Wherever you go, you’ll always see a Jeep with modifications done to it. Whether the modifications are done for just aesthetic purposes or to help drivers get through offroad obstacles easier, that all boils down to the driver. Sometimes the factory flares will turn different colors if the sun hits them too often. Other times, the flares might even start to detach from the body. This can happen for different reasons, one being when the tires brush against them. Over time, this causes the flares to become loose from the body of the vehicle. Installing Bushwacker flares on a Wrangler is a good modification that will increase the aesthetics of your Jeep. If you hold a lot of value in how your Jeep looks on the road, you don’t want to be driving around with discolored factory flares that are hanging loose.
A lot of the flares available are constructed with metal, and sometimes the rigid metal fenders aren’t the best option to go with if you’re heavy into offroading. If you’re wanting something a little more flexible, then the Bushwacker fender flares are the ones to go with.
Installing Bushwacker Flares On A Wrangler
Bushwacker flares are manufactured with a very flexible material called Dura-Flex TPO. In comparison to the factory flares that your vehicle comes with, they are leagues ahead. In addition, you won’t have to worry about UV rays discoloring the flares for the foreseeable future because Dura-Flex TPO protects them from that.
Bushwacker flares have just the right amount of tire clearance, and you’ll love how the appearance of them on your Wrangler. They are the perfect color and will blend in nicely with the rest of the vehicle.
The Bushwacker flares are also compatible with the inner fender liners that your Jeep comes with. When you purchase them, you’ll get a limited lifetime warranty, and that’s something that will bring you peace of mind if something ever happens to them.
Installing Bushwacker Flares On A Wrangler
Installing Bushwacker flares on a Wrangler is a simple job that doesn’t require any drilling. There are a couple of things you’ll need to get the job started:
- 10mm socket
- ½” socket
- 11/32” socket
- ½” wrench
- 8” socket extension
- #2 Phillips head screwdriver
- Trim removal tool (this tool should be mandatory for anyone that owns a Jeep)
- Diagonal cutters
- Drill with 5/16” bit
- Utility knife (a Dremel grinder or rasp file also works)
- Air saw, hacksaw, jigsaw, die grinder (this will be used for trimming fender liners)
- Grease pencil, tire crayon, or permanent marker (used for marking fender liners)
- Wire crimping tool
- Wire stripper
- Heat gun (you can also use a lighter)
- Needle nosed pliers (vice grips also work if they are all you have)
- Rags or shop towels
- Scratch awl (this will be used for centering clips – you can also get away with a screwdriver if it’s all you have)
- Safety glasses (you’ll need these when cutting the fender liners)
If you have an older Jeep with a lot of miles on it, you’ll want to have these supplies:
- Spray paint that will match the color of your Jeep
- Rust Reformer black spray paint
- Masking tape
- Spark plugs that will fit a 3.8L engine
Many people that approach installing Bushwacker fender flares on a Jeep JK will start with doing a separate corner at a time. For the purposes of this guide, the instructions will apply to each particular set. It’s best to do this procedure in a garage so that none of the outdoor elements are able to get inside and disrupt the process. Rain and wind can really make the process more frustrating, so just a heads up.
Taking off the factory flares is pretty straightforward and simple. They’ll be attached when they come off the body of the vehicle, but you’ll notice that they easily split when trimming.
Starting with the front flares, you’ll disconnect the front corner market light away from the fender. Once you do that, you’ll want to tuck it back so that it doesn’t get in the way of things.
Using your 10mm socket, you’ll now take off the four metal fasteners.
There will be one near the rear of it that has a collar situated on the fastener that is threaded right on a stud.
It’s recommended to start with the front sides located close to either headlight. You’ll want to pull them slowly so that the clips will begin to release as you’re creeping towards the back.
There’s a chance that you’ll experience some resistance at this point. If you do, take a look to ensure that there isn’t any other aftermarket hardware that’s holding the flares in place. Sometimes previous owners of your vehicle will use screws to hold the flares in place to the body of the vehicle. Don’t fret if any clips break off during this process because Bushwacker supplies new ones with the product.
You can now take off the rest of the plastic clips, including all of the spring clips near the front.
One thing to keep in mind about the spark plugs:
For those that haven’t done a spark plug replacement in a while, it’s a good time to do so while everything is in plain sight. Ensure that the spark plug will work with 3.8L Jeeps. It’s easy to reach this area due when the fender liner is taken off on the passenger side of the vehicle. So your best bet is to take advantage of it and just install another spark plug.
Once you’ve removed the flares from the front side of the vehicle, you can now move your way to the backside. The flares at the rear are secured with push clips. Similar to the front ones, the fender liner will also be detached during this process. The clips are pretty flexible, so use some diagonal cutters to take them off more conveniently. You don’t have to tread lightly or be super sensitive around the fasteners because you’ll have all of the required hardware that Bushwacker supplies.
At this point, you’ll need to separate the flares apart from the fender lines in order to give them a trim. Use your trim tool to get some of the push clips out of the way. You’ll also want to remove a bunch of the plastic rivets that you might see sitting on the edges.
If you have a drill handy and a 5/16″ drill bit, pop the center out of the rivets. You’ll see a lot of the outer rings of the rivets getting stuck on your drill bit, but you typically don’t have to worry about brushing those off until after you’re done drilling. Some people might have about 15 outer rings on their drills by the time they’ve done drilling.
Once you’ve done that, you’ll want to make sure that you keep the liner. Luckily, the rear design is more straightforward than the front one because it doesn’t have the same reinforcement.
