2001 LeSabre wheel well/splash guard

[RCLeSabre]

I have a 2001 LeSabre. I am trying to get to the inside of the left front fender (my son created a slightly modified profile to the existing outline - using a fence post he didn't see). The damage is not massive, but it is noticeable. I am going to correct what I can with a 1x4, a cloth, and a hammer until I get a chance to have a professional fix. I am assuming I need to remove (or at least loosen) the wheel well/splash guard (not sure what the official term is) to reach the inside surface of the fender. I further assume that is done by accessing and removing the plastic connectors along the outside near the fender and pulling the wheel well cover back. My question is how hard to pull on the connectors? They didn't seem to give way with the amount of pressure I was comfortable using. Is there a trick to their removal? Do I just need to pull harder? Am I on the right track? Any help is appreciated.

 

[Spriteman]

Depending on which ones you have - if they're like mine you pull on the center part - about a 1/4 inch diameter - that pops out about a 1/2 inch then you can pull the larger connector out.

Others work the same way with different kinds of center pins.

They shouldn't be too hard to pull out once the center part is 1/2 inch out.