Hi all, has anyone replaced the front fender (wing) of their Defender? I had a slight off-road trail mishap resulting in some damage to the driver-side front fender. The workshop manual makes it sound straightforward to remove/replace - a few bolts, clips, etc. It seems within my skill set, but I wonder if anyone has firsthand experience?

Thanks.

 

Well, I can answer this myself. It is straightforward. It took me about 3-4 hours going very carefully. The instructions in the workshop manual are good. No special tools: 10mm socket, trim tools, etc.

You don't have to remove the complete bumper. I just removed the radiator grille top panel and then unclipped the radiator grill on the side I was working on. You can then remove the headlight surround that gives you access to some bolts holding the front of the fender.

Here's what I started with:



Firstly, if you have a raised air intake, you will need to remove it. No need to remove the door - you can reach the two bolts from behind. It's fiddly and you will need a 10mm 1/4 inch drive deep socket.



Open the hood and remove the panels to access one of the three fender bolts on the top under the hood. The bottom panel doesn't need to be remove completely - just need to get access to the fender bolt underneath it.



Remove/unclip the radiator grille panels:



Remove the bolt holding the headlight trim and remove it and the trim panel below (mine came off together):



Remove the lower trim below the fender. You'll break at least two of the clips (LR112137 - $8 a pack on Amazon). Remove the two bolts securing the bottom of the fender.



Remove the wheel arch trim. I needed to replace mine (found a new OEM one on eBay):



Jack the car and remove the wheel (use an axle stand). Then remove the two piece liner:



Undo the bolt holding the air duct and remove it completely. This gives you access to two bolts in the top and bottom of the fender air intake that you need to remove.

You then need to locate bolts holding the bumper trim to the front of the fender. It's fiddly but doable. These photos will help:







That should be everything. Lift off the fender:



I didn't attempt to repair my fender but bought an OEM replacement (not cheap!). It's in the paint shop now and then will need ppf before I fit it.

That's it.

 

Hey, that’s pretty cool and lots of good detail.

 

And here's the finished product. Fitting it was easier than removing it. I'm glad I got an OEM fender as the panel gaps are perfect. However, you can adjust the gaps, which I imagine you need to do with a used or aftermarket panel. I had the fender professionally painted and wrapped. Xpel Stealth Matte PPF seems to be an exact match for the factory wrap. You'd never know it's been replaced.

 

Its worth checking marketplace and craigslist. Chock full of defender parts.