In our quest for fitting ever-larger tires on ever-shorter Jeeps, we bring you Part II of the YJ on 40s. Most people who put 40s on the front of a Jeep without lifting it to the moon either lose the fenders and cut the hood, or lose the fenders and go to a fiberglass "rock crawler" type of hood with the little built-in fenders that are really for decoration only.
We had heard rumors that Gen-Right Off Road was working on a high-clearance front tube fender to complement the company's kit for the rear and we were able to talk them out of the first production kit available and bring the story of installing it to you first.
By keeping the stock hood and cutting it, we save money over other kits that require hood replacement. Also, with the fenders, we got inner fenderwells to keep flung mud off underhood components, as well as steel fenders instead of fiberglass or plastic ones that will better take the occasional impact; we also opted for a 3-inch tubular flare to keep the amount of muck and water down inside the cab of the Jeep.
Since our stock hood and grille were mangled in an accident, we went to Scotty's Jeep, Truck & 4x4 in Fontana, California, for replacements. We were able to save some cash on a hood that had the lower edge (along the fender) bent and scratched since we were cutting off almost 4 inches of it anyway.
The fenders installed just like the directions said they should, so we won't bore you with a reprint of Gen-Right's instructions. Instead, we will share some of the tricks we learned along the way. Overall, for a solid day of work, we ended up with some near-bulletproof fenders that clear our 40-inch tires on a stock-height YJ Wrangler.
Either you can measure the...
Either you can measure the hood for the cut, lay masking tape, and mark it, or you can go this route. For $79 we got a grinder, a metal fence, and a bolt to hold it together. We were inclined to just whack off a section of hood, but this really makes it a no-brainer and does help to make for a perfectly straight cut.
After the hood was cut and...
After the hood was cut and the fenders bolted up, we noticed that our cut wasn't perfect. Then we went back and read the directions. There are bumps on the bottom edge of the hood that affected our fence-assisted cut that we should have flattened out first. Using a box cutter, we were able to scribe a line to see just how far off we were.
Even if we hadn't screwed...
Even if we hadn't screwed up the cut, the directions state that a 120-grit flapper wheel should be used to clean up the edge. We were skeptical, but gave it a whirl since we had to take down high spots anyway. The fine-grit flapper wheel really does make for a much nicer finished edge and if you were good with all your cuts, you could probably run the hood just like that.
We then decided to touch up...
We then decided to touch up the edge of the hood. Squirting some red spray paint into a spray paint can cap sounded like a good idea at the time, but resulted in our hands being coated in paint. Another option would be to spray the cotton swab directly, or just mask the edge of the hood and spray the paint right onto it. If you are concerned about matching your color exactly, look into the small touch-up paint in a nail-polish-like container. The built-in applicator would be very useful in this application.
If you don't want to go through...
If you don't want to go through all the paint fun and games, some door-edge molding from your local auto parts store could be a good way to finish the rough edge. It might look better on darker Jeeps than light-colored ones, though.
The stock Jeep fenders have...
The stock Jeep fenders have vertical adjustment built in, in the form of slotted holes. The Gen-Right units do as well, but because of the two bends in the mounting plate (arrows), actual available adjustment is minimal. It is necessary to remove the headlight and headlight bucket as there is an added hole to drill for the bolt that bolts into the top tube of the fender for increased strength.
Obviously, relocation of inner-fender...
Obviously, relocation of inner-fender mounted items is needed. The fenders come with no holes, so we needed to drill our own, which went without a hitch. Because of the high-clearance nature of the fender, the underhood fuse box needed to be moved; we cut it off with a Sawzall and drilled two holes to bolt it to the inner fender higher up.
There are tubular inner-fender...
There are tubular inner-fender supports on each side that need to have a section cut out of them. The fender kit includes sleeves so that you can bolt or rivet the tube back together at the right length for no loss in fender rigidity.
Unlike most aftermarket fenders,...
Unlike most aftermarket fenders, these tube fenders have access panels that not only make mounting the fender to the Jeep much easier, but also make it possible to bolt the inner fender onto the outer tube fender. Between the battery tray on one side and the computer mounted to the firewall on the other, without these panels, getting the bolts in would have been near impossible.
If you already have rocker...
If you already have rocker panel protection, it will need to be cut to clear the bigger fender opening. The kit includes a cut-out template to show you where to cut. If you are good you can probably do it with the rocker on the Jeep, but the cut for the bottom of the rocker won't be an easy one.
The fender is designed to...
The fender is designed to use TJ hoodside latches. Make sure when you drill the holes in the hood for the upper mount that there is about a 1/8-inch gap between the upper and lower mount when the hood is closed. The rubber needs to be under tension and if you don't have that gap, the rubber latch might not keep the hood down.
Aside from the 4 extra inches...
Aside from the 4 extra inches of clearance, this feature is something we wish we'd see in more tube fenders. The fenders come with a panel that bolts on to cover the access hole. There is a solid panel, a louvered panel, and this perforated metal panel available. With the heat we normally get in Southern California, and the planned V-8 for this Jeep, we thought that letting out as much hot air as possible was a good idea.
Since the top of the fender...
Since the top of the fender is moved up almost 4 inches, this pinch seam on the firewall interferes with the fender. We chopped it off completely, but we think a better way might have been to cut it at the horizontal slice and then pound it back with a hammer until it wasn't in the way of the fender.
As with any tube fenders for...
As with any tube fenders for CJ, YJ or TJs, the side marker light is deleted, and to stay legal, we opted for the Stealth Marker Light kit from Gen-Right. Also, we were concerned about not welding the inner fender in, but after seeing all the bolts and rivets used to hold it on, we aren't concerned about the strength of it anymore.