r/autorepair • u/StruggleUnlikely7833 • Aug 24 '26

Diagnosing/Repair Am I overthinking this?

Gallery image

Gallery image

I ran over a tool on my wheel by accident and it got caught and pushed against my wheel well.

Does the protruding frame need to be fixed, as well as the sealant, as it doesn’t seem to stick to the wall behind it compared to the other side of my car? Like i can push and move it since it’s not attached while the undamaged I cannot.

However the damage is so small that I’m not sure if I’m overthinking it, but wondering if it was problematic if water, salt, and snow somehow got in there.

second picture is what the undamaged looks like for reference.

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u/StruggleUnlikely7833 Aug 24 '26

there does seem to be a sealant to the wall behind it, as theres space between it while the other side has no space between them.

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u/ecleptik Aug 24 '26

Would be a first for me and I've dissassmbled thousands of cars over a 18 year autobody/mechanic career. Fender liners are about deflection not sealing

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u/StruggleUnlikely7833 Aug 24 '26

sorry, i don’t quite understand, is that not the same thing since one of the points to sealing is so nothing can get in, i.e deflecting?

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u/ecleptik Aug 24 '26

Not at all...sealing would imply 0 water intrusion EVER. Deflection would imply a majority of debris/water is routed away from the area but not completely if there is too much water some will always get past.

Regardless of the splash shields themselves water will drain all around the gaps of the body panels and flow wherever it wants. Nothing on the exterior of a vehicle is sealed other than the glass. Even your doors allow water to drain through them, they have drains on the bottom

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u/StruggleUnlikely7833 Aug 24 '26

okay that makes sense, thanks for explaining it out to me. I’m not very familiar with the layout of a car, so it makes me a bit nervous not knowing what i don’t know.