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I'm ready to put my fenders back on and was puzzling over the order of installation. Should I put the fenders on and then all the other panels (inner fender, splash guards, etc.) or pre assemble all that stuff and then get four friends to help lift all that into place? The fenders themselves are not exactly light and easy to handle by themselves.

The TM that I usually refer to shows the whole nose being removed and installed as a unit. If you have the manpower it might be the way to go. However if you've taken the nose apart already you can't expect all the holes to line up. Even with a hoist, the complete nose is a large swinging mass and hard to control single handed. So take that into account.
Not to worry though, some expert will come along and gainsay whatever I've told you.

Wow, I can't imagine the whole unit coming off in one piece. I'll have to check the manuals.

Start the fenders first but leave everything loose and I mean everything!!once it's all together then tightening in the order installed.

Glad to see your gotten to that point, it's a exciting time.

I guess it has been a while , I can't recall how I reassembled my M's fenders.

I've had the fenders off lots of times, and installed them by myself without issue. I leave them assembled with the inner panels and start by draping them over the front tire. I Usually start with the lowest front bolt and install it a few turns into the rad support then rotate the rear of the fender upward until it lines up with the frame mount and start both bolts there. After that its just a matter of putting the bolts back in. Easy as pie. The drivers side is a little easier (harder?) due to the steering coloum jutting out, but sometimes its nice to have something to rest the fender on. I found the easiest way to support the fender when starting the fist front bolt is just crawl under it, and let it rest wherever... Like I said, I work alone a lot, so your results may vary.

Thanks for all the advise guys. I am really excited to get them put on but no so excited to have to work on the engine with them in place. It's been convenient to sit on the tire and work! When I bought my truck, the fenders were in the bed, so I've never seen it with them installed.

We attempted to put the fenders in place but when the rear of the fender is on the bracket, the front holes are a good inch past the holes in the front support bracket. Are these fenders supposed to be under some compression when installed? Should we bolt the front bracket to the fender and then to the radiator support? We've never seen the fenders installed on this truck so we are sorta heading through unfamiliar territory. From what I'm seeing, pretty much everything is somewhat out of kilter. We did get the weather stripping installed thanks to the photos on the other thread.

Is this what the drivers side rear fender bracket is supposed to look like? We wondered if it as bent.

Mine are under tension as well. A inch off seems right. Get a big punch and get em int place and this is why if said leave ALL bolts loose!

Copy that. We did loosen everything up including the radiator support and the brackets for the fenders. We'll go at it again in a few days.

refit1701 wrote:We attempted to put the fenders in place but when the rear of the fender is on the bracket, the front holes are a good inch past the holes in the front support bracket. Are these fenders supposed to be under some compression when installed? Should we bolt the front bracket to the fender and then to the radiator support? We've never seen the fenders installed on this truck so we are sorta heading through unfamiliar territory. From what I'm seeing, pretty much everything is somewhat out of kilter. We did get the weather stripping installed thanks to the photos on the other thread.

Is this what the drivers side rear fender bracket is supposed to look like? We wondered if it as bent.

can you get a straight on pic of that bracket???? I was viewing via the I phone. That should be straight out from the frame. That one looks bent.

How about this view?

If this helps, here's mine. We did take the front off all in one piece and put it back the same way. It fit really good for body parts.

-jim lee

Ah-ha, the outer 8 inches or so of mine is bent toward the rear. Thanks for the photo. I see you have an expert helper there! Here's mine:



That's my daughter and my friend working on the bumpers.