MetalCloak Overland Fender Flares installation notes

[GregorioJL]

TLDR: The MetalCloak fenders look awesome and are built like tank, but man you are definitely going to earn these. I learned a few things that may make the process easier and quicker, hopefully someone will find it helpful.

The installation documents are pretty good, so I'm not repeating them but here they are:

https://www.armoredworks.com/metalcloak/instructions/JL/II-6200 JL-Overland-Front-Fender.pdf
https://www.armoredworks.com/metalcloak/instructions/JL/II-6400-JL-Overland-Rear-Flare.pdf

Rear fender installation (Jason Laverty)
www[.]youtube[.]com/watch?v=KfA0AivoulU

Details after the obligatory photos:

Fender removal

Removing the factory fenders is easy. Rear fenders have 0 bolts, front fenders have 4 bolts each. If you don't have a panel tool to remove the plastic clips a sturdy smooth scraper and diagonal cutters/needle nose may work just as well. Take some time to clean the entire area thoroughly. If you have custom rock rails, these may need to be removed temporarily for front fender installation.

The rivet nut installation tool

20 of the bolts attach to 1/2" "rivet nuts". These nuts are installed using a "tool" that is a bolt, fake nut with no threads, and a star washer. Turning the bolt while holding the nut stationary collapses the rivet.

A small number of rivnut holes in the rear have interferences (other panels) behind the main body panel. When drilling, you only need to drill as deep as the rivnut. Using some of the washers to shim out the tool can make this easier.

When installing the rivnuts, lubricate the tool generously each time. You aren't making that many turns, but it is metal-on-metal and you will want any advantage you can get. There is about 1/2 turn easy, 2 or 3 hard turns, then 2 or 3 easy turns before it is completely collapsed.

I installed several of the rivnuts as described in the instructions and Jason's video, so it is technically possible. But it's a huge PITA and I absolutely hated it. It's too awkward and flops around a lot. The perfect tool here is a 1/2" impact wrench on medium because it's putting force directly on the bolt. 4 or 5 zaps until you get through the hard part, and you're ready to finish off with a normal ratchet. I realize most people don't have an impact wrench or want to buy one. Maybe borrow one or rent one? Otherwise, having another person to hold the wrench on the fake nut will make this much easier for you.

The holes

There are 14 holes to drill on each rear fender, and 13 on each front fender. Most holes exist and will be enlarged, a small number drilled from scratch. Do yourself a favor and buy a new 21-bit kit, preferably the titanium bits. The 6 front rivnut holes will need to be drilled in 1/8" steel, so get 6 additional bits for each pilot hole (I used 3/32").

It's critical that the rivnut holes be perfectly circular, and no larger than necessary. The instructions specify 17/32" but you will not have that bit.

I found that using an Irwin conical grinding bit did a much cleaner finishing job instead of the last bit (3/8" regular nuts/bolts, 1/2" for the rivnut holes), and can easily go from 1/2" to 17/32" for the rivnut holes.

The front fender rivnut holes

The six 1/2" front rivnut holes are drilled into the 1/8" steel subframe. Upside down. These aren't something you can tap with a center punch once or twice and start drilling. What I found worked was two punches. An Irwin awl punch and a normal center punch. Use a file to make and keep both of these as sharp as you can, the awl punch needle sharp, and put a flat screwdriver like edge on the normal center punch.

Use the awl punch and strike it 5 times as hard as you can, re-centering the punch each time. Then use the center punch with a flat edge at a slight angle with the corner edge into the dimple you created, striking it 5 times as hard as you can, re-centering the punch each time. If you have done this properly, the pilot hole can be as quick as a few seconds or a couple of minutes. If not, make a few 30-second passes with the bit, oiling it each time. Then repeat the punch process. Continue until pilot hole is finished.

After the pilot hole breaks through, go through each bit size with oil all the way to 1/2". The instructions specify to remove the bracket while drilling, however I thought it helped to leave it on because it helps you see if you are off-center and need to correct before it's too late. The bracket must be removed for the last two bits 3/8" and 1/2" and the conical grinder bit to get it to 17/32".

Mounting

After you finish the rivet holes and install the rivets, mount the fender on them. For the non-rivnut 3/8" holes, insert a 3/8" bolt and ensure they all pass through with no interference. Many will not. Score the metal surface with a blade so you know where to use the conical grinding bit to adjust these until they all pass through cleanly. Remove the fender and make the necessary adjustments. The 3/8" regular nut/bolt holes you have a lot more slack than with the rivnut holes so don't worry if they look a bit weird. This is a good time to brush/spray paint on the holes and let them dry. A few 3/8" holes getting the washer on is difficult to reach. You may want to use the tiniest dot of super glue to stick the washer to the nut to install these properly.

Captive nuts

The front fenders have 2 captive nuts, and 1 on the rear. These are for the recessed flat steel bolts on the front and rear of each fender. If you get the black powder coat, these are baked in an oven. There must be some dust because the captive nuts had particulate matter in the threads that interferes with the bolts. Use swabs and goofoff to clean. This may need to be repeated multiple times. Or just leave the swabs in there to soak for a while to loosen it up.

Underside of fender

If you spend time on gravel roads or roads that have a lot of harsh treatment in the winter, Rustoleum undercoat on the underside of the fender may be a good idea. Easier to do a couple of coats a few days before installation.

Wiring

For the front fenders you will need these diagrams:

https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/forum/threads/jeep-jl-wrangler-wiring-diagrams.19185/

LAMP - DRL - LEFT (BASE) CONNECTOR DETAILS - Wiring Diagram
LAMP - DRL - LEFT (PREMIUM) CONNECTOR DETAILS - Wiring Diagram
LAMP - DRL - RIGHT (BASE) CONNECTOR DETAILS - Wiring Diagram
LAMP - DRL - RIGHT (PREMIUM) CONNECTOR DETAILS - Wiring Diagram

On the fender side, white is ground and black is hot.

The fender kit includes butt connectors. If you use these, do yourself a favor and use a decent crimper. The supplied connectors are much harder to crimp than the usual heat shrink style connectors. It would actually be possible here to use solder/heat shrink if you want, because you will be repurposing part of the cable from the factory fender that includes the nice Mopar connector.

The LED/wiring does not accommodate the turn signal fault wire. I have a Tazer and disabled the LED fault, but the turn signal warning appears briefly during ignition and it makes the fast blinking sound when turning, but externally it blinks normally.

Final thoughts: If I had to do anything over again, maybe not installing these in a parking lot when it's 95 degrees outside. Also I did both rear fenders in one day, probably do one fender each day. The kits didn't include anti-sieze but you really should use this on every bolt. A tube of Liquid Wrench dielectric grease is about $6 so you should have that handy.

Sponsored

 

[limeade]

Nice write up with tips/tricks and photos. These are on my short list to do, along with the MC sliders, but after reading this I'm not so sure!

Your pics show the stock fender liners, but do you have plans to install the MC fender liners, another brand, or staying stock?

After all the work and time to install the fenders and knowing what you know now, would you say they're worth it? Or perhaps go another route?

 

[Sting_NC_USA]

Simplify the process by buying a few single drill bits that are the right size. Most hardware stores sell individual bits in the exact size you need. Not having the exact size can cause a Rivnut to slip/spin.

Also, if you're going to do this type of thing yourself, buy a true Rivnut tool, and avoid using the makeshift nut and bolt part the mfg sends. Rivnuts, and their installation tools, have many applications, and aren't expensive enough to warrant going through all that you have done. Kudos for sharing your approach, as it will help those who don't buy the tools.

For those interested, research Rivnut Tools here, and choose one that's in your price range. And, watch a few YouTube videos from that manufacturer.

Having the right tools will significantly speed up and simplify the installation. Yes, occasionally a Rivnut won't set properly, though a Dremel and Vice Grips are go-to tools for removing a bad Rivnut.

To remove a bad Rivenut that can't be accessed from behind a metal panel, use a cutting disk to cut an "X" into the head of the Rivnut (without going into the vehicle's sheet metal, then use Vice Grips to squeeze each of the four sections together, two opposing sections at a time, until the Rivnut can be punched through or pulled out.

Best of luck.

 

[GregorioJL]

Nice write up with tips/tricks and photos. These are on my short list to do, along with the MC sliders, but after reading this I'm not so sure!

Your pics show the stock fender liners, but do you have plans to install the MC fender liners, another brand, or staying stock?

After all the work and time to install the fenders and knowing what you know now, would you say they're worth it? Or perhaps go another route?

I think they are worth it, but I don't mind the hard work. These aren't something you can slap on in a few hours and go grab a beer though.

I used the MC fender wells on the rear. I can't use the MC front fender wells because they don't fit with the shock reservoir :-(

It's fairly easy to cut the front factory wells to get them to cover the desired area. You can secure the top of them back to 2 of the downward facing factory bolt holes, and use a couple of black cable ties fore and aft. You definitely don't want to run without front wells though, there's all sorts of stuff engine side that should be protected.

I found there is a company Burnt Customs that crafts custom wells, but haven't heard back from them.

 

[MarkY3130]

Note on rivnut tools - not all of them will do the 1/2” rivnuts. I found this out the hard way when I needed to do one. My tool came with mandrels for all SAE and Metric sizes up to the size just below 1/2”. I can’t seem to find a mandrel for my tool for that size either.

So, buy one that will!

 

[timize]

How long did it take for you to get them after ordering ?

 

[GregorioJL]

How long did it take for you to get them after ordering ?

I believe it was three weeks.

 

[Jwoodvol]

Pm sent

TLDR: The MetalCloak fenders look awesome and are built like tank, but man you are definitely going to earn these. I learned a few things that may make the process easier and quicker, hopefully someone will find it helpful.

The installation documents are pretty good, so I'm not repeating them but here they are:

https://www.armoredworks.com/metalcloak/instructions/JL/II-6200 JL-Overland-Front-Fender.pdf
https://www.armoredworks.com/metalcloak/instructions/JL/II-6400-JL-Overland-Rear-Flare.pdf

Rear fender installation (Jason Laverty)
www[.]youtube[.]com/watch?v=KfA0AivoulU

Details after the obligatory photos:

Fender removal

Removing the factory fenders is easy. Rear fenders have 0 bolts, front fenders have 4 bolts each. If you don't have a panel tool to remove the plastic clips a sturdy smooth scraper and diagonal cutters/needle nose may work just as well. Take some time to clean the entire area thoroughly. If you have custom rock rails, these may need to be removed temporarily for front fender installation.

The rivet nut installation tool

20 of the bolts attach to 1/2" "rivet nuts". These nuts are installed using a "tool" that is a bolt, fake nut with no threads, and a star washer. Turning the bolt while holding the nut stationary collapses the rivet.

A small number of rivnut holes in the rear have interferences (other panels) behind the main body panel. When drilling, you only need to drill as deep as the rivnut. Using some of the washers to shim out the tool can make this easier.

When installing the rivnuts, lubricate the tool generously each time. You aren't making that many turns, but it is metal-on-metal and you will want any advantage you can get. There is about 1/2 turn easy, 2 or 3 hard turns, then 2 or 3 easy turns before it is completely collapsed.

I installed several of the rivnuts as described in the instructions and Jason's video, so it is technically possible. But it's a huge PITA and I absolutely hated it. It's too awkward and flops around a lot. The perfect tool here is a 1/2" impact wrench on medium because it's putting force directly on the bolt. 4 or 5 zaps until you get through the hard part, and you're ready to finish off with a normal ratchet. I realize most people don't have an impact wrench or want to buy one. Maybe borrow one or rent one? Otherwise, having another person to hold the wrench on the fake nut will make this much easier for you.

The holes

There are 14 holes to drill on each rear fender, and 13 on each front fender. Most holes exist and will be enlarged, a small number drilled from scratch. Do yourself a favor and buy a new 21-bit kit, preferably the titanium bits. The 6 front rivnut holes will need to be drilled in 1/8" steel, so get 6 additional bits for each pilot hole (I used 3/32").

It's critical that the rivnut holes be perfectly circular, and no larger than necessary. The instructions specify 17/32" but you will not have that bit.

I found that using an Irwin conical grinding bit did a much cleaner finishing job instead of the last bit (3/8" regular nuts/bolts, 1/2" for the rivnut holes), and can easily go from 1/2" to 17/32" for the rivnut holes.

The front fender rivnut holes

The six 1/2" front rivnut holes are drilled into the 1/8" steel subframe. Upside down. These aren't something you can tap with a center punch once or twice and start drilling. What I found worked was two punches. An Irwin awl punch and a normal center punch. Use a file to make and keep both of these as sharp as you can, the awl punch needle sharp, and put a flat screwdriver like edge on the normal center punch.

Use the awl punch and strike it 5 times as hard as you can, re-centering the punch each time. Then use the center punch with a flat edge at a slight angle with the corner edge into the dimple you created, striking it 5 times as hard as you can, re-centering the punch each time. If you have done this properly, the pilot hole can be as quick as a few seconds or a couple of minutes. If not, make a few 30-second passes with the bit, oiling it each time. Then repeat the punch process. Continue until pilot hole is finished.

After the pilot hole breaks through, go through each bit size with oil all the way to 1/2". The instructions specify to remove the bracket while drilling, however I thought it helped to leave it on because it helps you see if you are off-center and need to correct before it's too late. The bracket must be removed for the last two bits 3/8" and 1/2" and the conical grinder bit to get it to 17/32".

Mounting

After you finish the rivet holes and install the rivets, mount the fender on them. For the non-rivnut 3/8" holes, insert a 3/8" bolt and ensure they all pass through with no interference. Many will not. Score the metal surface with a blade so you know where to use the conical grinding bit to adjust these until they all pass through cleanly. Remove the fender and make the necessary adjustments. The 3/8" regular nut/bolt holes you have a lot more slack than with the rivnut holes so don't worry if they look a bit weird. This is a good time to brush/spray paint on the holes and let them dry. A few 3/8" holes getting the washer on is difficult to reach. You may want to use the tiniest dot of super glue to stick the washer to the nut to install these properly.

Captive nuts

The front fenders have 2 captive nuts, and 1 on the rear. These are for the recessed flat steel bolts on the front and rear of each fender. If you get the black powder coat, these are baked in an oven. There must be some dust because the captive nuts had particulate matter in the threads that interferes with the bolts. Use swabs and goofoff to clean. This may need to be repeated multiple times. Or just leave the swabs in there to soak for a while to loosen it up.

Underside of fender

If you spend time on gravel roads or roads that have a lot of harsh treatment in the winter, Rustoleum undercoat on the underside of the fender may be a good idea. Easier to do a couple of coats a few days before installation.

Wiring

For the front fenders you will need these diagrams:

https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/forum/threads/jeep-jl-wrangler-wiring-diagrams.19185/

LAMP - DRL - LEFT (BASE) CONNECTOR DETAILS - Wiring Diagram
LAMP - DRL - LEFT (PREMIUM) CONNECTOR DETAILS - Wiring Diagram
LAMP - DRL - RIGHT (BASE) CONNECTOR DETAILS - Wiring Diagram
LAMP - DRL - RIGHT (PREMIUM) CONNECTOR DETAILS - Wiring Diagram

On the fender side, white is ground and black is hot.

The fender kit includes butt connectors. If you use these, do yourself a favor and use a decent crimper. The supplied connectors are much harder to crimp than the usual heat shrink style connectors. It would actually be possible here to use solder/heat shrink if you want, because you will be repurposing part of the cable from the factory fender that includes the nice Mopar connector.

The LED/wiring does not accommodate the turn signal fault wire. I have a Tazer and disabled the LED fault, but the turn signal warning appears briefly during ignition and it makes the fast blinking sound when turning, but externally it blinks normally.

