Advice on installing Jungle Fender Flares?

Deathcricket · Jan 29, 2012

Hey all,

Tried searching but didn't see any advice or tips on installing Jungle Fender Flares. I do see lots of very nice finished installations though!

So I have a 1990, they just came in the mail wrapped in newspaper. They have zero mounting hardware. I took my old crome fenders off and see there is a screwhole mounting about every 10 inches. My initial thought was to line it up with the existing mounts, and just drill a hole through the fiberglass. My first try though took me 3 shots to get the stinking thing lined up. So I got some self tapping screws 5/8th inch and was thinking to just line everything up and make my own holes. It does bother me that there isn't any way to secure it on top, I'm thinking water an dirt will eventually get in there and sit against the metal causing rust. Then I was speaking with my dad and he suggested i just glue them on with silicone, use some clamps to hold them in place, and call it done.

So I see lots of people on here have installed them. What was your experience? What did you get right and what did you wish you had done? Any tips would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

-Deathcricket-

Here is the box they came in, wrapped securely in newspaper but no documentation.

I already took the other side off, but here is an untouched "before image"

Removed old fender and new one sitting below it.

Close up of underneath mounting spot, probably should clean that off a bit better. But the mounting spot is that little white piece of plastic you see in the very center of the grime. the 2 larger pieces of plastic you see up top, there is probably no way to use those mounts?

Inside of first fender, no mounting whatsoever. You can see I drilled a hole to line it up with existing one, but it took me 3 shots to get it in right spot. Can't do this for whole install.

Rest of fender

As you can see, it's very close and lines up decent, but I'm worried about dirt and water getting into top. It does need a little more trimming on the end there, but that is very minor issue. My dremmel will make quick work of it.

BucknutBob · Jan 29, 2012

Not familiar with Jungle flares, but they look similar to the Bushwacker flares I put on my '95. BW helps the fit to the body by including a rubber weatherstrip that runs the length of the upper (visible) lip and attaches with adhesive tape--this helps close up any slight gaps, and protects the paint from scratches. The main thing when installing is to get another person to help, this way they can hold pressure on the flare while you drill out your mounting holes--if you don't keep pressure on them, the flare won't pull up tight to the body properly. BW includes cheap plastic plugs for attachment--I tossed these and used smaller sheetmetal screws, drilling my own holes at roughly the same spacing as the factory holes. Line up the flare, have your helper hold enough pressure to make the body panels slightly spread the upper and lower edges of the flare, and drill out the first hole under the center of the wheel opening, then quickly insert the screw. Now work outwards from there, going in both directions, holding slight pressure to keep everything tight, and finish with a couple underneath at each end. Your situation may be slightly different, so use your own judgment--I just know this worked well for me with the Bushwackers. Best of luck!

Deathcricket · Jan 30, 2012

Helper? But my brother won't come over unless I buy him a case of beer, and the wife is banned form the garage! Haha just kidding and thanks for the reply. I did forget to mention they did come with some rubber type weatherstripping but its not adhesive, I think it's more to prevent scratches against the paintjob.

Very good tips though and I'm definitely going to take your advice, thanks again!

jirehn · Jan 30, 2012

Well I think most car users don't know about this Jungle Fender Flares.

Deathcricket · Jan 30, 2012

Perhaps, but I heard about them from this forum, and I already got one really great response from BucknutBob, so it was worth a shot.
:fishing:

Deathcricket · Feb 7, 2012

So i thought i would include the rest of the documentation in case anyone comes here in the future looking for advice. Bottom line is the back was very easy, took less than half an hour. Like was stated earlier just have someone hold them on, get some #8 self tapping screws with basic washers and go to town. Very little trimming was required and they fit perfect. I did go ahead and seal the top with black silicone. but looking back this is probably not a needed step because they suck right up to the side and achieve water tightness by themselves.

The front though was a total *****. Took me twice as long and I will probably go back and redo a couple sections to try and get them lined up better. The main cause seems to be the bumper mount section. It's just a 1 foot part but didn't line up with the fender section at all. My guess is the bumper isn't stock or match well with the bumper they used to make the moulding. The screws are a little more prominent than I anticipated, so I will probably go back and dust them with some black spray paint to conceal them better.

Bottom line though is it was and easy project and a noob like me had relatively little trouble. Got the front and back done on one side and took me about 2 1/2 hours. I'm sure if you have a decent setup that doesn't require using a brick under your jack, and other rookie problems I had just getting the tire off, that time could greatly be reduced, hehe. On to pics!

My assistant needed frequent breaks, so this also slowed me down a bit. He just wanted to kick back and relax constantly.

Underneath the rear fender, not the straightest but it works

Done, came out literally perfect fit, this is after wiping excess silicone off.

The front between piece A and B, could not get them to line up perfect. I have a couple ideas for more invasive trimming though and if the other side comes out better I will return to patch these up. The part that bugs me the most is the 1/2 inch it sticks out on the front. but the inside radius lines up well.