Bushwacker Flat Flares Install PITA
JK Enthusiast
Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 137
Likes: 0
From: vancouver island, bc
well here are some tips, And don't be shy when removing the stock fender flares, just get a soft but firm prying tool and those flares will come off real nicely (none of this is in chronological order of what i did, just things i can remember from my installation)
1- the plastic is so easy to cut you can do it with a new blade in your utility knife.
2- once you have the old flares removed from the wheel well bolt the wheel well back into place, apply a small amount of pressure and trace with a paint pen along the sheet metal of the front fenders or the rear quarter panels on the plastic wheel well. cut to the inside of your lines, if you cut to the outside you will find you need to trim the plastic back, basically you want the wheel well to be flush or 1/16" inside to flush with the sheet metal as the bushwacker flares have a lip that will slightly overlap the wheel well.
3- the double sided tape edge molding, just make sure the surface is really AND I MEAN REALLY CLEAN go in your medicine cabinet and get some rubbing alcohol and clean that sheet metal and when applying on a cooler day use a hair dryer or heat gun just to warm the surface.
4- to line up the holes when bolting everything back to the vehicle the holes won't line up 100% depending on how accurate you are with the clips, a small straight o-ring pick can solve that, don't pry too hard on the edge of the openings where the screws go in.
5- the lights, that's not bad, i hard wired them in just cause i have the patience, but the connectors provided are good enough, just get a mini lighter torch and make sure you heat up the connectors insulation as it will make it water tight, use some electricians grease inside the connectors to block out corrosion and dirt.
6- removing the oem clips, just snap 'em you don't need 'em
7- does anyone need a set of stock flares (haha)
8- follow the body lines, don't force the flare. trust me if the mounting moldings are installed properly to the sheet metal of the jeep you won't have any issues with the flares fitting anywhere but THE RIGHT PLACE, they may not fit like a hot knife through butter, they need a little persuasion but nothing ridiculous
9- DON'T OVERTIGHTEN ANYTHING, the hardware that is supplied to mount the modlings only need to be tight to the point of engaging against the vehicle, anymore and they will warp, as any soft materials will and that's where sleeving the flare over the moldings might get tricky. tighten until you feel no more slack on the nut and bolt.
10- place your bushwacker sticker wherever you'd like it's not going to make the installation any easier
1- the plastic is so easy to cut you can do it with a new blade in your utility knife.
2- once you have the old flares removed from the wheel well bolt the wheel well back into place, apply a small amount of pressure and trace with a paint pen along the sheet metal of the front fenders or the rear quarter panels on the plastic wheel well. cut to the inside of your lines, if you cut to the outside you will find you need to trim the plastic back, basically you want the wheel well to be flush or 1/16" inside to flush with the sheet metal as the bushwacker flares have a lip that will slightly overlap the wheel well.
3- the double sided tape edge molding, just make sure the surface is really AND I MEAN REALLY CLEAN go in your medicine cabinet and get some rubbing alcohol and clean that sheet metal and when applying on a cooler day use a hair dryer or heat gun just to warm the surface.
4- to line up the holes when bolting everything back to the vehicle the holes won't line up 100% depending on how accurate you are with the clips, a small straight o-ring pick can solve that, don't pry too hard on the edge of the openings where the screws go in.
5- the lights, that's not bad, i hard wired them in just cause i have the patience, but the connectors provided are good enough, just get a mini lighter torch and make sure you heat up the connectors insulation as it will make it water tight, use some electricians grease inside the connectors to block out corrosion and dirt.
6- removing the oem clips, just snap 'em you don't need 'em
7- does anyone need a set of stock flares (haha)
8- follow the body lines, don't force the flare. trust me if the mounting moldings are installed properly to the sheet metal of the jeep you won't have any issues with the flares fitting anywhere but THE RIGHT PLACE, they may not fit like a hot knife through butter, they need a little persuasion but nothing ridiculous
9- DON'T OVERTIGHTEN ANYTHING, the hardware that is supplied to mount the modlings only need to be tight to the point of engaging against the vehicle, anymore and they will warp, as any soft materials will and that's where sleeving the flare over the moldings might get tricky. tighten until you feel no more slack on the nut and bolt.
10- place your bushwacker sticker wherever you'd like it's not going to make the installation any easier
Last edited by jK-ataklysm; Oct 18, 2011 at 03:58 PM.
Thread Starter
JK Super Freak
Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 1,262
Likes: 1
From: Mount Hope, WV
well here are some tips, And don't be shy when removing the stock fender flares, just get a soft but firm prying tool and those flares will come off real nicely (none of this is in chronological order of what i did, just things i can remember from my installation)
1- the plastic is so easy to cut you can do it with a new blade in your utility knife.
2- once you have the old flares removed from the wheel well bolt the wheel well back into place, apply a small amount of pressure and trace with a paint pen along the sheet metal of the front fenders or the rear quarter panels on the plastic wheel well. cut to the inside of your lines, if you cut to the outside you will find you need to trim the plastic back, basically you want the wheel well to be flush or 1/16" inside to flush with the sheet metal as the bushwacker flares have a lip that will slightly overlap the wheel well.
3- the double sided tape edge molding, just make sure the surface is really AND I MEAN REALLY CLEAN go in your medicine cabinet and get some rubbing alcohol and clean that sheet metal and when applying on a cooler day use a hair dryer or heat gun just to warm the surface.
4- to line up the holes when bolting everything back to the vehicle the holes won't line up 100% depending on how accurate you are with the clips, a small straight o-ring pick can solve that, don't pry too hard on the edge of the openings where the screws go in.
5- the lights, that's not bad, i hard wired them in just cause i have the patience, but the connectors provided are good enough, just get a mini lighter torch and make sure you heat up the connectors insulation as it will make it water tight, use some electricians grease inside the connectors to block out corrosion and dirt.
