Well, running 35's was a pain without trimming as I seemed to rub everwhere. I couldn't get myself to be happy with TJ flares and I really liked the stock look, so when I searched for it, I couldn't find anything about installing stock flares on a trimmed fender so I looked into it myself. Upon looking into it, I really only needed a few inches removed from the fender to clear the tires. So this was my project at work today, trimming my fenders and keeping the stock flares. It turned out much better than I thought and it looks very stock. I had a few guys take a look and compare my fenders to a stock jeep and they couldn't point out that I trimmed until I pointed it out to them. I also compared my fenders to those with TJ flares and I netted about the same amount removed and I think the stock flares look much better, so here's the writeup...
Tools needed:
10mm deep well socket
1/4 drive ratchet
8mm deep well socket
torx drivers
philips head screw driver
cutting tool (angle grinder, dremel, etc)
cleaning spray
rags or paper towels
hammer
paint
Stock without trimming
Step 1. Take photos because you'll probably never have stock fenders again!
Step 2. Remove the fender flares. 8mm bolts hold the flare to the bottom on the rocker panel, remove both those bolts and throw them away. 10mm nuts hold the flares on and are pretty easy to remove if you use a boxed end 10mm to break torque then a socket to remove it all the way. Once all the nuts are removed, you should be able to pull the fender away without any trouble. To those with fender liners still. Pull the liner out or just swing it out of the way as you'll be wanting to get into the wheel well later on.
Step 3. With masking tape, tape off the entire area around the wheel well opening. This will give you a place to write on and put some ideas down without messing the fenders up. It also provides a level of protection to the sourouning paint.
Step4. At this point, you'll have to decide if flare positioning is important to you or not. If its not, just start cutting and figure it out later, but if its important to you like it was to me, read on. With the stock flare and mounting hardware still in one peice and the fender taped off, you'll want to figure out where you want your flare to line up. I wanted mine close to the body line so that I could get the most room as well as look nice. Once you figure out where you want it, find some paint and paint the tips of the bolts on the flare mounting hardware. This will give you a good idea as to where you want to drill the holes to remount the flares. Once you have your flare in position, use tape or something else to hold it up, step back and make sure its where you want it.
Mounting hardware
Step 5. Remove the fender flare and now you should have dots where you are to drill to mount the brackets to. Depending on how high you mount your flare will determine how you modify your brackets. I found that the higher I mounted the flares, the less I had to modify the brackets. On both sides I had to trim the rear mount slighty and remove a bolt, redrill a hole and reuse the bolt. On the drivers side I had to also completly trim off a bolt because I couldn't get a nut between the fender and the washer reservoir.
The rear mount where I had to trim the bolt off
bolt and redrilled hole
Step 6. Now its time to drill the holes. On the passanger side, just go at it, you're not going to hit a thing. On the drivers side however, be very careful as your washer reservoir is behind the fender. My drill stop didn't work and you may end up looking like me with washer fluid all over the place.
Its about this time that you say to yourself "damn it to hell!" Its an easy fix, so don't fret. The bottle won't leak very fast, so go find a sheet metal screw and some RTV. With your fingers, screw the screw in partially, enought to stop the leak. At this point, dry off the area and put some RTV around the screw and then proceed to tighten until it seems flush. DON'T STRIP THE HOLE OR IT WILL LEAK AGAIN!!
This is the bolt that I cut off because the bottle was in the way.
Step 7. Once all the holes are drilled, verify that the mounting brackets will fit in the holes and see if you're happy with their positions. They may not sit flush at the moment, but when you trim the fender and then reinstall the flare, you can tighten them down and they will sit much better.
Tools needed:
10mm deep well socket
1/4 drive ratchet
8mm deep well socket
torx drivers
philips head screw driver
cutting tool (angle grinder, dremel, etc)
cleaning spray
rags or paper towels
hammer
paint
Stock without trimming
Step 1. Take photos because you'll probably never have stock fenders again!
Step 2. Remove the fender flares. 8mm bolts hold the flare to the bottom on the rocker panel, remove both those bolts and throw them away. 10mm nuts hold the flares on and are pretty easy to remove if you use a boxed end 10mm to break torque then a socket to remove it all the way. Once all the nuts are removed, you should be able to pull the fender away without any trouble. To those with fender liners still. Pull the liner out or just swing it out of the way as you'll be wanting to get into the wheel well later on.
Step 3. With masking tape, tape off the entire area around the wheel well opening. This will give you a place to write on and put some ideas down without messing the fenders up. It also provides a level of protection to the sourouning paint.
Step4. At this point, you'll have to decide if flare positioning is important to you or not. If its not, just start cutting and figure it out later, but if its important to you like it was to me, read on. With the stock flare and mounting hardware still in one peice and the fender taped off, you'll want to figure out where you want your flare to line up. I wanted mine close to the body line so that I could get the most room as well as look nice. Once you figure out where you want it, find some paint and paint the tips of the bolts on the flare mounting hardware. This will give you a good idea as to where you want to drill the holes to remount the flares. Once you have your flare in position, use tape or something else to hold it up, step back and make sure its where you want it.
Mounting hardware
Step 5. Remove the fender flare and now you should have dots where you are to drill to mount the brackets to. Depending on how high you mount your flare will determine how you modify your brackets. I found that the higher I mounted the flares, the less I had to modify the brackets. On both sides I had to trim the rear mount slighty and remove a bolt, redrill a hole and reuse the bolt. On the drivers side I had to also completly trim off a bolt because I couldn't get a nut between the fender and the washer reservoir.
The rear mount where I had to trim the bolt off
bolt and redrilled hole
Step 6. Now its time to drill the holes. On the passanger side, just go at it, you're not going to hit a thing. On the drivers side however, be very careful as your washer reservoir is behind the fender. My drill stop didn't work and you may end up looking like me with washer fluid all over the place.
Its about this time that you say to yourself "damn it to hell!" Its an easy fix, so don't fret. The bottle won't leak very fast, so go find a sheet metal screw and some RTV. With your fingers, screw the screw in partially, enought to stop the leak. At this point, dry off the area and put some RTV around the screw and then proceed to tighten until it seems flush. DON'T STRIP THE HOLE OR IT WILL LEAK AGAIN!!
This is the bolt that I cut off because the bottle was in the way.
Step 7. Once all the holes are drilled, verify that the mounting brackets will fit in the holes and see if you're happy with their positions. They may not sit flush at the moment, but when you trim the fender and then reinstall the flare, you can tighten them down and they will sit much better.