For everyone who has removed their Limited Style fender flares and cladding, how did you do it without damaging them?

I found a guy that is parting out his T4R and I am interested in buying his Limited styles fender flares and cladding, but he isn't local and is asking how the flares and cladding can be removed without damaging them. Any help would be appreciated.

My understanding is that it is very difficult, and best done by getting to the back side of the fenders/doors/quarter panel to pop the fasteners out from behind. Not easy.

They can be removed but not without breaking the clips that hold to the fenders. Easiest way is to take a plastic putty knife or body clip tool and slide it between the flare and body, then "feel" until you hit one of the clips. Once you do that you can ever so gently pry until the clip releases from the flare. It's easier said than done for sure.

Thanks for the help guys.

I'm not too worried about him breaking the clips because it is my understanding that new ones can be purchased at a local hardware store (Lowes, Home Depot, etc.). I think he is just concerned about breaking the actual flares/cladding. Are there any screws/bolts that hold the flares/cladding on? Or are the just held on by the clips?

Yes.

Two on the front door, the rear doors, and the back ones are riveted in to the body.

It is a PITA to get them off with out Breaking them.

I took mine off, but broke some of the mounts in the process.

If its a PITA to get them off. Do you guys think rust could form behind them?

Rust is absolutely possible. Usually only on the edge where the flare contacts the panel, but it definitely happens. It all depends how the vehicle was cared for. If it was washed at least a few times a year, then probably no rust formed. If it was driven on salted roads and washed once in it's life then there's a good bet rust will form on that edge.


Are you planning to repaint the flares or use them as is? The Limited flares have a rubber molding on the edge that is basically impossible to remove without damaging the rubber. Plus they are usually body colored and can't really be repainted to match your current paint. You can order the correct ones for about 20 bucks per molding if I remember correctly. As far as replacing the clips with "hardware store" items, I don't know that's possible, unless you are adding flares to a non-flare equipped vehicle. The holes for the flare clips are square on the body side and nothing I have found will stay in the hole save for the OEM clips. Expect to spend about 100 bucks on clips, as there are at least 45 or so at 3 bucks each.

No, I want to clean the paint behind the flares.

Just peel the rubber part back and see if the paint is rubbed raw. Rust is only going to form on that edge where the flare contacts the paint, and chances are if it's not rubbed raw in that area then you shouldn't have any rust problems. The rear is the biggest problem with rust, since it is much harder to replace the rear body panels than the fenders, so if you were going to the trouble to pull them off and check for rust, I would start with the rear flares.

alright. There's no rust where the flare contacts the paint so I'm basically fine?

I would say yes. How does your under-carriage look? If there's not rust there, I doubt you have any problems with body rust. 3rd gens are not known for body rust from what I have seen on this forum, rather frame rot is a big issue.

So even if you break the rivet mounts, it is still possible to remount/reinstall the flares right? Is there a "best" way to remove the rivets without breaking the mounts?

I just want to make sure that I don't end up paying for a set of flares that I can't install because all the mounts are broken.

The flares on the rear quarter panels have a plastic mounting clip that is screwed into the body. Also, If you break the mounts that the plastic clips attach to on the actual flare then you won't be able to use the flares. The reason I know is I had one come off when I was offloading due to contact with a tree. I was unable to re attach that flare because one of the mounting brackets was broken.

I am not sure if any other trim pieces have any screws holding them in or not.

The doors have at least one screw each.

I took mine off and sold them for the same reason the above poster mentioned.

Here's my mod thread, and what I had to do. I don't have any of the pics of taking the panels off.

Doc's mod thread.

Thanks for the help guys. After reading how much of a PITA all this is, I think I am going to just wait until I can get some Bushwacker flares. They are definitely more expensive but at least I won't have to worry about trying to install the Limited flares that may or may not have broken mounts/clips.