Fender alignment procedure

[etc.]

I replaced a DS front fender on my 96 4runner today but I have a larger gap than the passenger side.

From what I can see, there are no adjustments on the hood due to the centering bolts. The fenders allow for some alignment, but not enough to close the gap. I see there are 2 separate holes in the fenders, I guess are used for fender alignment at factory. If I go by those, the fender gap is very uniform, but the gap is large. If I ignore the alignment holes to close the gap, the factory mounting holes will be severely overlapped. I could widen the hood hinges to allow for a little wiggle room, but I prefer to do things a correctly.

The truck is 100% accident free. The hood and fenders are Toyota brand and in great condition.

Does anyone have any experience on how to get the gaps uniform?

 

[IBallEngineer]

I replaced a DS front fender on my 96 4runner today but I have a larger gap than the passenger side.

From what I can see, there are no adjustments on the hood due to the centering bolts. The fenders allow for some alignment, but not enough to close the gap. I see there are 2 separate holes in the fenders, I guess are used for fender alignment at factory. If I go by those, the fender gap is very uniform, but the gap is large. If I ignore the alignment holes to close the gap, the factory mounting holes will be severely overlapped. I could widen the hood hinges to allow for a little wiggle room, but I prefer to do things a correctly.

The truck is 100% accident free. The hood and fenders are Toyota brand and in great condition.

Does anyone have any experience on how to get the gaps uniform?

So no accident and perfect fenders? Why are you replacing it? Or did you just remove it and are now reinstalling it? Hard to know what your problem is, 30 years in the autobody business and we had a saying. "The parts don't lie!" Something is wrong if it doesn't fit.

 

[etc.]

So no accident and perfect fenders? Why are you replacing it? Or did you just remove it and are now reinstalling it? Hard to know what your problem is, 30 years in the autobody business and we had a saying. "The parts don't lie!" Something is wrong if it doesn't fit.

No accidents. I replaced it due to a minor scrape. It's much cheaper for me to replace than repainted. I'll also end up with a better finished product, due to the local painters taking absolutly zero pride in their work.

The fender is used Toyota.

 

[IBallEngineer]

Well then you should compare it to your original fender, if they the old one lines up and the replacement doesn't, you are doing something wrong. But on these fenders there isn't much to do wrong. You are sure the replacement is OEM right?