Anyone replaced a front wing?

[Ol' Timer]

The front wheel arches on my car have corroded to the extent that they will have holes in them before too long. A quick bit of searching reveals that I can get replacement front wings, ready painted and delivered for £141.18 from Imperial Crash Repair Parts.

Has anybody replaced their front wings and, if so, how difficult is it? I imagine that there will be some stubborn bolts to remove after 9 years but how much dismantling is involved and how practical is it as a do-it-yourself project?

 

[BJM]

I've done it on a Toledo - wasn't hard at all. If your doing both wings I'd start by taking the front bumper off. Then it's just a case of unbolting it. 5 bolts along the top of the wing, 1 under the sill, a couple in the door gap and one or 2 at the front.

Easy if you're handy with the socket set!

 

[Ol' Timer]

I've done it on a Toledo - wasn't hard at all. If your doing both wings I'd start by taking the front bumper off. Then it's just a case of unbolting it. 5 bolts along the top of the wing, 1 under the sill, a couple in the door gap and one or 2 at the front.

Easy if you're handy with the socket set!

Thanks, that sounds a lot less daunting than I was expecting. I don't know if it is covered in the Haynes manual. I will have to check when I get home.

 

[DeanC93]

That's not cheap at all for two second hand wings...
Also they're not hard changed but you might be handier taking the front bumper off if you're changing both wings. It's only held on by a few bolts too.

 

[Ol' Timer]

That's not cheap at all for two second hand wings...

£141.18 is the price for a brand new wing, ready painted. Imperial was the first company I found but I see that there are many others, some cheaper. I don't know which is the best.

The main problem I can see is that my red car is lacquered to prevent the paint fading. I don't know if the new wings would be lacquered or if they would start to fade in a couple of years.

 

[mymorph]

I missed out at eurocar parts only £37 each wing (undercoat only). if u shop around u can still pick up a wing for around £40. just needs painting up so your price of £141 seems good enough to me fo a hstle free job. let us know how u get on

 

[DeanC93]

You could get two good ones from a breakers the same colour for a lot less though.
I'd only buy new ones if I couldn't find good ones from a breakers first.

 

[Crafoo]

Replaced the front wing on an Audi A3, that was pretty easy going, it's all fairly straightforward there's only a handful of bolts that hold them on.

 

[daytona246]

I bought a brand new passenger wing a few months ago, was easy to replace but there's so many screws!

They said it was ready to paint but I stone chipped, re-primed, then repainted it for a proper finish. Can honestly say it looks 100% new being Arctic grey.

Going to do my drivers side in the next few weeks as it is rusting apart.