Front Fender trimming on 98 XJ

jma · Dec 26, 2004

Mery X-mas to you all!

I`m using these days of work to do some modifying on my Jeep.
I have started to cut of the lip on front fender, and thats going great. But what do you guys do with the plastic inner fender?

shotstopper · Dec 26, 2004

Not really sure what you mean. I trimmed the front bottom half on my bumber near the flare. Simply lined up the the cut so it matched the fender flare. On the back part of the flare did the same. Check past posts for this. Because when I did it I started a thread here and asked a whole bunch of questions.

jma · Dec 26, 2004

I have trimmed the end of the bumber, but i mean the plastic (dont know what you call it) under the fender that goes all the way in the wheelwell. I dont know if i should completly remove it, or just cut to fit.

You can see the plastic on this picture:

In this picture i have cut some of the fender, and some plastic...but more to go:

Lore5 · Dec 27, 2004

I just got rid of mine like most people. Some people are able to find a way to re-attach it up there but I didn't want to waste my time with that. Just a warning though, a lot of mud gets in your engine compartment without the plastic in there while off road. But who cares about mud, you should be fine.
I have also seen people cut up those noodles that kids play with in the pool and shove them up in the wheelwell. Just an idea.

Starboard M · Dec 27, 2004

Get rid of it. Ive had mine taken out and its no big deal. Mud and water might go through your fenders into the door sill area, but it doesnt get inside the Jeep.

jrsxj98 · Dec 27, 2004

86 it.

lesslimited · Dec 27, 2004

I cut and trimmed the top and back portion, and reattached it, to keep some of the mud out. Easy enough to do with plastic.

SteelblueSteve · Dec 27, 2004

I trimmed the plastic hanging down in your picture so that most of whats hanging down is gone . I got some shipping foam from my work , comes in large squares , and trimmed to fit tightly into the exposed opening of the door sill. The foam is exactly the same as the swimming "noodle" foam as mentioned in the other post, it's highly water proof, obviosly, and my company uses it for shipping aircraft parts to the government, it's very sturdy. After jamming it in the door sill I covered it with black RTV silicon and wedged a section of 2x4 between the tire and the trimmed plastic hanging down so it was pressed up against the foam . Let dry overnight and the plastic and foam hasn't moved since. It's already been sprayed with ice melting salt/chemicals so heavily used in the Chicago area and has held up great.

BPB · Dec 27, 2004

i got rid of mine along with the rubber water guard under the engine, no big deal, right? wrong!!! I got mud in my alternator, and thrifty's wont honor my waranty. but then my buddy mainly just does street driving and he has no problems.

shotstopper · Dec 27, 2004

I left mine. Just trimmed it so it was even with the metal and have had no problems.

trailxj · Dec 27, 2004

I just took mine out and stuck a pool noodle in the space by the door jam.

Check out this link for a trimming writeup and a pic of the pool noodle idea im talking about

http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=82828

Sterling90XJ · Dec 27, 2004

.
When I did mine on both my old '90 XJ, and my current '00, I removed the inner liner, and went with the pool noodle mod that most do. Yeah, with the '97+ XJs, you do have the windshield washer stuff exposed, but no real problems there. But you do want to keep grime out of the hinge areas.

Here's a few pics showing what I did...

.

jma · Dec 27, 2004

Thanks, good idea with the pool noodle

Here is a picture from todays wheeling, i`m finished with the cutting in the front. I only need to drill holes for the bushwackers and mount them.
Now i`m just looking for time to do the rest....3.5" RE, JKS Trackbar, JKS quicker dis., SYE and a High Angle Drivline driveshaft, all i need is time cause i already have the parts.
(If someone is interested, here is some more pictures from Norway: http://www.offroad.no/snitz/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=23187&whichpage=2
http://www.offroad.no/snitz/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=23187&whichpage=3 )

Jeff 98XJ WI · Dec 28, 2004

I didn't cut as much as you, but I did switch to earlier model inner fender liners. They bolt up to the fender much more securely than the late model inner liners. I trimmed them a bit too. I felt the keeping the inner fenders lined will keep them cleaner and reduce stone chipping. I also tried running without front flares one winter here in Wisconsin but quickly decided against that with the salt and slop getting flung everywhere! Jeff

Front Fender trimming on 98 XJ

jma

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jma

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Lore5

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Starboard M

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jrsxj98

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lesslimited

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BPB

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shotstopper

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