TJ Flares on a YJ

[Sparky-Watts]

My cousin just sent me his old TJ flares (for free, can't beat that, huh?). I haven't looked at them yet, still in the shipping box, but last April I saw them and there were a few faded spots. He's been using the heat gun on them occasionally. Anyway, I'm looking for a good write-up on swapping them onto my YJ. Right now, I'm still undecided as to whether I'm going to cut any sheetmetal or not. Is it necessary if my tires don't rub now with the stock flares? I seriously doubt I'll ever go bigger than 31's, at least until I win the lottery and can get another DD Jeep and do an engine swap in the YJ. Just not enough oomph to turn anything bigger than 31's.

I did notice that with the front axle resting on the bumpstops, I have about an inch of clearance between the tire and the flare now. What would happen if I shortened my bumpstops? Anything else in there besides the flares that would get in the way?

 

[droopey]

I don't know if yours is the same but my tires at full flex hit the under side of my fenders rubbed pretty good. also with out axle limiting straps I think you would have to worry about brake line length maybe some other things not real sure.

 

[Sparky-Watts]

I don't know if yours is the same but my tires at full flex hit the under side of my fenders rubbed pretty good. also with out axle limiting straps I think you would have to worry about brake line length maybe some other things not real sure.

How much lift do you have and what size tires? Mine don't even come close to hitting with 31's on 3.5".:?: I mean, there's about an inch clearance, and that's on the edge of the flare. I know that due to the angles involved, taking an inch off the bump stops would actually put more than an inch travel at the end of the axle.

 

[droopey]

Sparky, I have 5.5 and 35x12.50's.

 

[Craig]

I put 6" extended TJ flares on my YJ after I got a vehcile inspection. These ones are made by Zenon but fit the same as stock TJ flares. I did it without cutting the sheetmetal and just painted the wheel wells under the flares with black undercoating. I'll be cutting the sheetmetal sometime next summer when I get time. Plenty of clearance with my 33's although they still rub when I stuff the tire. Here's a couple of pics of what it looks like... http://www.cardomain.com/ride/475506/9

 

[TwistedCU]

If you don't need the clearance, then why else would you put them on?

As for the bumpstops, if you didn't install the bumpstop extensions that came with the lift kit then I would leave them alone. If you did install the extensions you could remove them.

If you are looking for a little more flex, consider a greaseble boomerang shackle like M.O.R.E. makes. You should be able to see them in either Qtec, 4WD Hardware, or both. They will help with articualtion some because they will allow the spring a little more movement. The shackles I was referring to are 5/8" lift and are angled (at least the rear ones are) to keep the military wrapped spring eyes from banging against your crossmember. That, and they will give you another 5/8" lift, which is not enough to cause caster/steering issues. They will also rotate your pinions slightly which will help your DS angles a bit.

 

[happy024]

I put TJ flares on my YJ about a year ago and love the look. You won't need to cut any sheet metal to mount them if you aren't already rubbing. I trimmed mine becuase it just looks cleaner and was a fun project. The only problem I ran into was marking to drill the mounting holes. The stock holes from the YJ don't line up and there isn't a lot of room in the flares to get a good marking. So I borrowed a right angle drill from a buddy and used self taping screws to mount them. After they where on I just picked up some new side markers. I will attach some pics of my cutting lines and any other shots that I can find.

 

[Craig]

The only problem I ran into was marking to drill the mounting holes. The stock holes from the YJ don't line up and there isn't a lot of room in the flares to get a good marking.

I just got a set of large locking pliers and clamped the flares to the side of the jeep to mark the holes. Frees up your hands to get a good mark.

 

[happy024]

I just got a set of large locking pliers and clamped the flares to the side of the jeep to mark the holes. Frees up your hands to get a good mark.

I did the same but with the flares not being extended like yours but stock size there is hardly any room to get a good marking.

my 2 cents