Thin, chrome fender strips do nothing

ShooterMcGavin

ShooterMcGavin

New member
Is it me, or are the thin, chrome fender strips only good for catching on trees and causing damage? Have you left yours on, taken them off, what?

I'm thinking about taking mine off, unless there is a good reason to leave them on. They certainly don't keep much mud from spraying onto the body (um, do they?).

This is not my 4Runner, just one I found online:
Runner6.jpg
 
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They seem entirely aesthetic. If mine came with those, they would be one of the first to hit the scrap bin. There's probably going to be a lot of trim adhesive that'll need to be cleaned off, I'd imagine.
 
Actually they come off real easy. It's just some screws and clips on the fender liner and they come right off. I'm not sure how it'd look without them though.
 
The look better painted black. If you take them off look for rust. There may be some fine scratches underneath that you might want to buff off where they were if you are particular. They don't do much to block road grime but better than nothing. I wish I had flares instead of the chrome strips but I am too cheap to do anything about it. It is my DD so meh.
 
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The previous owner hit a deer, so the front driver's fender trim is torn off. I was out in the woods a few weeks ago. I must have had a branch drag near the rear fender; it tore one of the screws out of the clip, so the trim is sticking out from the fender about an inch. I'm debating... spend effort fixing them or just take them all off.

*ETA: painting them black does seem like a good option. We'll see how easy it is for me to fix them all up.
 
they came on the 4runners that had the p265 tires, that werent limiteds, and didnt have sport flares or the skinny black flares.

my guess is that due to certain laws about fender coverage, they are there to cover the wider tires a little more.

mine didnt come with them, but mine came from the factory with 225/75r15 tires haha.
 
D Farms said:
they came on the 4runners that had the p265 tires, that werent limiteds, and didnt have sport flares or the skinny black flares.
Click to expand...

Depends on the year as well. Mine fits none of the above things you listed other than having 265s stock. It has the same fender trim as a limited.

They're purely decorative, as is any trim on an auto.
 
D Farms said:
they came on the 4runners that had the p265 tires, that werent limiteds, and didnt have sport flares or the skinny black flares.
Click to expand...

I've seen SR5s sitting on 225's with these and I've seen a Base model sitting on 265's without these, though it is possible the Baser may have had them removed.
 
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I have these and the smaller black plastic ones. And I prefer the thin chrome ones. Something about the mud flaps on the black plastic ones just doesn't look right. They hang way too low. And the thin chrome ones don't do anything but hold in abrasive dirt and sand and also think it caused rust on my rear fender wel (bought it used) l. Can only imagine the black plastic ones doing the same. Only other option I would consider is bushwacker fender flares. Don't really like how it looks with nothing especially with the scratches.
 
ShooterMcGavin said:
The previous owner hit a deer, so the front driver's fender trim is torn off. I was out in the woods a few weeks ago. I must have had a branch drag near the rear fender; it tore one of the screws out of the clip, so the trim is sticking out from the fender about an inch. I'm debating... spend effort fixing them or just take them all off.

*ETA: painting them black does seem like a good option. We'll see how easy it is for me to fix them all up.
Click to expand...

I've thought about taking them off and plasti dipping along the body line. Since I have deep scratches. Might try it and see what it looks like sometime. By body line I mean along the wheel well
 
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I had them. They are about 3/4" thick so they are better then nothing. I painted them black and held up pretty well. I finally took them off since I run narrower tires. It looks better with them off in my opinion. There should be a little bit of buffing to do once you do. Nothing major though. On my build page I think I have before and after pics.
 
I wouldn't bother spending any money or much time fixing them.
If mine had come with those instead of the black plastic flares, I'd probably have left them on....until I got bored and wanted something to do.
They look better than the flares looked on my 4Runner, but that's a matter of taste.
 
Update: I took them all off. It was lame having 3 trim pieces on and the front driver's piece gone. Ideally, I would like some low-profile, but functional flares, about the size of the chrome ones I have or even a little bigger. It seems like too much trouble to replace clips and fix them so they'll work. I have so many more projects for the 4Runner to get done.
 
I have 2 of the Sr5 with those Thin chrome fender strips. My Tetanus 1 had them on before I went to the limited flares. {Well the front Fenders still do as they are not changed yet}And my 97 5 Speed has them on.
I personally prefer the larger flares as they keep the sides of the trucks a lot cleaner. They are better then nothing but really are not large enough even with stock size tires to keep the sides clean. I probably leave them on the 97 at least for a while.
 
Does anyone have instructions or a video on how to re-attach these wheel arch trim pieces? One of my clips is disconnected and I can't get it to seat back in. The clip doesn't look broken. But the trim looks bad hanging out a little.

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Parts Number

Would anyone happen to have the parts number for the thin, chrome trim? I just bought a 2001 4Runner, and it's missing the right hand fender trim. I'm on the hunt for a replacement. Thanks in advance.
 
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