I have about a 3" long crack in the inner fender. Might have been from leaning on it or something hit it from the tire. Has anyone found a good way to fix this? If not, are there any links on how to replace?

 

Same question. Mine is cracked where the small tang sticks out with a bolt through it, about 2/3 of the way up on the rear side of the front pass. side wheel well.

 

If the cracking is restricted to the removable access panel back there, then the replacement of it is pretty easy and not very expensive. If the crack is in/on the actual wheelhouse itself, a competent body shop should be able to handle a repair pretty easily, especially if they can get access to the back side of the wheelhouse where the crack is located and enable them to effect the repair with minimal visibility from the outside.
If the wheelhouse itself has to be replaced it is, or can be, pretty expensive, as it is not just simply an unbolt/bolt-on operation. The entire fender has to be removed, and the old wheelhouse removed before the new one can be bonded on. The bonding part is what can cause this to be more expensive on a C5 than most other cars. It involves a high strength adhesive made by Fuzor Corp (the OEM supplier) and the labor costs go up much more than a simple unbolt type replacement.
Pop your hood and look down along the line (at the bottom of the coolant recovery tank) where the wheelhouse meets the steel frame rail section. See that great big bead of epoxy type material that's hard as a rock? That's the adhesive where the wheelhouse is bonded to the frame. It's the same on both pass and driver's side.
Unless I had a really badly damaged wheelhouse, say a hole for example, I would try to get a good shop to see if they can access the back side and make the repair so it would not be visible and yet still be strong.
HTH,
Robert

 

It is very easily accessible as it is at the top just outboard of the winshield washer tank. I can see it easily from both sides.

It appears that they will need to bond a backing patch in the wheel well. I am wondering if this part of the wheelhouse is at all structural such that I can't drive the car. I have no idea how long it has been there, but definitely a major bummer

 

you can still drive the car .. mines been cracked for a lil while and i have seen no effects.

 

Vettenuts, try effecting a repair using a methacrilate adhesive (Plexus or Weld-On) are two that we use to bond any composite parts together or composite to aluminum with the correct primer. Hope this helps

 

Where would I get this and I probably need to cover it up from the back with an oversize backing material, not sure what to use though.

 

Sorry, mine is a different crack. Mine is an actual fender that is cracked. Maybe I'll try a separate post.

 

Try West Marine, they may have it listed as meth-methacrilate adhesive. Permanently bonds composites, so strong it will delaminate panel before bond fails. Let me know if you have success, if not, I'll see what I can do.

 

It is not a safety problem. It does provide support for fender, coolant overflow tank, etc.

 

The fender can be easily removed by a good body shop for either repair or replacement.

 

pictures please

 

I spoke to Roger at Superior Auto on Saturday. He is an excellent body guy and is also into Corvettes, having a twin to mine. I am going to have him look at it on Tuesday.

View 1 from engine compartment:



From underneath inside wheel well: