[jklubeck]

I just bought a replacement fender splash shield for the front passenger wheel well. The old one was cracked and made the front fender wobble at higher speeds. Whatever.

At any rate I'm trying to replace the old with the new. Seems pretty obvious. Three screws behind the wheel and an allen head screw attached to the fender. But the screws behind the wheel just spin and spin. The are made out of plastic. I have tried pulling on the shield as I unscrew, but nothing. They don't tighten either. I tried the other side of the car just to see, but same thing. I can't reach behind to see if there is a nut or something because they seem to be inside two welded panels of the body. What am I missing?

I can't find anything in the hayes manual to help.

Thanks.

 

[jklubeck]

So, I did find in the hayes that they call it a fenderwell liner. And removal instructions are "unscrew the screws securing the liner to the inner fenderwell panel" still doesn't help me.

 

[flipwilly2]

Try prying up under the plastic "head" that the plastic screw is screwed into with a small screwdriver while unscrewing the screw. These are really chintzy fasteners! Or, if you can pry up under the screw head while unscrewing it, it should come out. Some people just push the screws into the plastic "head" to install them-no need to screw them in, but many won't unscrew.

 

[jklubeck]

you're right, they are cheap! wow, my kids' toys have better fasteners on them. I ended up just having to yank them out and fabricate my own. Thanks for your help.

 

[bluefront]

^^^^^^Those things are simple push-in plastic fasteners. They are easy to install, and don't rust or strip out the metal.

But they are usually tough to remove after driving a while. Before you do such work, go to an auto-parts store and buy a box of the things. O'Rileys sells a box of twenty or so for $3. They do come in different sizes......My fender liner had two different sizes in use.