What keeps the front fascia from pushing all the way against the fender?

[DeloreanJoshQ]

What keeps the front fascia from pushing all the way against the fenders?

I removed the hood, loosed all of the bolts on top of the bumper and attempted to push the fascia back so that it would butt up all the way against the driver side fender. It would not move further than where it currently is. It would move forward quite a bit however, so I know it was loose.

The passenger side is fine and the driver side butts up at the bottom, but above the trim it starts to separate.

Is it the headlight bucket that it is stopping against? Does that need trimmed?

Thanks for the help everyone!

Josh Q

[Josh]

I am also interested in this answer. Perhaps the fenders need to be realigned?

[Kenny_Z]

You might be hitting the edges of the bolt holes on that side. I know with my Mustang's after market fenders I had to open the holes up with a rasp before I could get better alignment on the panels. There's also a stud about midway on the inside of the fascia. Maybe it needs to be loosened a little bit as well.

[painterdave72]

There are also a series of ten millimeter nuts above the headlight and grill housings inside the bumper.. they hold it to the reinforcment plate.. if you loosen those that will allow you to slide it on the plate more.. kind of a pain though. u have to take out the grill and the headlights to get to them..

[Evildeli]

I've had some people suggest I pull my bumper closer since I have that small gap too. There is an inside lip to the fascia that you can screw into the panel to pull them closer. You have to go from the front of the car, from the side of the headlights. The fascia will cover up the screws, but it does mean you're screwing into the quarter panel, which is why I just haven't done it.