Fender flare replacement instructions?
- Thread starter schabj3
- Start date
I did it myself was not as hard as I thought, probably took about 4 hours for all four fenders. The vids are not very good, this one was the best I found. I recommend using a 4" angle grinder, Jig saw & sawsall. I don't have my Jeep w/ me at work, I can take pics from the underside so you can see what I cut. I do know that I cut more than what the vids said was needed and she dropped right in,
Loosen old bolts and remove flares. Then clean all the mud, dirt and crud behind them. Install new flares with new bolts or use the old rusted ones. Done. 
Mine took a good day if you take your time and try not to swear. Getting a hand up to grip the plastic nuts is also a pain as is dealing with spinning nutserts which is guaranteed to happen. 1 hour per flare sounds reasonable.Not hard at all? 4 hours? WTF.
It's not as bad as it seems. Don't worry about saving the nutserts as you are going to lose some no matter what. If you do, just knock them out and get some stainless nuts, bolts and washers from the hardware store.
The bolts don’t seem to be coming off - spinning around but not moving. Any advice?Loosen old bolts and remove flares. Then clean all the mud, dirt and crud behind them. Install new flares with new bolts or use the old rusted ones. Done.
Correction - most of the bolts aren’t spinning off. I got 3 out of 8 off on one of the rear fender flares.
I’m guessing the 3 you got off are the nutserts. The rest install with plastic nuts so you’ll have to reach inside the liner the hold them in order to get them out. I’m sure you can figure it out.
Buy a rivnut gun and add some nutserts.
https://wranglertjforum.com/threads/gregs-05-lj-build.13322/post-450070
https://wranglertjforum.com/threads/gregs-05-lj-build.13322/post-450070
Agree, this was a PITA for something that seems like it should be relatively straightforward. I’d say it took me between 4-6 hours to remove and replace.
C.J. Roberts
TJ Addict
The guy that came up with those should be shot, hanged, castrated, and boiled in oil, not necessarily in that order. The best tool for the bolt heads, however, is a ratcheting box end wrench. A socket doesn't even come close.
Agree, and I don't have ratcheting wrenches. I know what I'm asking for for Father's Day. Ended up using combination of socket wrench and normal non-ratcheting wrench.
C.J. Roberts
TJ Addict
First time I did it that's what I used. A Harbor Freight Battery Side Terminal wrench fits well, too.