Corolla wing replacement

[Elwyn]

Hi, I've acquired a replacement wing for my 2006 Corolla to replace mine which came dented when I bought the car. At first sight it seems quite straightforward, just a few bolts and the wheel liner clips. It's where it tucks under the sill trim I'm worried about, is the trim bolted or bonded on? I will also need to fit indicator lens and bonnet stay to new wing. Worth trying myself, or leave into a body shop? Any advice greatly appreciated.

[oldcodger]

Hi,

Interesting question, not seen it mentioned in the forum before and nothing detailed in the Haynes manual etc.

Seems there are a couple of Ytubes which shows the bottom of the wing held in by one bolt.

hth

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjxKzLqd4tI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gd0gxgn-n6A

 

[Mitsos_Hybrid]

Have you done it before? Are you handy with tools? It is not so straightforward as you think, especially allying the wing with the bonnet.

[Elwyn]

Thanks for the reply, I'm handy enough with tools, but as it is something I've never attempted before with any vehicle, I think in the long run it might be best to get a body shop to fit it. 

[Gerg]

I appreciate this isn't answering your question, but is the dent beyond removal by a so-called 'Smart' dent repairer?

I see that you already have a wing (assume correct colour).  Has the paint been penetrated on the original dent? Has it formed a crease?

I have bought some cheap tools for this and had some limited success, but for the money, it was worth it for me.  There is a great deal of acquired knowledge with this, but if you have a replacement wing already then you have less to loose by d-i-y damaging the old one.

Or, if the paint isn't broken, then the professional Smart repairers can sometimes work some great improvements, sometimes to near perfection.

Just a thought.....!

[Elwyn]

The previous owner obviously had a go at 'fixing' it, it's more a dent surrounded by a cluster of small dents. I did try pulling it out with a vacuum grip to no avail. To be honest I'm probably being picky, but fed up with the strip of gaffa tape holding it to the bumper 🤣 I got the replacement wing for £35 so will give it a go.

[Elwyn]

Ok, thanks everyone for the advice and videos etc. This morning I decided to go for it, and managed to fit the replacement one in just over 2 hours. The only hiccup was that the replacement wing was from an earlier / lower spec than mine, as it didn't have a cut out for the side skirt trim. These are the steps I took for future reference.

• I was replacing drivers side wing, so I turned steering full lock to the right, I didn't bother jacking it up or removing wheel
• I removed the wheel liner clips and the bolts where the liner attaches to skirt and wing
• Next I removed the drivers side windscreen wiper and popped the plastic scuttle off which exposes a retaining bolt at the top of the wing
• I then removed this and all the bolts on top of the engine bay, propping the bonnet up with a piece of wood so I could remove the bonnet stay
• I then popped off the bottom side skirt and removed the wing retaining bolts under the door, and the one hidden inside the plastic cover inside the wheel arch liner which attaches to the door frame assembly. Having the replacement wing to look at made it easy to find where all the bolts where located.
• Finally it was the screw and a couple of clips securing the wing to the bumper. Once it came free, I unclipped the indicator wiring, and put the wing to the side.
• I had to pop out the indicator lens to fit to my replacement wing and I was ready to fit it.
• In order to do this, I basically repeated the above steps in reverse, just loosely fitting each screw until it was in position.
• This is where I had to make a tweak, as there was no hole for the side trim popper to locate to in the replacement wing, I marked where it should be and drilled a 9mm hole, allowing the popper to snap into place.
• I dropped the bonnet and everything lined up fine, so I tightened all the screws securely, and put the wiper scoop and wiper arm back on.

To be honest apart from the hole drilling, I found it pretty straightforward, and I suppose I got lucky managing to get a replacement the exact colour. I will post pics once I get them uploaded.

[Elwyn]

 

[oldcodger]

Hi,

Good job ! 

Sure it will be of help to others, though be interested to know where you got the painted wing from  - new ??

[Elwyn]

Cheers,

               Wing was a used one, £35 from a breaker on eBay. I would go as far to say that in certain light it may be a tad lighter, but hardly noticeable, and for that money, on a £900 car, I'm more than happy 👍