After you’ve taken all of the factory flares off, you can inspect the area and do a little paint job if there’s any rust built up. If your Jeep is a more recent model, then you probably won’t have any rust or abrasion in that area.
While you’re giving your paint a chance to dry off, you can move onto the Bushwacker fender supports. Depending on what side they are going to be installed on, you’ll see them labeled D1-D9 and P1-P9.
These products are drilled once the molding process is complete, so you might see a little bit of plastic on the outer part of it. The plastic usually won’t get in the way of installing them, but getting rid of it beforehand will make the process much simpler. To get rid of the residual plastic, you can use a basic utility knife. If you have a Dremel handy, that will work as well.
Once you’ve cleaned up all of the holes, you can then install the spring clips in the holes. Ensure to follow the direction that Bushwacker has supplied.
When that’s done, you’ll want to move on to putting the front fender lines back in place using a washer and the 10mm bolt that was taken off earlier in the process. The hole that the bolt goes in will be located behind the fender support bracket. This will be used in order to securely hold the liners in order to mark them.
On the rear ones, you’ll use a trim clip for the same process. If you don’t have a trim clip handy, then just use one that Bushwacker supplies in the included hardware kit.
The Bushwacker instructions should say that you’ll now mark the front and rear flares. Anything that’s beyond the body line will need to be taken out.
At first, this can sound difficult, but it’s not that bad. Just ensure that you don’t get carried away with trimming because that will cause the liners to move around too much in the fender flares. Trim a small amount away at a time and then check to see if it works. If you don’t cut enough, there will be a gap, so just take things slow and be patient when you get to this step. Bushwacker will state in the instructions that you’ll get to some areas that don’t fit the body lines perfectly, so just be aware of that.
If you have a die grinder that has a sanding wheel attached to it, that will work well, but just note that you’ll be dealing with a lot of plastic debris. Make sure you have your safety glasses on when you start this.
There are two areas of the rear flare that will be trimmed in order to keep the mounting ears secured where they are. If you want just the right fit, a hole in both of them will need to be adjusted.
By this point in the process, you should have a large amount of garbage built up, and that’s a good sign because that also means you’re getting closer to finishing the job.
When you get to the point where the liners have a good amount of clearance and the Bushwacker flares are sitting nicely in place, you can now carry on to installing the fender supports. Before starting this, you’ll want to ensure that the spring clips will be situated properly in place before fully clipping them in.
The clips should all be marked for the property location. They’re also secured to the body with bolts and push clips.
This step is easier if you use your vice grips to hold the nuts.
The last part of the front supports will use the push clips that are provided to you by Bushwacker.
You’ll want to refer back to the instructions that Bushwacker provided here because the supports need to be lined up with the sheet metal properly. You shouldn’t tighten the fasteners too much because that could cause the plastic to bend out of shape.
You can now reinstall both the front and back fender liners with the 10mm bolts that were taken out earlier in the process. You’ll also want to use the push clips that Bushwacker provided.
The fender liner that was trimmed in the front is a little bit different than the back. In the front, the plastic was tucked in front of the sheet metal, but in the back, it’s tucked right behind it and secured using a push clip.
After you’ve gotten all of the liners trimmed up and all of the supports installed, you can now get the front turn signals wired up. Simply snip the current plug off so that the wires are dangling in place. Get your wire strippers and strip each wire. After that, attach the heat shrink bullet connectors that come in the hardware kit that Bushwacker supplied.
You’ll notice that the new light is an LED one, so keep this in mind because the polarity will be a little different. Most of the time, the connections should be black to white, but this might not be the case with all of the installations. Keep in mind that after you’ve gotten the flares installed, they can’t be switched over very easily. You’ll want to double-check and even triple-check that everything in this step is done perfectly. Using your 11/32″ socket, you can now install the LED lights in the front fender flares. An extension and a Phillips screwdriver will also help you out during this part.
To install the trim on the fenders, you need to pull the red tape back a bit. Do this part very slowly. As you pull the tape back push down on it so that it sticks to the surface better.
Grab some alcohol wipes and give the entire surface a good wipe to get rid of any residual debris. Doing that will give things a nice, pristine look. You can also use a microfiber cloth and rubbing alcohol if you don’t happen to have any alcohol wipes laying around.
Now, you can gently grab the red adhesive that’s sitting on the back of the fender flares and start slowly sliding it back just a little bit at a time. Tighten your Phillips screws underneath the fender, ensuring that they fit into the Bushwacker fender flare clips and fender supports.
Sometimes they might not line up. If this happens to you, use the scratch awl in the hole that’s located in the flare to change the position of the spring clips so that you can get the screw in them. Don’t completely tighten up all of the screws just yet.
Keep on rolling the red tape back while pushing it against the edge for a good twenty seconds at a time.
Tighten up each screw as you keep on moving your way through the fender. After you’ve finished that, ensure that you check that all of the screws are in place.
Now that the fender flares are installed in place, you’ll want to take a look to see if there are any gaps in the adhesive trim. If you do notice any, you’ll use the plastic tool that’s provided. All you have to do is move it against the trim with a little bit of gentle force to make sure that it’s sticking properly.
After the process, you’ll notice that Bushwacker flat flares give you a little more tire clearance while still looking very appealing.
If you want to do another modification to compliment the Bushwacker flares, consider the Hyline Offroad mid-width bumpers. This product doesn’t sit as far down as the factory ones in the front end of the vehicle, and that results in a bold look for your Jeep.
Learning how to install Bushwacker fender flares on a Jeep JK isn’t the hardest modification to do. It should take you an afternoon and will have you feeling a sense of accomplishment in knowing that you didn’t have to pay someone to get the job done.