brewski
Well-Known Member
- First Name
- Jack
- Joined
- Jan 24, 2021
- Threads
- 15
- Messages
- 685
- Reaction score
- 1,030
- Location
- Washington
- Vehicle(s)
- JLUR-diesel
- Thread starter
- #1
I ordered the XR fender flares a while ago and they arrived today. Took me about 1hr 20min to do and that was figuring out what is needed and taking all the pics to do this write up. I did it during my lunch break (was working at home). I would guess most people could do this in an hour or less.
One thing I was surprised by is each fender requires drilling 3 additional holes, but this is into plastic so it is easy.
Here is what I did and what I used:
Tools:
Parts: I'd recommend talking to Benny @AllMoparParts.com, for OEM parts. Great prices and customer service.
- XR rubicon fender flares (set of 4 - PN: JLRECONFLAREEXT)
How they are packaged. My fronts were a little twisted when installing but they worked themselves out ok. If yours are really bad you could soften with a little heat from a heatgun to help form them as needed. Just be careful to not over heat them.
A quick how to use these rivets, yeah its basic, but if someone hasn't before it lets them see what is done before they have parts in hand to figure it out.
Because of the loose fit, I had to put them in the gun. Push the gun firmly against the surface (perpendicular to surface) and then squeeze the handle. I found for this gun, rivets and application I had to reset and squeeze again because the pull wasn't long enough.
Rear Install
I started in the rear. Clean the area you're doing the install and dry.
Drill out the 5 existing rivets that need to be removed with 1/8in drill bit. Red arrows show which.
Pull the rivets out of the fender. I used this tool, but a trim tool or small screw driver will work. Do your best to not scratch the fenders, I didn't scratch mine but I think they look like they would scratch easy.
A note about drilling out the rivets.
Loosely install the fender flare. I did this by pulling the rivet until i felt a hair of tension. This makes it tight enough to hold, but not so tight that you can't move it. I put in all rivets of existing holes in. This allowed me to move it around a little to position it exactly where I want. They have quite a bit of play between the fender flare and the rivet size so I will see how this plays out when they get knocked around offroading. But on the fender flare the existing holes are all larger than the 3 new holes are which are a snug fit for the rivets. I think the 3 new holes will really help hold it in position.
Once fender flare is in position tighten the rivets down until the stem snaps off. For me most break with part of the shaft sticking out. I waited to trim these until I was done installing the 3 new holes and rivets.
Drill pilot hole w/ 1/8in drill bit in center of the 3 holes on the fender. Then chase it with a 1/4in drill bit making sure both times you are going in perpendicular to the surface. I have a bit of experience with this stuff and didn't use a center punch, if you are feeling nervous a center punch can be helpful to prevent drill bit walk. With soft plastic like this I just push into it hard and do full speed and don't get walking... I use a center punch with metal.
Trim the stems up to make them look nice. I used straight bladed cutters, but a knife or other such tools would all work fine.
A note about drilling with fender flare installed:
Front Fender liners
You'll need to turn your wheel a little to get access to the rear couple rivets.
Drill out and remove the 6 stock rivets (red arrows). The lower most one is left in place.
As I did with the rear I recommend loosely setting the fender flare in place with partial pull on rivets to get the alignment where you like and then tightening rivets until the stems snap off.
Drill the 3 new holes as required like with the rear, 1/8 drill bit for pilot and 1/4in chase. Be precise and don't round out the hole because that will make for a loose rivet fitment.
Repeat on both sides and your done. Here are some before and after pics to show coverage. I'm running 17x8.5 w/ 0 offset, or 4.75in backspace Method 701s for reference and Nitto Ridge Grappler 35x12.5-17 which have only about 1000 miles on them so far
Before:
After: Wheel is turned a little to the right (passenger) side here and not perfectly straight.
here is the splash up on the stock fenders. After I drive in some rain I’ll report if I see rooster tails or not and hopefully a reduce splash up. But the shape of the flare is thin so not much surface for dirt to stick to.
Update after some rain driving.
I don’t see the rooster tails coming off the front tires. There may still be some but is small enough that I’m not seeing them while driving. Clearly there is some water coming in front and over the flare on the front and some rear kick up onto the front fender. Rear flare looks like it is doing about the same, clearly an improvement with some kick up front and rear of the fender flare.
One thing I was surprised by is each fender requires drilling 3 additional holes, but this is into plastic so it is easy.
Here is what I did and what I used:
Tools:
- Drill
- 1/8 & 1/4 inch drill bits (3mm & 6mm)
- Plastic rivet tool (this is the one I thought looked good and it worked well for me, Amazon)
- 6 x 30mm plastic rivets (Link broken, Company might have removed product, leaving link in case it comes back image below for what you need- Amazon ones I thought looked good and happy with how they performed)
- Trim tool, christmas tree tool or small screw driver to remove drilled out rivets
- Angled cutters or knife. I have a pair of cutters that are straight bladed and they work great for this or zipties when you're snipping up against a surface. Highly recommend a set if you don't have one already.
image of fender rivet:
Parts: I'd recommend talking to Benny @AllMoparParts.com, for OEM parts. Great prices and customer service.
