03 honda pilot qtr panel damage

[Kustomdog]

my wife backed my 03 honda pilot into a tree on our property.I have acess to a stinger brand stud welder.WILL I BE ABLE TO PULL MOST OF THE DAMAGE WITH THAT?Ive also got hammers dollies etc.Thanks

[Bob K]

I would call the dealer parts department and get a price for a new quarter. If you can live with that then that is the best way to go. If that’s too high get one from a scrap yard. Remove the glass and cut the spot welds and replace the quarter. Those are a lot of dents to repair. Not saying it can’t be done but a new quarter will look so much better.

Bob K

[James M]

I respectfully disagree. That quarter panel is very repairable and if done right it should look like new when done (no different that if you replaced the quarter panel. I have been doing auto body work professionally for several decades plus and I would much prefer to repair that quarter than replace it. For one thing if you repair the quarter you are not disturbing the factory joints which if the quarter was replaced those new joints can come back to haunt you later. Another reason for repairing that quarter is it would take longer and more work to replace that quarter than it would be to repair it. I would guess that I could repair that quarter panel in about half the time it would take to replace it. I could very easily have that quarter panel repaired and in primer in less than one days work. If that was my own vehicle I would absolutely repair it. If a customer wanted me to replace that quarter with a new factory part I would end up charging them in the $2500 range. I would repair it for a customer for close to half that price.

And yes, the stud welder is definitely the tool of choice to repairing that damage.

[Kustomdog]

Panel is 700.00.Im gonna repair it. i ll post pics.thanks

[Henry]

my wife backed my 03 honda pilot into a tree on our property.I have acess to a stinger brand stud welder.WILL I BE ABLE TO PULL MOST OF THE DAMAGE WITH THAT?Ive also got hammers dollies etc.Thanks

Take everything off the inside of the quarter before using a stud welder. I know with the amount of dents you have you would strip the inside anyway.
Reason why is the insulation for sound deadening packed in especially around the wheel wells.

I know of a guy while working small dents on a Dodge Caravan used the stud welder and the insulation started to smolder with smoke pouring out. The metal turns red hot on the back while stud welding. Good luck.

Henry

[Len]

In most shops that would be a replacement but it's definitely repairable panel. Grind it clean attach the studs then pull and hammer, once the metal is as straight as it's going to get you'll want to use a good filler while guide coating and block sanding. You'll probably go through a gallon of filler on that job but most of it will end up on the ground.

You're probably going to want to remove the taillight and the bumper and cover the tire before you start.

[Kustomdog]

In most shops that would be a replacement but it's definitely repairable panel. Grind it clean attach the studs then pull and hammer, once the metal is as straight as it's going to get you'll want to use a good filler while guide coating and block sanding. You'll probably go through a gallon of filler on that job but most of it will end up on the ground.

You're probably going to want to remove the taillight and the bumper and cover the tire before you start.

get a 03 honda pilot shop manual while im at it.

[another2centsworth]

That will be a great one to show as it slowly progresses. I like doing those. Looks like a few hours in before first prime. Consider poly primer on that one.

[TR3_Nut]

Great thread guys. Looking forward to photos as it progresses. Just wanted to thank the commentors.

Definitely strip inside of insulation. My epoxy primer on panel inner surfaces even catches on fire when I use my stud welder on panels. Fire/smoke doesn't last long, but I can only imagine what would happen if it was a combustible material.

[another2centsworth]

I agree with henry and good point. People around here have caught cars on fire from stud guns. One was repairing a quarter and caught the headliner on fire because it traveled up the c-pillar on a Honda. Something to think about. I never gave it much thought until a few yrs ago.

[Henry]

I agree with henry and good point. People around here have caught cars on fire from stud guns. One was repairing a quarter and caught the headliner on fire because it traveled up the c-pillar on a Honda. Something to think about. I never gave it much thought until a few yrs ago.

Thank you.

Henry

[Bob K]

I respectfully disagree.

I agree with you even though I took the other side of the repair in this instance. From the way the original poster phrased his question I thought he may be quite inexperienced. I remember back when I started in this hobby. I had some dreadful outcomes using filler on a panel damaged in more than one place. Early on I found that even though replacing a panel took more time it was almost always better looking than my filler work. As time went by and I did more filler work I became comfortable doing a panel like that. However if it was going to be my first, second or third time doing a repair and I wanted it to look its best I stand by my first impression and replace the panel, maybe with one from a scrap yard based on the age of the car and the price of new.

Bob K

[style]

my wife backed my 03 honda pilot into a tree on our property.I have acess to a stinger brand stud welder.WILL I BE ABLE TO PULL MOST OF THE DAMAGE WITH THAT?Ive also got hammers dollies etc.Thanks

the wheel well is the only place needing filler since its more then one layer of metal,the rest you can have a pdr guy push to paint..

[James M]

I agree with you even though I took the other side of the repair in this instance. From the way the original poster phrased his question I thought he may be quite inexperienced. I remember back when I started in this hobby. I had some dreadful outcomes using filler on a panel damaged in more than one place. Early on I found that even though replacing a panel took more time it was almost always better looking than my filler work. As time went by and I did more filler work I became comfortable doing a panel like that. However if it was going to be my first, second or third time doing a repair and I wanted it to look its best I stand by my first impression and replace the panel, maybe with one from a scrap yard based on the age of the car and the price of new.

Bob K

Bob, you have a good point about a person having previous experience working with filler and moderately serious quarter panel damage. It very well could be a long and tedious job for an inexperienced person to repair that quarter panel and make it look like a pro did the work. But for the sake of friendly discussion wouldn't it also take some pretty serious previous experience to cut out a damaged quarter panel then replace it with a used (or new) quarter panel. You have been here for a long time and I respect your opinion, I agree with your posts 99% of the time (about the same percentage of me agreeing with any of the other pro's here, some supposed pro's I agree with a lot less).

[Bob K]

But for the sake of friendly discussion wouldn't it also take some pretty serious previous experience to cut out a damaged quarter panel then replace it

Yes. After I posted and went to bed last night I had second thoughts before I fell sleep. I started into this hobby after a little arm twisting by my nephew. He’s a body man and he called me up one night to tell me about a car his boss had for sale, it was a high value total but selling for cheep. I didn’t buy it but his dad eventually did. He put the bug into me then and I started looking for cars to fix. It was easy to get into because I already had metal working tools and a mig welder. I was welding sheet metal at work from time to time.

Anyway the welding came easy for me and I suppose I assume that attribute on everyone else when I say to weld something together. If I didn’t own the welder and have the gas setup maybe I wouldn’t have even started my first car, it also helped to have my nephew that I could call at night for instruction on getting out of a difficult hole. After a few years I found this board and got even more help, a lot of it from you. Thank you for that, if I’ve never said it in the past.

So what I am doing now is looking for something for myself to do. When I saw the photo of that car I ran the repair through my head like an imaginary You Tube video. I guess what I would do isn’t necessarily the best way for someone else to do it. No harm though as he can read the suggestion and set it aside and do the best work he can with the tools he has. I don’t think that repair would justify buying a welder if it weren’t needed for other work. Sometimes the hardest part is deciding which way to go. Once you start one way or the other it gets done.

Bob K