Thoughts on Inner Fenders?

[stevavrek]

I have a 97 and just got it on the road this week... super clean, solid frame and already had a 2.5" and 33's on it when I bought it. I took a lot of the stuff off and armored it up as it is going to be used for trails and off road use primarily. Never going to be my daily driver. I put the Barricade front fenders on, but don't have inner fenders. Other than keeping the engine bay "cleaner" and mounting some crap on them, what's the point of having them vs not having them?

97 Wrangler 4.0, 5 speed, 92k original miles.

 

[Steel City 06]

Without the fenders you’re probably going to get a lot of small rocks flinging through the engine compartment, which could chip paint or crack plastic.

If you live in a place that salts the road you’re probably going to run into a much bigger rust issue due to the chipped paint and the constant slinging of salty water. I would recommend the gap be covered if possible

 

[JEEPCJTJ]

I don't know that there is anything beyond keeping the engine bay "cleaner" and mounting some crap on them. It's OK if you don't mind dirt and mud (and small rocks and possibly salt) in there and everything that was mounted on the originals, that hasn't been totally abandoned, is mounted to something to keep it from bouncing around.

Since that's a good looking Jeep and you're maybe an hour away have you heard about Southington Offroad Park?

 

[DaYooperTransplant]

Just seen these in the For Sale section.

https://wranglertjforum.com/threads/jcr-highline-inner-fenders-new-175.25789/

 

[Goatman]

What about those little rubber flaps that goes from the inner fender to the frame? Are they really needed?

 

[pagrey]

All those things serve a purpose, both to keep rocks and debris out and the keep air moving where it is supposed to be moving. Plenty of people run without them and have no issues but if you can run them you probably should.