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Rear Fender Trim Write-up, retaining the stock flare (Fender Trim Part 2)

53guy

NAXJA Forum User
Location
EnTransit
Ok, so if you've been keeping up with the threads (Part one can be found here http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=87959&highlight=front+fender+trim) this is part two of my fender trim work. So far I've gotten the front completely done and now we are on the rear. I've gotten the weekend off, so I'm not at work doing my trimming, so the background will be a tad different and I got a helper to take pictures (thanks sweetie) this time, so there are more on Fototime that I will be posting, so feel free to browse those if you get a chance, the linky is at the bottom of my signature.....so onto the trim.


First off, things you will need...
-Between 3-6 hours of spare time. It took us about 4 total with lunch in between.
-Safety glasses
-Gloves
-Cutting tool of some sort (I used a die grinder with a cut off wheel, but a dremel or an angle grinder would work just as easily)
-10mm deep well socket and wratchet
-Drill
-Drill bits
-Dikes, tin snips, or a razor blade
-Hammers to include a rubber or wooden mallet and a dead blow
-Silicone based caulking (designed for metal) or a similar form of sealant to keep water out of your pinch seam
-Painters tape or masking tape
-Paint of your choice
-A marker or something to write with
-Paper towels or news paper
-Sand paper or a sanding device of some sort
(optional)
-Jack and jack stands so you can remove your rear tires for easier access
-Tools to remove your rear tires

So now that we have all that we need, it is now time for you to decide if you are going to be trimming around the flare or if you are going to be relocating the flare. For my purposes, I chose to relocate the flare, moving it forward and up slightly to be flush with the door line. Once you've decided what you're going to do, its time to start.

Step 1.
Park your Jeep somewhere on level ground so your tools don't run away from you. Remove the rear flare liner by pulling it off of the bolts and removing the plastic retainer on the bottom front (throw it away, its nearly impossiable to reuse and very pointless). With your 10mm socket and wratchet, remove the rear flare. There are 5 nuts to remove that hold the flare on.

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Step 2.
Now that you have the rear flare off, you will want to mask the area around the wheel well. This will allow you to protect the paint and also give you a sort of temporary canvas to brainstorm on. Now if you are deciding to relocate the flare, figure out where you want the flare to sit and push the flare onto the fender, pressing the bolts into the tape, marking where the new bolt holes are going to be. You'll want to check and make sure that you can drill into where you marked and that you will be able to put the nut on. The fender is closed beyond the wheel well and really shouldn't be messed with, so I suggest moving the flare in line with the door opening. It is about as high up as you an get it and still thread on the nuts and as far forward as it can go without preventing the door from shutting. Once you've marked the holes, go ahead and drill them.

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Step 3.
Now you're gonna want to test fit the flare and figure out if you are happy with it. You'll want to trim the forward bottom tab off of the flare to get it to line up with the body flush if you're moving the flare up at all. A pair of dikes or tin snips will do fine to cut that. Once you're happy with the flare position, trace the outline of the flare onto the fender using your marker, making sure to mark where the rear of the flare stops so that you know where to start bending in, then set the flare aside and move onto the next part. At this point, make sure you know where the pinch welds are or you might be in for some serious body welding. It might be a good idea to remove some tape and be sure you know. Mark where you will be cutting the fender so that you know what to remove and where to cut. I chose to trim up to the pinch seam all the way around and then bend a portion in. So go ahead and mark and then get your cutting tools ready.

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Step 4.
Now you should be ready to cut the fender. With your cutting tool, begin to trim away. Its a good idea to make a line all the way around, so you'll have a good idea of where you're tool may run into problems or obstacles that may end up causing your trouble. Here is where you might find it easier to remove the tire so that you will have room to cut (as I found out). Begin cutting your line up to the pinch seam. Once you have trimmed that bit off, you'll want to decide what if any of the fender you are going to fold back. I chose to fold the front and rear portions, but not the top because my tire will never come into contact with the top. If you choose to cut and fold, cut relief cuts into the fender along the area you wish to fold. As a note, the more relief cuts you make, the easier it will be to fold, but the worse it will look. The less you cut, the harder it will be to fold and you might run into fender creasing problems, but the better it will turn out. I cut so that I had about an inch on either side of a pinch weld. That seemed to work well for me, with more cuts towards the bottom where the fender has more bends in it.

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Step 5.
Now that you have the lip trimmed off and the relief cuts have been made, it is time to go ahead and fold the front and rear in. To get ready to do this, you'll want to clean the inside of the fender so that the caulk has a clean surface to bond to. Make sure that you use a quality sealant that is designed to bond to metals. Put a bead on the inside of the fender before you bend the tabs in so that when you are done, no water can get inbetween and cause rust. Once you make these folds, you really won't have much area to fix if you do develop rust in that area, so its a good idea to take your time and make sure it perfect and that you won't have rust. With your rubber or wooden mallet, hammer the tabs in so that they are flush and where you want them inside the fender. It is not neccessary to retain the tabs with anything....they will stay where they are. It is easiest if you start at the top and bend every thing in from there. You'll want to clean up the excess caulk that was squeezed out when you hammered the tabs flat. Make sure that all the holes hare filled and that it is sealed enough to keep out water.