- XR rubicon fender flares (set of 4 - PN: JLRECONFLAREEXT)
68536652AA (front right)
68536653AA (front left)
68536654AA (rear right)
68536655AA (rear left)
How they are packaged. My fronts were a little twisted when installing but they worked themselves out ok. If yours are really bad you could soften with a little heat from a heatgun to help form them as needed. Just be careful to not over heat them.
A quick how to use these rivets, yeah its basic, but if someone hasn't before it lets them see what is done before they have parts in hand to figure it out.
Because of the loose fit, I had to put them in the gun. Push the gun firmly against the surface (perpendicular to surface) and then squeeze the handle. I found for this gun, rivets and application I had to reset and squeeze again because the pull wasn't long enough.
Rear Install
I started in the rear. Clean the area you're doing the install and dry.
Drill out the 5 existing rivets that need to be removed with 1/8in drill bit. Red arrows show which.
Pull the rivets out of the fender. I used this tool, but a trim tool or small screw driver will work. Do your best to not scratch the fenders, I didn't scratch mine but I think they look like they would scratch easy.
A note about drilling out the rivets.
The fenders (F & R) are hollow and I think I found all my rivet tips in the driveway with a little shaking of the fender and liner. If I missed any I'm sure they will shake themselves out in a short while. If you're concerned by this, you can pull back the fender liner to pull any that don't immediately fall out, but I wouldn't worry. You remove the rivet and it is just a 1/4in piece of the rivet head that is left which you've mostly drilled away already.
Loosely install the fender flare. I did this by pulling the rivet until i felt a hair of tension. This makes it tight enough to hold, but not so tight that you can't move it. I put in all rivets of existing holes in. This allowed me to move it around a little to position it exactly where I want. They have quite a bit of play between the fender flare and the rivet size so I will see how this plays out when they get knocked around offroading. But on the fender flare the existing holes are all larger than the 3 new holes are which are a snug fit for the rivets. I think the 3 new holes will really help hold it in position.
Once fender flare is in position tighten the rivets down until the stem snaps off. For me most break with part of the shaft sticking out. I waited to trim these until I was done installing the 3 new holes and rivets.
Drill pilot hole w/ 1/8in drill bit in center of the 3 holes on the fender. Then chase it with a 1/4in drill bit making sure both times you are going in perpendicular to the surface. I have a bit of experience with this stuff and didn't use a center punch, if you are feeling nervous a center punch can be helpful to prevent drill bit walk. With soft plastic like this I just push into it hard and do full speed and don't get walking... I use a center punch with metal.
Trim the stems up to make them look nice. I used straight bladed cutters, but a knife or other such tools would all work fine.
A note about drilling with fender flare installed:
At first I thought of installing the fender flare with a couple sacrificial rivets to be removed and then drilling the holes. I don't think this is a good idea because there is nothing holding the fender and fender liner together to get those holes aligned. Also if the fender flare is installed you're not going to miss your mark. And lastly if the fender flare is tight against the fender, I do see any issue the fender bulging or something causing a fitment issue. I think there are many more fitment issue potentials drilling the holes w/o the fender flare installed.
Front Fender liners
You'll need to turn your wheel a little to get access to the rear couple rivets.
Drill out and remove the 6 stock rivets (red arrows). The lower most one is left in place.
As I did with the rear I recommend loosely setting the fender flare in place with partial pull on rivets to get the alignment where you like and then tightening rivets until the stems snap off.
Drill the 3 new holes as required like with the rear, 1/8 drill bit for pilot and 1/4in chase. Be precise and don't round out the hole because that will make for a loose rivet fitment.
Repeat on both sides and your done. Here are some before and after pics to show coverage. I'm running 17x8.5 w/ 0 offset, or 4.75in backspace Method 701s for reference and Nitto Ridge Grappler 35x12.5-17 which have only about 1000 miles on them so far
Before:
After: Wheel is turned a little to the right (passenger) side here and not perfectly straight.
here is the splash up on the stock fenders. After I drive in some rain I’ll report if I see rooster tails or not and hopefully a reduce splash up. But the shape of the flare is thin so not much surface for dirt to stick to.
Update after some rain driving.
I don’t see the rooster tails coming off the front tires. There may still be some but is small enough that I’m not seeing them while driving. Clearly there is some water coming in front and over the flare on the front and some rear kick up onto the front fender. Rear flare looks like it is doing about the same, clearly an improvement with some kick up front and rear of the fender flare.
Sponsored
Last edited:
