Swapping TJ Flares onto a YJ

By Andrew Horvath

The more I had seen great looking YJs with TJ fender flares in magazines and on various websites, the more I wanted to do it to my own '93 YJ. I decided to go ahead with the project for a number of reasons. In addition to the updated look, the swap increases tire clearance in the wheel wells and the cutting of the front and rear fenders allows for a little more flex without rubbing. Additionally, this modifications would keep the police off my case for tires that stick out too far. In Vancouver, some of the police can be somewhat over-zealous in giving out vehicle inspection notices. The most obvious infraction is having wide tires that stick out past the fenders. By using TJ flares, I was able to cover-up just about all of my 35" BFGs, even after my axle swap. This alone made the swap worthwhile.

Choosing TJ Flares

Since I have a Sahara, my stock flares were painted to match my body right out of the factory. I wanted to keep this 'Sahara' look when I did the swap so I decided to paint the flares when I got them instead of having the stock black ones found on most TJs. As luck would have it I found some flares right around the time I had some extra money to spend on my Jeep. Even better, these flare were from a TJ with the 'Sahara' package. This meant that the flares were 1.5 inches wider than the stock 'Sport' and 'SE' flares. They were a little scratched up but not enough to turn me away from them. A little sanding, priming and painting solved the color problem right away.

The Rear Flares

The first step is take off the old flares. I did this and truth be told a few of the bolts on the inside are a PITA to unscrew with the tires on. The only reason for this was because the bolt heads were caked with mud, which made them a little harder to get a ratchet on. Once I had the flares off, I was at the scary part - where to start the cutting??!! The easiest way to measure out your cuts accurately is to trace an outline of the flares onto your body. I simply held the flares up against the jeep and tried to get them all centered and level. I then clamped the flares up using 2 Vise-Grip locking pliers on the bottom of the flares. After taking a step back and looking at the placement from different angles I drew a line around the bottom of the flare using a water-soluble marker. Now that I had the outline for the cuts I thought to myself, "do I really want to do this????" And yes I chose to go ahead with the cuts. I used a jigsaw with a sheet metal blade but this was a slow go. I got impatient and brought out the 4" grinder and a few cut-off wheels. It worked like a charm and didn't heat everything up too much. You also need to cut the rubber wheel well lining so it doesn't hang down. It will tuck up after the new flare is mounted.

After the cutting was all done, I fit the flare back onto the Jeep and clamped it on again. You need to cut off the two little tabs on the flat part of the flare in order to get a flush fit. I then got my trusty marker out again and marked the holes for the screws. I took the fender off and drilled the holes using a 5/32" drill bit. Before I bolted the flare up I painted all of the metal surfaces that were exposed from the cutting. I didn't want any rust so I coated the cut edges very well. Then I took out the stainless sheet metal screws (#10 size and 3/4" long) and big washers that I got from Revy and bolted them up. I got the screws that have a 5/8" head size so I could use a ratchet to make the tightening easier (but don't over-tighten them!). The washers I used were the ones that are maybe 3/4" in diameter with a small hole instead of the small diameter washers (also known as fender washers). The fenders seem to hold very well and will take a lot bashing on the trails before they will rip off - at least I hope so!

It was scary but the first cut was made.	A small amount of the inner sheet metal had to be cut to accommodate the TJ flares.	The front of the rear fender opening was left alone. I couldn't really cut anything out of it without cutting into the vertical sheet metal that forms part of the inner tub.
It doesn't look too bad with the flare in place.	The flare's inner lip wraps nicely around the front of the rear fender well.	The rear flare installed.

The Front Flares

The fronts took a little more time to do than the rear because I wanted to get them to fit perfectly. After I removed the old flares and clamped up the front flares so the top of the flare was flush with the fender, I drew the outline. It turned out that I needed to cut off the lip on the rear of the flares; I cut from the third hole to the bottom (around 12"). This was necessary because if was going to keep the lip I would need to cut into the fender past where the metal sheet is in the wheel well. This would mean I would loose part of my wheel well and I wasn't going to do that. After I cut out the shape of the fender I then re-clamped fender to the Jeep. After I marked and drilled the mounting holes I painted and the exposed metal to prevent any rust. I then bolted the flares up to the fender I saw that the front of the flare dropped down 3 inches below the lowest part of the fender. I drew a line on the flare that was flush with the bottom of the fender. I then cut the flare and painted the cut plastic, which was exposed during the cut. After this I bolted in the signal lights and that was it.

Trimming is completed.	I couldn't cut any further rearwards without getting into the plastic inner fender liner.	The TJ flare went further back than the inner fender liner. In order to mount it flush to the side of the fender, I had to trim the flare's inner lip (length of cut indicated by the red line).
Here you can see that the inner profile of the flare is a centimeter further to the rear than the fender opening.	The red line indicates where I had to trim the front of the flare to match the fender profile.	The finished product!

Costs (Canadian dollars)
Used TJ flares	$200.00
Color match spray paint from Canadian Tire (4)	$5.95
Various 3M sandpaper	$15.00
Primer and clear coat	$4.00
Screws and washers	$10.00

ps: If you want to see another example of a TJ to YJ flare install, have a look at the Project YJ TJ Flares Install article.