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Step 6.
Once you have the area all cleaned up and sealed up, it is time to sand and prepare for painting. Remove all the masking you put on so that you know what needs to be painted and what doesn't. Sand all of the areas that are sharp, may cut your tires on, your hands on, anything you think should be sanded, sand. You'll also want to sand the areas where the paint cracked or chipped so that you can smoothly paint and blend into the origional paint. Once you've sanded it to your liking, its best to get your helper to clean the dust off with some 409 or windex or something. =) Thanks Liz!

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Step 7.
Now that your wife or helper has done a wonderful job cleaning your mess up, go ahead and mask the area off again, but this time with a sort of barrier to keep the over spray off the clean paint you wish unpainted. I chose to use paper towels as they were easy and I already had them out. Once everything is masked off, go ahead and paint to your hearts content. I painted the fender as well as the wheel well to make it look a tad bit better than before and it turned out really well in my opinion.

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Step 8.
As your waiting for the paint to dry, goof off, get a nice cold one, take a nap, take random pictures, whatever... :laugh3:
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Step 9.
Now that the paint is dry, reinstall the flare and enjoy the new found clearance! If there is still day light out, it might be a good idea to go test flex the rear end and bumpstop accordingly. I ran out of day light, so I didn't get to test flex it yet. I'll be doing that tomorrow and posting up some better finished pictures. Clean up and go to sleep!

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If you missed the front trim job, the write-up can be found here http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=87959&highlight=front+fender+trim. I hope you enjoyed the write-ups and that they helped you in some way shape or form. All the pictures that I have of both write-ups can be found at the linky found in my signature. Thanks to all those who gave advice and ideas. Thanks a bunch Steve (FitchVA) for all the info he passed on and thanks a bunch to my wife for putting up with me. :laugh3:
 
Sweet, should go well along with mine! We should put linkys into eachother's threads so that people can see the difference!
 
Dude awesome job, I think is gonna be on my mod to do list..
 
Yeah, I thought it turned out rather nicely. I was a little lery of cutting and folding, but I love the way it looks and that fender is way more solid than I thought. But I'm so stoked that I can go and pull out my crazy assed bumpstops now! Wahoo!
 
53guy said:
Yeah, I thought it turned out rather nicely.

Ya, it turned out great. Nice work man!
Both write-ups have been bookmarked so reference when I do mine.

On a quick sidenote, what's the backspacing on those rims?
(I've got some MT Classic IIs [3 5/16''] and I'm worried about how far they will look like they stick out... with inspection and all).


Great write-up! :D
 
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RCman said:
On a quick sidenote, what's the backspacing on those rims?
(I've got some MT Classic IIs [3 5/16''] and I'm worried about how far they will look like they stick out... with inspection and all).

I have 3 5/8" backspacing, so pretty much 3.75". I live in VA, probably the second gayest state for vehicle inspections and laws and I haven't had a problem yet.
 
Ok, so I took the wife out found a some logging trails and we did some test flex. So far I haven't been able to scrub in the rear and I need to do a bit of tuning to the fender liner in the front. In the front, I don't rub any metal at all and like I said, I don't have the weight to fully stuff my rear end. I think if I connected my sway bar in the front I might be able to flex it enough to stuff it, but I didn't have the time. I removed all the rubber bump stop I could with my knife, but I didn't have the tools to remove it all the way, but I'm down to just the Full Traction bumpstop now! Its so nice to be able to go over anything without rubbing any more!!! So if you've been thinking about trimming and you haven't convinced yourself that going fenderless is the way to go and you hate the look of bushwackers, I definately think these trim jobs are the way to go for you. I kept the stock flares, I kept the stock hardware, I kept the stock look, and gained enough room to fully stuff my BFG 35x12.50's to the point that I couldn't flex any farther without crazy long brake lines and limiting straps. As you can see in the pictures, my springs were out of the seats, so if that's not enough flex for you, I'm not sure what else you need, so I hope these write ups were helpful for you and gave you the reassurance that you needed to go and do a bit of trimming! Good luck and good wheeling!

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Hope you enjoyed all the pictures and if you need more, please let me know and I'd be happy to take some more for you if you can't find them on my fototime site (linky found in my signature).
 
Thanks for takin the time to document & photograph your write-up. :smootch:
 
I cut and folded on the rear with my 89 two weeks ago, and it's awesome. I placed mine up higher, required cutting the flare in two, and the front halves are actually mounted to the back doors. I did not re-use the stock hardware, as I secured the flares with screws. The whole thing is in the process of Herculining and sealing right now, and I will post pictures when it's done. Cutting fenders is the way to go.
 
Whats the point of the caulk again? Just wanting to make it seamles insed th wheelwells? Just curious cause I did this months agao with no caulk and not had any issues. I just rattlecanned the little tabs and then bedlined.
 
ZachMan said:
Whats the point of the caulk again? Just wanting to make it seamles insed th wheelwells? Just curious cause I did this months agao with no caulk and not had any issues. I just rattlecanned the little tabs and then bedlined.
it's to help prevent any water from getting back there and accumulating. over time that could cause rust.
 
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