need a way to measure the gaps, you can buy these or i have a couple section of shingles, its a tapered piece of wood, and i just cut out the part that fits.
Step One: is to get a piece of paper, and make a quick drawing of the gaps,
Step Two: is to measure the gaps. the fenders and hood can move, so you need to see what needs to move where. if you measure first it kind of tells you what and how much you need to move.
Step Three: If the fender has been off before, and the alignment holes are exposed, i will align the fender using these holes to start with. if the fender hasn't been off, then i will leave it. just snug up the bolts for now, you might end up moving stuff more than once
Step Four: the first gap to adjust is the fender to door gap. this lets you set the first gap to something that doesn't move. you stick the shim in the gap, and just push the fender back... very easy.
Step Five: is to align the front of the fender, if the headlights haven't moved, these are nice to use. if they have you're a little on you own.
Step Six: is to measure again and then move the hood.
Step Seven: is to measure all the gaps again, and tweak as needed.
i've noticed that an even gap is more important than having it spot on. Your eye is also pretty sensitive, the gap can be in spec (4.5mm +/-1mm), but your eye can see a 1mm difference, and its pretty obvious.
Thread Starter
Newbie
Joined: Feb 2021
Posts: 4
Likes: 0
From: Dublin
Very easy to chip the paint on the leading edge of the door skin adjusting the front guard. About the only "tricky" fastener is the one up the top of the trailing edge of the guard - door has to be open to access. Did I mention it's very easy to chip paint as the door opens and closes if you don't get this right!
The bodywork manual has the diagonals which you can measure for accident damage. I've got a jpg of all the engine bay measurements on a hard drive somewhere, but pretty sure it came from here in the dim past.
The bodywork manual has the diagonals which you can measure for accident damage. I've got a jpg of all the engine bay measurements on a hard drive somewhere, but pretty sure it came from here in the dim past.
Body shop manual is here http://foxed.ca/rx7manual/manuals/FD...p%20manual.pdf
with the fenders there are a couple of clues to see if they have been off/replaced. the first is that there are holes in the body and holes in the fender to align the fender, and these were covered with tape before paint (its oval in 1993-1994, and square 1995+). they used these holes ate the factory, if everything is new, you can align the holes (11mm deep socket works pretty well), and tighten the fender down and its good. if everything is not new, its a good place to start.
second clue is the undercoating, it is on the bottom of the car, and it should have a crisp line and go all the way around on the sheet metal.
How to Line everything up:
Tools: you need a 10mm socket, if you need to move the fender the had to get nut needs a really long extension.
you also need a way to measure the gaps, you can buy these https://www.amazon.com/Eastwood-Sett...a-804483651240
or i have a couple section of shingles, its a tapered piece of wood, and i just cut out the part that fits.
Step One: is to get a piece of paper, and make a quick drawing of the gaps,
Step Two: is to measure the gaps. the fenders and hood can move, so you need to see what needs to move where. if you measure first it kind of tells you what and how much you need to move.
Step Three: If the fender has been off before, and the alignment holes are exposed, i will align the fender using these holes to start with. if the fender hasn't been off, then i will leave it. just snug up the bolts for now, you might end up moving stuff more than once
Step Four: the first gap to adjust is the fender to door gap. this lets you set the first gap to something that doesn't move. you stick the shim in the gap, and just push the fender back... very easy.
Step Five: is to align the front of the fender, if the headlights haven't moved, these are nice to use. if they have you're a little on you own.
Step Six: is to measure again and then move the hood.
Step Seven: is to measure all the gaps again, and tweak as needed.
i've noticed that an even gap is more important than having it spot on. Your eye is also pretty sensitive, the gap can be in spec (4.5mm +/-1mm), but your eye can see a 1mm difference, and its pretty obvious.
with the fenders there are a couple of clues to see if they have been off/replaced. the first is that there are holes in the body and holes in the fender to align the fender, and these were covered with tape before paint (its oval in 1993-1994, and square 1995+). they used these holes ate the factory, if everything is new, you can align the holes (11mm deep socket works pretty well), and tighten the fender down and its good. if everything is not new, its a good place to start.
second clue is the undercoating, it is on the bottom of the car, and it should have a crisp line and go all the way around on the sheet metal.
How to Line everything up:
Tools: you need a 10mm socket, if you need to move the fender the had to get nut needs a really long extension.
you also need a way to measure the gaps, you can buy these https://www.amazon.com/Eastwood-Sett...a-804483651240
or i have a couple section of shingles, its a tapered piece of wood, and i just cut out the part that fits.
Step One: is to get a piece of paper, and make a quick drawing of the gaps,
Step Two: is to measure the gaps. the fenders and hood can move, so you need to see what needs to move where. if you measure first it kind of tells you what and how much you need to move.
Step Three: If the fender has been off before, and the alignment holes are exposed, i will align the fender using these holes to start with. if the fender hasn't been off, then i will leave it. just snug up the bolts for now, you might end up moving stuff more than once
Step Four: the first gap to adjust is the fender to door gap. this lets you set the first gap to something that doesn't move. you stick the shim in the gap, and just push the fender back... very easy.
Step Five: is to align the front of the fender, if the headlights haven't moved, these are nice to use. if they have you're a little on you own.
Step Six: is to measure again and then move the hood.
Step Seven: is to measure all the gaps again, and tweak as needed.
i've noticed that an even gap is more important than having it spot on. Your eye is also pretty sensitive, the gap can be in spec (4.5mm +/-1mm), but your eye can see a 1mm difference, and its pretty obvious.
it won't stop raining round here so when i finally get some respite and sunshine i'll take the fender off and have a good look. ill post some pics on this thread as well to get you clever folks' opinions.
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