Flimsy Front Inner Fenders

[JeepCares]

@XTRMSKI,

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Darlene
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[Sportsbiz]

Well, I fell victim to the weak/flimsy front inner fenders on my Rubicon. Discovered it yesterday afternoon on my passenger side. They're pretty tore up. These stock liners are embarassingly thin @JeepCares

 

[Murgatroid]

Well, I fell victim to the weak/flimsy front inner fenders on my Rubicon. Discovered it yesterday afternoon on my passenger side. They're pretty tore up. These stock liners are embarassingly thin @JeepCares

It is sad when the blister pack plastic is heavier than the product. If it was any thinner, it would be plastic wrap.

 

[Sportsbiz]

It is sad when the blister pack plastic is heavier than the product. If it was any thinner, it would be plastic wrap.

I was quite shocked when I reached out to see how bad it was and realized how thin the material actually is. Unreal. I will say that I PM'ed JeepCares here at the same time as my post and they've already replied. Eager to see the resolution. I'm reading of other owners who've had their's repaired only to have this recur. I live in the desert where it can be windy at times so would rather not deal with this again.

 

[Mjolnir]

I was quite shocked when I reached out to see how bad it was and realized how thin the material actually is. Unreal. I will say that I PM'ed JeepCares here at the same time as my post and they've already replied. Eager to see the resolution. I'm reading of other owners who've had their's repaired only to have this recur. I live in the desert where it can be windy at times so would rather not deal with this again.

Read back in this thread for solutions.

My suggestion, and i posted it multiple times so I am a broken record lol, is to get metal liners. Stronger, won't rip off, and take more abuse.

Personally i went with Metalcloak liners for front and rear. Looks tremendously better and were easy to install.

 

[Sportsbiz]

Read back in this thread for solutions.

My suggestion, and i posted it multiple times so I am a broken record lol, is to get metal liners. Stronger, won't rip off, and take more abuse.

Personally i went with Metalcloak liners for front and rear. Looks tremendously better and were easy to install.

That would be my preference as well. I have a set of Ace Engineering liners in a shopping cart now.

 

[Mjolnir]

That would be my preference as well. I have a set of Ace Engineering liners in a shopping cart now.

Just make sure that the liners will fit current (if not stock) shocks, and will fit future upgraded shocks. With the front MC's I would have to cut them to make any sort of reservoir shock fit. Which does not bother me at all, just some people would rather not cut something like that.

I get it kind of sucks to need to get something aftermarket, but IMO getting something that is sturdier and better should be done regardless of wheeling or not.

 

[Mjolnir]

That would be my preference as well. I have a set of Ace Engineering liners in a shopping cart now.

Just checked out the Ace liners. They seem to keep a lot of open area in the front section of the well. Check out the MC's and decide if you'd rather have it open or not. I know it won't matter too much at the end of the day through mud and such.

Just something to think about.

 

[bastage]

I have the ACE Front's.. They are great for the easy install & pulling them back out isnt too hard either. They look the best in my opinion as I dont like the gaudiness of having a big ol company logo visible like that.. But I do not recommend them. There are a lot of trade off's & I am rubbing on these more then anything else due to the shape. They make the inner fender area smaller. They cut in front of the shocks at the top which is fine unless you have something like a sway bar disconenct mount attached to the coil bucket. I have the JKS ones & the mounts are literally behind the ACE inner fender.

 

[Mjolnir]

I have the ACE Front's.. They are great for the easy install & pulling them back out isnt too hard either. They look the best in my opinion as I dont like the gaudiness of having a big ol company logo visible like that.. But I do not recommend them. There are a lot of trade off's & I am rubbing on these more then anything else due to the shape. They make the inner fender area smaller. They cut in front of the shocks at the top which is fine unless you have something like a sway bar disconenct mount attached to the coil bucket. I have the JKS ones & the mounts are literally behind the ACE inner fender.

Yikes. Haven't seen that yet.

I get the want of not having big company logos. I am in the same boat. Luckily MC's are not big and you can't see a damn thing if they are powdercoated black :D. No rubbing or issues or anything on my MC's. Might give more room as they are angled back pretty good. Can't tell for sure how angled the Ace ones are to compare unfortunately.

 

[bastage]

Yikes. Haven't seen that yet.

I get the want of not having big company logos. I am in the same boat. Luckily MC's are not big and you can't see a damn thing if they are powdercoated black :D. No rubbing or issues or anything on my MC's. Might give more room as they are angled back pretty good. Can't tell for sure how angled the Ace ones are to compare unfortunately.

That doesnt look bad in all black, But its still more of a logo then I want. Not more then I am willing to deal with though so when I finish thrashing the ACE fenders I may grab the MC ones. I am also running +25 offset wheels with 37's so I am a bit tighter in there then most folks. Your MC clearly shows the bucket though & thats completely behing the ACE inners

 

[JK4AER]

I missed it in this thread, are dealers replacing the liners? Mine are shot.

 

[stickshifter]

Easiest resolution is to rip them off and get aluminum ones in there. One of the first things I am going to do. The plastic is garbage and this just confirms even moreso about that. If we gotta wait for aftermarket metal ones, itll be fine driving without the shitty plastic ones.

Not trying to come after you personally - but how many issues that are a consequence of poor design and/or cutting corners on quality - will Jeep owners opt to fix themselves out of pocket? For example, the steering issues are easily resolved with higher quality front end components - components that should be stock - but many owners end up paying for these parts themselves; the windshield defrost issue gets fixed by owners who buy those inserts that distribute the heat more evenly; now cheap fender liners - and again a faulty part is going to be fixed via the aftermarket. All that was fine (it’s a Jeep thing) when these were inexpensive vehicles in the 1970s. They are not cheap vehicles today. Jeep needs to replace the fender liners.

 

[Sportsbiz]

I missed it in this thread, are dealers replacing the liners? Mine are shot.

Yes, but it will essentially be the same liners zip tied to certain points. @JeepCares follows this thread and is pretty responsive. I will tell you though my experience in this process was not the best, which was not so much with the person(s) monitoring this thread but with the Jeep Cares manager to whom I was assigned, leading me to sucking it up and buying aluminum liners out of my own pocket. YMMV.

 

[Mjolnir]

Not trying to come after you personally - but how many issues that are a consequence of poor design and/or cutting corners on quality - will Jeep owners opt to fix themselves out of pocket? For example, the steering issues are easily resolved with higher quality front end components - components that should be stock - but many owners end up paying for these parts themselves; the windshield defrost issue gets fixed by owners who buy those inserts that distribute the heat more evenly; now cheap fender liners - and again a faulty part is going to be fixed via the aftermarket. All that was fine (it’s a Jeep thing) when these were inexpensive vehicles in the 1970s. They are not cheap vehicles today. Jeep needs to replace the fender liners.

Oh I totally get you and think you are completely correct. I shouldn't "have to" do things like this. Only reason I am ok with it/didn't say much originally was that I was planning on doing it anyway.

My post was what I believe is the easiest AND best solution. I never had great luck with plastic inner fenders with any vehicle.

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