Final thoughts: If I had to do anything over again, maybe not installing these in a parking lot when it's 95 degrees outside. Also I did both rear fenders in one day, probably do one fender each day. The kits didn't include anti-sieze but you really should use this on every bolt. A tube of Liquid Wrench dielectric grease is about $6 so you should have that handy.

 

[limeade]

I installed the front and rear Metalcloak Overland fenders along with the Metalcloak front and rear fender liners on Sunday. Man, were these things a chore! I had a few issues which extended the install time. Getting everything installed took from 9am - 11pm, with breaks for lunch, dinner, etc. Not going to rehash the install other than what difficulties I had. I bought the front fenders and both fender liners used (but never installed). The rear fenders were bought new from MC. I did the rears mostly by myself, but had a helper for the fronts. This install is easier with a second person!

Step drill bits work great for opening up the existing holes to ⅜" without causing the metal to tear. For holes needing to be 17/32" for the Riv-Nuts, I used an assortment of cobalt bits to make quick work of the drilling. I used a Wetols Riv-Nut tool to quickly and easily set the riv-nuts. I bought this tool when I installed Poison Spyder rocker armor and it is definitely a must-have tool and worth the money.

• Started with installing the rear fenders and liners first
  • Passenger side went on without issue
  • Driver side fender had alignment issue and had to elongate 5 of the holes in the fender to get them to line up with the holes in Jeep. A carbide bit on a Dremel made the job easy.
  • Missing the captured nuts and nut clips from previous owner. Not a big deal as I was able to still attach nuts to 4 of the 5 bolts calling for captured nuts/nut clips. But definitely took a bit of time to gain access to the back of the fender liner.
• Front fenders/liners
  • Biggest issue was the fitment of the fenders since I have RockHard sliders. The lower extension/tab on the fenders extends down to the bottom of the pinch seam and gets bolted in there. My RockHard sliders cover this area and I was not going to remove them and hope the slider fit back. Solution was to cut this piece off so the bottom edge would sit right above the slider. I used Rustoleum paint to cover the bare metal.
  • All mounting holes lined up without issue.
  • Other issue(s) was with the DRL light and wiring instructions.
    • First, the DRL for the fender was too long did not fit in the opening. I trimmed the edges down until it could fit in the opening. Also, the bolt hole closest to the grill does not leave any room to hold the nut on the backside with a wrench. Since I had to trim the edges of the light, this left a small slotted opening (instead of closed opening). I figured out by installing the bolt and nut (closest to the grille) without the light in place, I could slide that side of the light's slotted opening into place and then tighten it.
    • Secondly, the MC light wiring diagram was confusing and did not match the wires included with the lights. After looking at the JL wiring diagrams, I had a good idea of what the stock wiring was, but had no clue where to attach them too. After some trial and error, I finally figured out the wiring.
      • I called MC on Monday morning and sent them pictures of their lights wiring. They realized their light vendor has changed the color of the wiring and confirmed my wiring job was correct.

Overall, I am very pleased with the look and strength of the fenders.....they are STRONG and high quality. But I would not want to install these again any time soon. There are a lot of attachment points, requiring a lot of small turns with an allen wrench due to lack of clearance to use a socket. Also, if you have sliders other than Metalcloak, be prepared to modify the fenders or remove/replace your sliders for proper fitment.

Based upon my experience, I wouldn't consider the fenders 100% bolt on. If you don't have the tools and ability to modify/adjust things as required, you should either pay to get them installed or go with another brand. But if you want/need metal fenders for absolute strength and protection AND have to tools and ability, then these are very worthwhile.

 

[kellyjmor]

MC Fenders look awesome. Did you paint them the same as the body color? If so, are they painted or power coated and how much was it to get them painted? Thanks!

 

[limeade]

MC Fenders look awesome. Did you paint them the same as the body color? If so, are they painted or power coated and how much was it to get them painted? Thanks!