6- removing the oem clips, just snap 'em you don't need 'em
7- does anyone need a set of stock flares (haha)
8- follow the body lines, don't force the flare. trust me if the mounting moldings are installed properly to the sheet metal of the jeep you won't have any issues with the flares fitting anywhere but THE RIGHT PLACE, they may not fit like a hot knife through butter, they need a little persuasion but nothing ridiculous
9- DON'T OVERTIGHTEN ANYTHING, the hardware that is supplied to mount the modlings only need to be tight to the point of engaging against the vehicle, anymore and they will warp, as any soft materials will and that's where sleeving the flare over the moldings might get tricky. tighten until you feel no more slack on the nut and bolt.
10- place your bushwacker sticker wherever you'd like it's not going to make the installation any easier
1- the plastic is so easy to cut you can do it with a new blade in your utility knife.
2- once you have the old flares removed from the wheel well bolt the wheel well back into place, apply a small amount of pressure and trace with a paint pen along the sheet metal of the front fenders or the rear quarter panels on the plastic wheel well. cut to the inside of your lines, if you cut to the outside you will find you need to trim the plastic back, basically you want the wheel well to be flush or 1/16" inside to flush with the sheet metal as the bushwacker flares have a lip that will slightly overlap the wheel well.
3- the double sided tape edge molding, just make sure the surface is really AND I MEAN REALLY CLEAN go in your medicine cabinet and get some rubbing alcohol and clean that sheet metal and when applying on a cooler day use a hair dryer or heat gun just to warm the surface.
4- to line up the holes when bolting everything back to the vehicle the holes won't line up 100% depending on how accurate you are with the clips, a small straight o-ring pick can solve that, don't pry too hard on the edge of the openings where the screws go in.
5- the lights, that's not bad, i hard wired them in just cause i have the patience, but the connectors provided are good enough, just get a mini lighter torch and make sure you heat up the connectors insulation as it will make it water tight, use some electricians grease inside the connectors to block out corrosion and dirt.
6- removing the oem clips, just snap 'em you don't need 'em
7- does anyone need a set of stock flares (haha)
8- follow the body lines, don't force the flare. trust me if the mounting moldings are installed properly to the sheet metal of the jeep you won't have any issues with the flares fitting anywhere but THE RIGHT PLACE, they may not fit like a hot knife through butter, they need a little persuasion but nothing ridiculous
9- DON'T OVERTIGHTEN ANYTHING, the hardware that is supplied to mount the modlings only need to be tight to the point of engaging against the vehicle, anymore and they will warp, as any soft materials will and that's where sleeving the flare over the moldings might get tricky. tighten until you feel no more slack on the nut and bolt.
10- place your bushwacker sticker wherever you'd like it's not going to make the installation any easier
JK Junkie
Joined: May 2009
Posts: 3,093
Likes: 0
From: The Jersey Shore House
Really
I got this done in one day took about 6 hours total. I'll admit that the nylon nuts locking up drove me crazy enough to start throwing sockets around but the cutting of the fender liners and getting things squared away was pretty fast and got faster with each one I did, so that by the last one it only took me an hour tops.
I got this done in one day took about 6 hours total. I'll admit that the nylon nuts locking up drove me crazy enough to start throwing sockets around but the cutting of the fender liners and getting things squared away was pretty fast and got faster with each one I did, so that by the last one it only took me an hour tops.
JK Enthusiast
Joined: May 2010
Posts: 100
Likes: 1
From: santa rosa, ca
I did mine over two half days and yes some parts are a bitch, i used a dremel to cut the I F and you need to go down and buy some quailty nuts and bolts and throw those that came with the fenders away they are garbage, once i got new nuts and bolts it went alot better and its true after one is done it gets better by the time you do the last one you will be a pro.
JK Enthusiast
Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 252
Likes: 0
From: Bel Air, MD
It was a time consuming install. Not difficult compared to many things I have had to do before. I had no problems with the bolts. I had a pretty easy time cutting the inner fenders due to the fact I did the job over a weekend when it was well into the 100's. Again, not complex but it will eat up some time to do it properly.
Thread Starter
JK Super Freak
Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 1,262
Likes: 1
From: Mount Hope, WV
Really I got this done in one day took about 6 hours total. I'll admit that the nylon nuts locking up drove me crazy enough to start throwing sockets around but the cutting of the fender liners and getting things squared away was pretty fast and got faster with each one I did, so that by the last one it only took me an hour tops.
I got this done in one day took about 6 hours total. I'll admit that the nylon nuts locking up drove me crazy enough to start throwing sockets around but the cutting of the fender liners and getting things squared away was pretty fast and got faster with each one I did, so that by the last one it only took me an hour tops.
JK Junkie
Joined: May 2009
Posts: 3,093
Likes: 0
From: The Jersey Shore House
Nah just cut them, 2 actually sheared off from the physical strength of trying to loosen them up. After the 4 th one I said screw it and went to lowes and bought all new hardware and threw the crappy stuff out, made the rest of the install a breeze. When you get to the end find someone to lean against the fender it makes installing those little screws a ton easier than trying to push on it yourself and screw them in.
Thread Starter
JK Super Freak
Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 1,262
Likes: 1
From: Mount Hope, WV
JK Jedi
Joined: May 2011
Posts: 4,343
Likes: 1
From: Wake Forest, NC
Exactly how many beers will it take to get this right?!
Just kidding... guess I am going to pull the trigger on the purchase. I won't put 'em on until I install the lift...
Saving and purchasing one thing a time is slow going.
Just kidding... guess I am going to pull the trigger on the purchase. I won't put 'em on until I install the lift...
Saving and purchasing one thing a time is slow going.