Why is my fender bending at the wheel arch?

[Leaf]

So lately i've been noticing around the front wheel archs (front fenders) that the inside of them (above the wheel) have been bending outwards. Is this because my fenders need to be rolled? It looks like there is enough clearance. I just don't understand!!!




Any ideas or thoughts?
Thanks again R3V!

[Liam]

Yes, looks like the tire is catching it and pulling the lip out.

[netcsk]

Yep. What he said.
Take us a picture of the full wheel arch and what wheels/tires you have.

[Bey]

That happened to my car when I was going up a drive way with my wheels turned. It rubbed the fender while the front was bottomed out and pulled out the inner part just like yours. Just raise the car and hit it back in place with a hammer or roll your fenders.

[Leaf]

That happened to my car when I was going up a drive way with my wheels turned. It rubbed the fender while the front was bottomed out and pulled out the inner part just like yours. Just raise the car and hit it back in place with a hammer or roll your fenders.

hey dudes thanks for all the helpful advice. guess i got an appointment to get my fenders rolled tomarrow! haha

[xLibelle]

an appointment?!! LOL prepare to be dissapointed

rolling fenders is DIY shit

[Leaf]

no it isnt... trust me.

[Tbolt]

if have my my front and rear fenders rolled as much as possible will I be able to run staggered keskins? 16x7.5 (offset?) and 16x9

im on kyb + h&r sport with 15" weaves and 205/55 tires.... and needless to say my fenders are becoming more and more fucked up

[xLibelle]

no it isnt... trust me.

i guess the only appropriate description to your response is that you would find a way to fuck it up, thus you'd rather keep your hands off and let someone else do it.
I'll keep that in mind when i see you suggest mechanical help in another thread. :p


wait, looking at the pics again, the paint is already cracked and there's some sort of black lip on the edge, theres no possible way it can get any worse. Either a friend is hooking you up or you dont know the baseball bat procedure. I used a 5" PVC pipe.



Tbolt, it depends on the tire but yeah, youll be happy with suggested setup. just go read up in the tire fitment threads.

[Leaf]

Why would i lie? I have no experience in fender rolling, is that amusing to you?
Enlighten me xlibelle, how would i go about doing it?

About that black lip i never even noticed that most people don't have that!!! hahah wow I guess the PO put it on.

[wagonizzle]

im on kyb + h&r sport with 15" weaves and 205/55 tires.... and needless to say my fenders are becoming more and more fucked up

That doesn't sound right at all... did you add spacers?

[CAOSyAMOR]

1) heat gun
2) wooden louisville slugger
3) floor jack

Clean the fender lip, especially the inside of the lip as much as humanly possible. Then jack one point of the car up so you create enough of a gap to fit the baseball bat between the fender and the tire. It's best to do it on a hot day so the metal and paint is more flexible, but at any rate you should apply some additional heat via a heat gun. Be careful not to get to hot. Have the heat gun on a lower setting and don't hold it in one place. If you've heated it up to the point it is too hot to touch then you've gone too far. (in your case your paint is already cracked and peeling so not much more damage you can cause in that regard). Now with a warm section of fender you slide the baseball bat between the tire and the fender, pushing down on the handle to create pressure on the inner lip, and rolling the bat back and forth in an even fashion. As you roll the inner lip you will find the gap widens so you will need to lower the car a bit and repeat, perhaps a few times. Patience is the key.

[xLibelle]

yeah man, its easy! I'm sure theres a thread or two around here that has details and pictures to boot.

Using the roller tool, which people around here have for rent, the process is self explanitory.
Before you start, you'll have to pull the plastic fender liner!
First youll need to get the metal started in the right direction with some plyers or hammer.
Second, set up roller and get to folding the metal in. As it goes further, continue advancing the roller and it will flatten the lip.
Keep in mind though that if you had nice paint, ie, something not already cracked or chipped, you'll want to keep heat while folding the lip with a heat gun. This will lower the chances the pain will crack.... but typically, its unavoidable.
The other thing to note is keep the pressure rolling around. If you apply too much, the roller will "sink in" and you'll have created a nice kink that could result in being visually obvious at first glance on the exterior.

The non-roller tool way is essentially the same process, just with cheaper tools. Most like to use a baseball bat because its available, but you can use any round cylinder. I used the high pressure PVC (grey in color) in 5" diameter because it was there. Also, the larger the roller, the easier it is to NOT induce kinks in the lip durring folding.
You use the tires as a pry point and roll the pipe/bat around under the fender flattening the lip.
The most important part here is to manipulate the size of the gap between the fender and tire by jacking the car to different heights. There is no predefined way of exactly how this works, its all about what works in your situaiton.
You will have to manipulate the height of the car throughout the rolling process.


Tips on rolling:
there are a couple types of rolls that can be accomplished by way of the process thats used. Theres the limp roll which is easiest because it takes no brains at all and there's the tight roll that takes a little skill. (which isnt much anyhow)

limp roll - just apply pressure at the outer edge of the lip at about a 45* angle and continue in until the desired fold. This process does remove the edge from behing caught and is suitable for typical tire setups. But since it creates a more rounded fold, its less prone to paint chipping/cracking.

tight roll - start with roller at an angle parallel to the lip and start the bend process. This will apply the pressure directly to the fold edge. You make a run and apply some more pressure while keeping the roller parallel to the metal lip at all times. This assures the tighest and sharpest bend for those extreme tire/suspension/offset configurations. Only real drawback to this is paint cracks are going to happen no matter how hot you get the paint... that is unless its a fresh paint job maybe.


It is also advised to include some prep work before rolling. Purchase some SEM rock guard paint and coat the inside of the lip. The rolled lip is going to retain moisture more than usual. You'll want to be smart about this.
The other thing is the fender liner may not fit right any more. Easiest way to deal with this is use that heat gun again and manipulate its shape accordingly.



By no means is this process hard or really at risk of screwing anything up badly. And definetly not something worth shelling out gobs of money for.

[xLibelle]

Oh, then there's the pulled roll. This is after flattening out the lip, you go further and "pull" the fender edge out for the flared look.
This process is pretty difficult to do right. But pressure must also be applied on the oudside of the fender, just above where the roller is located. This will induce further bend while not attempting to rip the fender or quarter off the car.
I have not performed this process so i dont know the exact details, maybe someone will chime in... then again i think it was only OG's that had pulled fenders, no one currently on the boards.

[Leaf]

Oh, then there's the pulled roll. This is after flattening out the lip, you go further and "pull" the fender edge out for the flared look.
This process is pretty difficult to do right. But pressure must also be applied on the oudside of the fender, just above where the roller is located. This will induce further bend while not attempting to rip the fender or quarter off the car.
I have not performed this process so i dont know the exact details, maybe someone will chime in... then again i think it was only OG's that had pulled fenders, no one currently on the boards.

Thanks dude! man r3v is just a totally different kind of helpful forum. Thanks again to all who contributed! Probably will get to this next week sometime after I get back from a trip.