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A couple weeks ago, I was looking at my 98 when I noticed a slight gap between the body and the rear passenger fender flare. I grabbed the flare and gave a little tug and the fender flare popped off in one place so I pulled it the rest of the way off. Turns out, my XJ is the victim to rust. I took off the rest of the flares and luckily there's no rust on the other fenders, but unfortunately the fender that did rust has rusted through the pinch welds. I would like to get rid of the rust by cutting the fender and I'm going to have to cut above the welds since the rust goes up pretty far. I intend to cut along the body line on the fender since it's above the rust. But I know next to nothing about welding so I'd have to see if my uncle could weld it up or have a welding shop do it. Any advice about what I should do? Should I get some sheet metal and weld each part to the sheet metal or just weld the body panel back to the inner fender?
the rust is alot harder to repair correctly then you might think. cutting out ALL the rust is the only fix. i would recommend just cutting out the rust and painting the edges, just leave it like that. its not easy to fab up your own peices from sheet metal without the right tools. if you want to repair it buy a quarter panel replacement panel and cut out the section you need, then weld it in. i would imagine the inner fender is rusted aswell. like i said, the best and cheapest way to fix it is just cut the rust out and paint the edges.
the rust is alot harder to repair correctly then you might think. cutting out ALL the rust is the only fix. i would recommend just cutting out the rust and painting the edges, just leave it like that. its not easy to fab up your own peices from sheet metal without the right tools. if you want to repair it buy a quarter panel replacement panel and cut out the section you need, then weld it in. i would imagine the inner fender is rusted aswell. like i said, the best and cheapest way to fix it is just cut the rust out and paint the edges.
That's what I plan to do, but doing so will require cutting above the pinch welds that hold the inner fender to the body panel and cutting above the pinch welds will cause the panel and the fender to separate which would leave a gap there.
That's what I plan to do, but doing so will require cutting above the pinch welds that hold the inner fender to the body panel and cutting above the pinch welds will cause the panel and the fender to separate which would leave a gap there.
are you trying to put the flares back on when your done?
Is this a stock XJ and you are not planning on a lift and larger tires I guess from what I see. This can be repaired by a body shop if that's what you want.
If you plan on a lift with larger tires then its a lot easier all you do is cut all of it out plus quite a bit more, depends on lift and tire size as to how much. Then you just do all 4 wheel wells like most of the people on here do and enjoy the new look.
Is this a stock XJ and you are not planning on a lift and larger tires I guess from what I see. This can be repaired by a body shop if that's what you want.
If you plan on a lift with larger tires then its a lot easier all you do is cut all of it out plus quite a bit more, depends on lift and tire size as to how much. Then you just do all 4 wheel wells like most of the people on here do and enjoy the new look.
I actually have a 3 inch lift right now and 30" tires. I'll eventually get bigger tires after cutting the fenders, but sadly right now my wallet won't allow me to do so.
Too funny, I have a 3" lift and I just upgraded to 32's from 30's a couple weeks back. I just pulled my flares off a few weeks ago and since it was rubbing a bit, now I'm using the angle grinder to start cutting away!
PS> I would just recommend doing the classic cut and fold on your rear quarter situation. Use the angle grinder to cut small slits all the way around the well making sure to cut in between the factory wheel welds and bolt holts. Then use a rubber mallet to beat all of it in and fold it up. Use the grinder wheel to clean up the rust area then sand and paint. Use 1/4 door trim on your new fenders for a super cheap clean look!
For those of you who are following this and interested in seeing how much of a failure I am, check out these pictures.
I was too much of a wuss to use the angle grinder because I was afraid of getting burned by the sparks so I opted for the sawz-all. Big mistake. As you can see, everything went swell until I lost control of the sawz-all and cut the **** out of my fender, now I'm screwed. Any advice? Should I just hang my hat now and go get a new fender from the junkyard and have someone else to trim my fenders? Is there any hope for me?
Dude just put some big arms length gloves on and use the angle grinder to cut that bad boy. As for where you biffed it on the fender with the sawzall... ****'llbuffout
For those of you who are following this and interested in seeing how much of a failure I am, check out these pictures.
I was too much of a wuss to use the angle grinder because I was afraid of getting burned by the sparks so I opted for the sawz-all. Big mistake. As you can see, everything went swell until I lost control of the sawz-all and cut the **** out of my fender, now I'm screwed. Any advice? Should I just hang my hat now and go get a new fender from the junkyard and have someone else to trim my fenders? Is there any hope for me?
Anybody who says they haven't f***** up a few things working on a Jeep is lying. Don't sweat it, grab a junk yard fender, look around for your color so paint matches. Then go again, use your old fender for practice and grind that s***.
use a grinder!!! it wont burn you skin.. that bad. it will catch your clothes on fire if you point the sparks right at them for long enough.. trust me i would know. oh and to fix? i would just weld the cut back up grind it smooth.. little bondo. no one will know.
Rear fender rusting
