Dent Pulling Advice

[PBGBodyFan]

On my wagon the driver side mirror must of got hit and pushed in the door, before my ownership and maybe years ago. I’m in the middle of replacing the mirror and thought I’d try to pull/pop it back, I know it won’t be perfect but hoping to make it a little better. I hit a punch several whacks without (any?) noticeable progress. There is pretty decent access with the door panel off and window down.

 

[pagrunt]

In the perfect world we all would have a stud gun to tack on a few pulling studs & then yank with a slide hammer. That spot has to be one of the more fun location to have a dent like that. I'd say try from the inside but the is not really any space to work a hammer & dolly.

 

[ItsnotaGN]

I vote block of wood wedged in there and big prybar. You must have Murphy's luck because the worst part of that dent is the one spot where there's multiple layers of steel in the door.

 

[bob64]

If you haven't got a stud welder (which is unlikely) do you have a welder? If so try welding a steel rivet to it and pull it out with a pair of vise grips.
It will take a little doing but work it from shallow's to deepest.

 

[Rktpwrd]

There’s a steel crash bar/reinforcement directly behind the mirror mounting area that runs the full length of the door. Even though there’s decent access to the area from inside the door, the reinforcement will prevent you from pushing the dent out.

As the guys have already mentioned, a UniSpotter (stud gun) is going to be the best, if not only way of bringing the outer door skin out to where it should be. I had some severe rust issues in that same area behind the mirror, likely from something similar (the mirror getting hit and letting water get in underneath the gasket).

I had to cut my offending area open and repair and treat it, but was able to save it. In the first picture you can see the reinforcement bar underneath the door skin:

Hope this helps some.

 

[PBGBodyFan]

Thanks for the advice. Impressive work Rktpwrd. No welding ability or tools here, plus I'm not pulling this out and wanting to re-finish/paint, will wait to get it repaired fully whenever the car gets painted. The plate behind it does seem to make it a bit more of a struggle. Was thinking the mirror holes could maybe be used to my advantage somehow but not sure what/how to attach something through them to help pull outward.

 

[PBGBodyFan]

Here is what progress I made. It’s better, will get fixed professionally if/when it gets painted.

A piece of wood fit in just right and some controlled whack with a sledge.