A month ago my N reg Micra was involved in a prang. As I had only 3rd party insurance, to keep repair costs down I bought a replacement wing, headlamp and bumper from a scrapyard. I then got the parts fitted at short notice by an el-cheapo, back street, "cash only" motor repair/scrap yard.
All was well until, depending on the weather, the driver door began to scrape the newly-fitted wing when at the extent of its opening travel. Paint was eventually being scraped off the door at the wing-side edge.
I tried to fix this by loosening/tightening the nut fastening the wing panel, and bashing in the wing slightly with my palm, with no success. Until this morning.
Aah, Eureka, I thought! "The contact twixt door and wing panel is only very slight. Obviously it needs just a millimetre or so gap opening up. A miss is as good as a mile."
I took a piece of thin card, folded it a couple of times. Popped it in the gap between the door and wing panel. And slammed the door.
The wing panel did not "budge over" as I expected. The door edge did not "budge back" a millimeter as I expected.
Instead, the door skin bowed out at the wing-side, making the hinges visible when closed.
And on opening the door just a quarter of the way, the door starts to scrape the wing panel. Getting in the car involves the door crunching into the wing panel, slicing into it like a can opener. In fact the door will only open half-way.
Doh! My first task is to flatten the bow in the door panel back a bit. It won't go back by hand, by knee or by kicking it. I guess a rubber mallet is the right tool for this, but I don't have one.
Any ideas?
Thanks
Mike
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sorry mate a trip to the body shop for you i had a prang on my picasso and the front wing had moved slightly and so we had difficulty opening the door
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Thanks, Mr. B.
Buts its an old car, so I'd like to go for a cheap DIY fix if possible.
Mike.
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knocking out a metal bulge
Hitting metal panels with a hammer is risky without some panel beating experience so as to 'know' which way the metal will go and, indeed, unless you have the right sort and weight of 'hammer' and can strike accurately. .Metal stretches and it isn't easy to unstretch it.
Much better to have a smooth block of wood, preferably planed and shaped, then put a thin layer of cloth over it, (so as not to bruise the paintwork) then put that over the bulge, then hit that (in the right place) with a suitable size hammer. .You will have much more control over what happens.
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Thanks, Mr. B. Buts its an old car, so I'd like to go for a cheap DIY fix if possible.
Would the people who fitted the parts, i.e. "el-cheapo, back street, "cash only" motor repair/scrap yard" not have another look for you?
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I would take it back..the wing has been installed incorrectly.
ie too far towards door..will need removing before this can be corrected/realigned..Even MD can do this by accident.it is easily done..
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Steve
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If it's a bolt on wing as most are nowadays, it might be quite straightforward to unbolt it and 'elongate' the bolt holes slightly to allow the wing to be slightly re-aligned.
Chances are the bodyshop has used 'pattern' parts as opposed to a genuine Nissan part (hence cheap price!) It's often the case that they 'fit where they hit' unless very carefully doctored by the fitter.
I'd try the bodyshop to re-align it for you first. If they are unwilling,you could try having a look at a Haynes manual to see where the bolts are and have a go at moving things a bit. On the other hand, if the bodyshop have done a half decent job, they will have used seam filler and maybe even sprayed the wing with undersealant, so simply undoing the bolts won't be enough and could even open another 'can of worms' rustwise (sorry about the pun!)if the sealant is disturbed and not made good again.
Graeme
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Sorry! didn't read your post carefully enough! Ignore bit about pattern parts! Still might be possible to shift it a bit though.
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Thanks, I'll look into the "unbolt and shift" option before I resort to bashing panels about.
I still can't believe a folded piece of card can cause so much damage! Demonstrates the power of a lever, I guess. I think it may have opened up the hinge slightly...there is a big gap/misalignment between door and wing panel and the door is cutting into the wing every time I get in the car.
Mike
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