Getting rid of factory fenders

Lane Page

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Oct 10, 2018
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Porterville, CA, USA
I’ve been wanting to lose the original fenders that are on my Jeep and I’m not sure what fender flares I actually want. I’ve looked a lot at tube fenders but the only bad thing is the price is generally high, any ideas on what I should consider and any pictures of builds I can use as reference?
 
You can get the cheaper Chinese brand fenders for reasonably cheap, see these EAG ones for instance:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00ISA49WO/?tag=wranglerorg-20

However, if you want the nicer quality ones such as GenRight or MetalCloak, you will spend quite a bit more.

For what it's worth though, those EAG fenders I linked to above have mostly positive reviews.
 
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You can get the cheaper Chinese brand fenders for reasonably cheap, see these EAG ones for instance:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00ISA49WO/?tag=wranglerorg-20

However, if you want the nicer quality ones such as GenRight or MetalCloak, you will spend quite a bit more.

For what it's worth though, those EAG fenders I linked to above have mostly positive reviews.


I have an EAG rear bumper/tire carrier. I bought it on Amazon and couldn't resist because of the price. When it arrived, it took a little "convincing" to get it mounted and then the tire carrier mount was bent. They sent me a new one quickly and it was good to go. Personally I would buy from them again. They seem fair and the materials are built well. At the time, I didn't know that they had tube fenders. I would have saved some bucks and probably bought them.
 
I have an EAG rear bumper/tire carrier. I bought it on Amazon and couldn't resist because of the price. When it arrived, it took a little "convincing" to get it mounted and then the tire carrier mount was bent. They sent me a new one quickly and it was good to go. Personally I would buy from them again. They seem fair and the materials are built well. At the time, I didn't know that they had tube fenders. I would have saved some bucks and probably bought them.

Yes, I had an EAG bumper on my old TJ and it wasn't bad. It fit okay, and it looked good. For the price, it's hard to beat, I agree.
 
Anyone struggled to get off the OEM fenders flares? Specifically on the rear fenders flares (I’m trying to install rock sliders on a 97 TJ):

I need to pull the fender flare back away from the body a bit to slide the rock slider between it and the body. To do to that I need to loosen the bolts that attach the fender flare. So I started loosening those bolts. They broke loose easily enough with a 8mm socket, but some of them just spin and don’t actually back out. Looking online, this seems relatively common on our old TJs.

Looking online, there were a few videos and postings that discuss pulling the plastic wheel well liner away to get to the back of these uncooperative bolts. So I pop the plastic rivets and pull back the liner only to find a metal plate blocking my way and no way to replicate what the online folks described — I can’t get to the back of those bolts. (I pulled back the carpet to see if there was an easy way from that side — no love.)

I’ve tried using a plastic pry tool to wedge under the bolt head and to keep pressure on the bolt. That might have done something, but not much (not enough to push the 3/16” metal plate under it).

Am I missing something so obvious that forum experts are gonna laugh a my foolishness? What started as a 3-4 hour job to install rock sliders (according to the directions), has turned into a 5 hour fiasco and I’m completely stymied on step 1, “Take off and remove any existing flares or rocker guards that you have have on your vehicle.”

Thanks for anything folks can offer.

(Also thanks to a TJ Addict for correcting my part nomenclature!)
 
Last edited:
Anyone struggled to get off the OEM fenders? Specifically on the rear fenders (I’m trying to install rock sliders on a 97 TJ):

Thanks for anything folks can offer.

This thread seems to be zigging and zagging a little bit.

Fenders are fenders, fender flares are fender flares. Facts are facts and this is the Fourth of July!💥

Anyway, The problems you are having are the lowest bolts holding the flare on. They are screwed into nutserts that are now stuck to them but loose from the body. I hate them with every breath I take.

What I ended up doing was grind the heads off then I ground off the tops of the nutserts and used jack nuts to reinstall them. If you go that route, it basically means you will need to get the flares completely off to have room to do the work. And IIRC getting the flares completely off will cause you to experience similar problems with the lowest bolts near the back.

Maybe someone else has an easier way.
 
I wanted new flares but nothing caught my eye. Preferred an OEM 5", but only an aftermarket 6" or the 4.25" OEM Rubicon are available. I like the idea of those EAG flares that @Chris posted, but I am not ready to cut the flares, yet. So I just painted my stock ones rather than buy new ones and called it a day.

Anyone struggled to get off the OEM fenders? Specifically on the rear fenders (I’m trying to install rock sliders on a 97 TJ):

I need to pull the fender back away from the body a bit to slide the rock slider between it and the body. To do to that I need to loosen the bolts that attach the fender to body. So I started loosening those bolts. They broke loose easily enough with a 8mm socket, but some of them just spin and don’t actually back out. Looking online, this seems relatively common on our old TJs.

Looking online, there were a few videos and postings that discuss pulling the plastic wheel well liner away to get to the back of these uncooperative bolts. So I pop the plastic rivets and pull back the liner only to find a metal plate blocking my way and no way to replicate what the online folks described — I can’t get to the back of those bolts. (I pulled back the carpet to see if there was an easy way from that side — no love.)

I’ve tried using a plastic pry tool to wedge under the bolt head and to keep pressure on the bolt. That might have done something, but not much (not enough to push the 3/16” metal plate under it).

Am I missing something so obvious that forum experts are gonna laugh a my foolishness? What started as a 3-4 hour job to install rock sliders (according to the directions), has turned into a 5 hour fiasco and I’m completely stymied on step 1, “Take off and remove any existing flares or rocker guards that you have have on your vehicle.”

Thanks for anything folks can offer.

As @JEEPCJTJ said, the nutserts are a pain, but I do like them. I drilled my out with a 9/32 bit and reinstalled new M5 nutserts, put anti-seize in there so they should be easy to remove when, and if, I revisit a new flare, like the EAG.

Also, those plastic clips suck, I used a trim removal tool to get them out but broke a few in the process. I ordered a 100 pack for $6 courtesy of a 2016 post from @mrblaine

Once all clips are out you have to squish and wiggle it out. Note that the liner has a couple male pieces that poke through the body, so you must push those pieces in towards the center of the body.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0017UBHQS/?tag=wranglerorg-20
 
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