I got them already powder coated black. The inner fenders I kept the aluminum look and coated them with AlumaCoat. I'll post some pics in a day or two....been busy doing some other installs.

 

[kellyjmor]

I got them already powder coated black. The inner fenders I kept the aluminum look and coated them with AlumaCoat. I'll post some pics in a day or two....been busy doing some other installs.

Appreciate the reply.

 

[limeade]

@kellyjmor , here's the pics I promised:

 

[kellyjmor]

@kellyjmor , here's the pics I promised:

They look great. I got the raw metal and will get them painted the same as the body. Will post some pics, once done.

 

[GregorioJL]

I installed the front and rear Metalcloak Overland fenders along with the Metalcloak front and rear fender liners on Sunday. Man, were these things a chore! I had a few issues which extended the install time. Getting everything installed took from 9am - 11pm, with breaks for lunch, dinner, etc. Not going to rehash the install other than what difficulties I had. I bought the front fenders and both fender liners used (but never installed). The rear fenders were bought new from MC. I did the rears mostly by myself, but had a helper for the fronts. This install is easier with a second person!

Step drill bits work great for opening up the existing holes to ⅜" without causing the metal to tear. For holes needing to be 17/32" for the Riv-Nuts, I used an assortment of cobalt bits to make quick work of the drilling. I used a Wetols Riv-Nut tool to quickly and easily set the riv-nuts. I bought this tool when I installed Poison Spyder rocker armor and it is definitely a must-have tool and worth the money.

• Started with installing the rear fenders and liners first
  • Passenger side went on without issue
  • Driver side fender had alignment issue and had to elongate 5 of the holes in the fender to get them to line up with the holes in Jeep. A carbide bit on a Dremel made the job easy.
  • Missing the captured nuts and nut clips from previous owner. Not a big deal as I was able to still attach nuts to 4 of the 5 bolts calling for captured nuts/nut clips. But definitely took a bit of time to gain access to the back of the fender liner.
• Front fenders/liners
  • Biggest issue was the fitment of the fenders since I have RockHard sliders. The lower extension/tab on the fenders extends down to the bottom of the pinch seam and gets bolted in there. My RockHard sliders cover this area and I was not going to remove them and hope the slider fit back. Solution was to cut this piece off so the bottom edge would sit right above the slider. I used Rustoleum paint to cover the bare metal.
  • All mounting holes lined up without issue.
  • Other issue(s) was with the DRL light and wiring instructions.
    • First, the DRL for the fender was too long did not fit in the opening. I trimmed the edges down until it could fit in the opening. Also, the bolt hole closest to the grill does not leave any room to hold the nut on the backside with a wrench. Since I had to trim the edges of the light, this left a small slotted opening (instead of closed opening). I figured out by installing the bolt and nut (closest to the grille) without the light in place, I could slide that side of the light's slotted opening into place and then tighten it.
    • Secondly, the MC light wiring diagram was confusing and did not match the wires included with the lights. After looking at the JL wiring diagrams, I had a good idea of what the stock wiring was, but had no clue where to attach them too. After some trial and error, I finally figured out the wiring.
      • I called MC on Monday morning and sent them pictures of their lights wiring. They realized their light vendor has changed the color of the wiring and confirmed my wiring job was correct.

Overall, I am very pleased with the look and strength of the fenders.....they are STRONG and high quality. But I would not want to install these again any time soon. There are a lot of attachment points, requiring a lot of small turns with an allen wrench due to lack of clearance to use a socket. Also, if you have sliders other than Metalcloak, be prepared to modify the fenders or remove/replace your sliders for proper fitment.

Based upon my experience, I wouldn't consider the fenders 100% bolt on. If you don't have the tools and ability to modify/adjust things as required, you should either pay to get them installed or go with another brand. But if you want/need metal fenders for absolute strength and protection AND have to tools and ability, then these are very worthwhile.

FYI - I replaced the lights and the new cable harness is a much improved and cleaner assembly. It has a Mopar connector now. No more crimping.

Sponsored