[geodiggr]

Hi all,

Quick question...in the rear of the front wheel wells there is a bolt in each one. It appears that the bolt goes holds a small piece of sheet metal to the wheel well. Question, what is the purpose of that piece of sheet metal (besides covering up the hole behind it)? Also, does that bolt hold anything else in place? I can't tell...can't see far enough into it to tell.

Thanks,
Rick

 

[Crawdaddy]

Good question, I've wondered the same, but I have not removed the cover to see what's behind it. Seems like it might provide access to somewhere around the door hinge, but I'm not sure.

 

[1991 Suburban]

All the bolts do is hold the fender well in...I had to change my heater core a while ago, and in order to do so, had to take the fender well out.

 

[Crawdaddy]

Two questions then, why does the bolt hold a 4x4 piece of sheet steel, and why did you need to pull the wheel well to get to the heater core? The core should have come out from under the dash, there are 3 bolts in the engine compartment that hold the heater box in. The lower one is a pain to get to with the wheel well in though.

 

[1991 Suburban]

The 4x4 plate is just to give the bolt something to hold...And I tried for hours to get the heater core out without taking the fender well out...Not gonna happen. You have to have a deep socket to get to the bottom bolt, and with the fender well in, you can't get one in there! After I fought with mine for a couple of hours, I finally looked it up in Chilton's and they said you had to take it out. Once the fender well is out, it isn't too bad. A real pain in the @$$, but GM seems to thrive on making things as difficult as possible...LOL

 

[Crawdaddy]

Interesting. I changed my heater core on my 1991 Suburban and didn't have to pull the fender wheel well out. I think we had to get a swivel and a really short socket in there or something, but we definitely didn't have to pull the wheel well. To be honest, my uncle took care of the engine-side bolts, and I was wedged under the dash.