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Doors fouling on the front wings

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330
Hi all

I haven't owned my 02 CTR long, only about a month, but I've noticed both the drivers and passenger door fouls on the front wings when you open them and makes an annoying creaking sound. It's taking the paint off where it's fouling too. Do the hinges on these cars 'sink' like they used to on my old fiesta? Or does it sound like its had panels replaced and they're not fitted well?

Thanks in advance for any ideas.


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I would suspect panels have been replaced. Check the gap between the door edge and the rear quarter. They are usually very minimal.
 
Also check around the door hinges, see if there's any sign they've been moved/unbolted etc. Could just be door drop over time, but you never know.

Far as the wings are concerned, take off the plastic covers on top of the wings on under the bonnet (little crosshead plastic screws) and see if you can noticed any paint flakes or evidence that the wings have been bolted/unbolted too.

Finally, I'd whip the bumper off and inspect the bulkhead, chassis legs, crash bar and headlight mountings as a matter of course. Trust me on this one.

The front ends of EP3s are made of tin foil, the slightest front end knock could potentially pop all sorts out of alignment.
 
Thanks. All I can see in the service history that might relate to it is a receipt for front wheel alignment. Also I've noticed that the drivers side headlight is only attached from the top mount fixing. The bottom prong has broken off. So maybe more evidence? Ill have a proper poke around at the weekend though. Thanks for the help


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That sounds familiar, I'd wager it's had a light front end dink at some point in it's life matey.
 
if you haven't already then HPI it. not all crashes big or small will make the register for a variety of devious reasons, but it is a quick way to confirm if it has had a reasonably large prang.
 
ImageUploadedByTapatalk1361828532.702397.jpgImageUploadedByTapatalk1361828541.384429.jpg

These pictures show a panel misalignment by the door and wing, and also the wing and bumper join. Looks to me like its been repaired at some point. Drives spot on though. Ill have to do a hpi check like you said


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That's had a smack mate, maybe a rear end shunt. That bumper is definitely not sitting right and your doors and wings need sorting before it starts to rot.
 
Sadly yep, that's gone up the back of someone at low speed. Enough to push the bumper mounts down, so I suspect the wing mounts on the top where I mentioned under the bonnet are going to be all p*ssed as well which is why the wing is sitting back.

Good news is your door mounts/door are probably structurally fine.

However if you're totally anal about your car you may need to budget for the below. Just to prepare you for it more than anything, because you the more you dig the more you're likely to find stuff smooshed:

Door - check the swage lines against the wing, you might have got away with it if so just touch up the exposed metal.
Wings - unsure of cost, probably get second hand if you can find straight ones. Depends if it was just an OSF corner knock. I expect the mounts are f*cked though.
Front bulk head (essentially the front end of the car, welded and bolted in to sides/chassis legs) - £180 from Honda, probably a little more now.
Crash bar (runs across the front of the car, behind the bumper) Might be lucky to avoid this getting mushed though - £50
Slam panel (the metal bit that the bonnet lock lives on, it's a T shaped piece) again might be lucky - £80
Headlight mounts (small J and inverted J shaped pieces of metal that live under the headlights) £16 a side
New headlight (or repair broken clip) - £80 for complete unit
Bumper mount - chump change, but they're designed to break on impact so expect they're hosed.
You may also need an aircon rad if your car has it as after the crash bar the next impact is the A/C rad and they're soft as anything. £70 for a pattern part from memory.

You'll need to unpick the welds for the bulkhead if it comes to it, bit of a job but not impossible for someone with the right gear. Then prep and paint etc.

I may have totally over spec'd the job (being the doom sayer I am lol), but knowing how soft the front ends of these cars are I sadly think you'll find more and more out of alignment as you start looking. The only way to be 100% sure is to replace it with known good parts.

Good luck, and happy to advise if you need any more help.

edit - actually before you get carried away...

Check the bonnet/wing panel gap too whilst I think of it, and where the top of the wing meets the A pillar. You'll be able to tell more from there how bad the wing has been pushed back.

If it's just the wing, get hold of a second hand one and unbolt the duff one and offer the straight one up. You'll be able to tell straight away if it'll sit right because of the panel gaps with the A pillar, door, bonnet, headlight and bumper.
 
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Come to think of it, the air con doesn't work either. Probably needs more than just a re-gas! Oh god what have I bought!

Thanks everyone for the help so far


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Could be coincidence, but you won't know until you pop the bumper off and have a good look. Worth spending a couple of hours doing it.
 
Silly question but is there a guide to getting the bumper off?


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