coolwind57 Posted October 16, 2017 Share Posted October 16, 2017 Ok, so I've had my MJ for a couple of Months now. PO had put 31s mud tires on with a mild lift. Anyhow, for like the first 2-3 weeks I kept hearing mini explosions going on under my truck just as I left my driveway and begun to acquire speed on hardtop. I scratched my head during this time to figure out what the heck was causing this. Here's what is happening: Gravel easily gets stuck in my MT tires. Once I build up speed on hardtop, a piece of gravel gets dislodged and freakin' crashes inside the wheel wells and also, all-to-often, into my brittle plastic inner fenders. My inner fenders are absolutely trashed now. This has affected front inner fenders only. The wife and I laugh now when we occasionally hear this happening-- thinking of how it had me perplexed in the past. Time to get new inner fenders I suppose. I hope new ones are not so dang fragile and if so, I will have to think of how I can better prevent breaking them so easily. Thought I'd share in case another newby is also in the early days of head scratching over this alarming sound. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krustyballer16 Posted October 16, 2017 Share Posted October 16, 2017 Sent from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Minuit Posted October 16, 2017 Share Posted October 16, 2017 Yeah, my inner fenders fell off in chunks any time I touched anything down there. I got a set off a '96 that are nice and pliable. Made the truck a little quieter too. I think you can still get 'em new, actually. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOrnbrod Posted October 16, 2017 Share Posted October 16, 2017 RockAuto sells them. Inner fender liner CH1248106 (L) & CH1249106 (R) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
schardein Posted October 17, 2017 Share Posted October 17, 2017 Same problem. I bought two pairs of the Rockauto ones and have installed one pair on my MJ. They are a different material and I think they will hold up well, however, they do not fit as good, they leave a gap where they are supposed to extend under the lip of the fender flares. It is noticeable (to me at least) at the fender flare right behind the front tire. Both sides are like this. I've noticed that most 96 XJs I look at have inner fenders that do not appear to be as fragile as egg shells. I would suggest sourcing a set from a junked 96, as Minuit mentioned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOrnbrod Posted October 17, 2017 Share Posted October 17, 2017 11 hours ago, schardein said: Same problem. I bought two pairs of the Rockauto ones and have installed one pair on my MJ. They are a different material and I think they will hold up well, however, they do not fit as good, they leave a gap where they are supposed to extend under the lip of the fender flares. It is noticeable (to me at least) at the fender flare right behind the front tire. Both sides are like this. Hmmm. I don't have any gap(s) like that. The liners tuck inside the fender flare lip all the way around. Even all the holes for the push pins lined up. I noticed RA uses different vendors for manufacturing these fender liners, all in China I'm sure. Maybe the mold is different between them. I was quite satisfied with the set I bought. Any chance you can post pics of these gaps? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
schardein Posted October 21, 2017 Share Posted October 21, 2017 On 10/17/2017 at 10:36 AM, HOrnbrod said: Hmmm. I don't have any gap(s) like that. The liners tuck inside the fender flare lip all the way around. Even all the holes for the push pins lined up. I noticed RA uses different vendors for manufacturing these fender liners, all in China I'm sure. Maybe the mold is different between them. I was quite satisfied with the set I bought. Any chance you can post pics of these gaps? It's been a while now since the install, but I recall the holes for the push pins more or less lining up ok. But this gap... and unfortunately I have a second pair. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOrnbrod Posted October 21, 2017 Share Posted October 21, 2017 Weird. I don't have gaps anywhere.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted October 22, 2017 Share Posted October 22, 2017 lots of tech in this thread so I've moved it over Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
schardein Posted October 22, 2017 Share Posted October 22, 2017 Thanks Mr. Pete, I was just thinking that... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coolwind57 Posted November 8, 2017 Author Share Posted November 8, 2017 Here's what Rock Auto sent me today. I'll get them installed during the next couple of days and we'll see if they leave gaps. Material is flimsier than I expected, but maybe that's a good thing...certainly has give and will possibly make stones bounce back instead of exploding through. Hoping and guessing, but we'll see. And this set was made in Taiwan, BTW. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOrnbrod Posted November 8, 2017 Share Posted November 8, 2017 Those look like the same liners I've had on for maybe ten years now and they are still fine. Install tip: Pick up some 3/8" fender washers and use new push pins when installing. You can get them at Lowes, etc. The washers provide more surface area and hold the inner fenders on more securely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coolwind57 Posted November 8, 2017 Author Share Posted November 8, 2017 6 minutes ago, HOrnbrod said: Install tip: Pick up some 3/8" fender washers and use new push pins when installing. You can get them at Lowes, etc. The washers provide more surface area and hold the inner fenders on more securely. Great minds think alike. I was planning on figuring a better, more robust way to mount these. Perfect idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted November 9, 2017 Share Posted November 9, 2017 get the stainless washers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skorpyo Posted November 9, 2017 Share Posted November 9, 2017 It looks like @HOrnbrods MJ has an extra trim piece inside the inner fender liner that yours does not. Highlighted below. That looks like the difference rather than the liners themselves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOrnbrod Posted November 9, 2017 Share Posted November 9, 2017 2 hours ago, Skorpyo said: It looks like @HOrnbrods MJ has an extra trim piece inside the inner fender liner that yours does not. Highlighted below. That looks like the difference rather than the liners themselves. You're correct. Those are the inner flare retainers, #4 on the diagram. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SVPete Posted November 10, 2017 Share Posted November 10, 2017 Huh? I pretty sure the "extra trim piece" is not items 3, 4, or 5. Those are the "clamps" that hold the flare to the fender. I think there is just an optical/lighting illusion in the photo which makes the fender liner blend into the lip of the flare. BTW - the fender liners I got via amazon were made in Taiwan and have gaps also, but not quite as large as schardiens and I had to enlarge some of the push pin holes to get them to line up. But for about $25 total, I'm happy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coolwind57 Posted November 10, 2017 Author Share Posted November 10, 2017 19 minutes ago, SVPete said: I pretty sure the "extra trim piece" is not items 3, 4, or 5. Notice that 3, 4, & 5, labeled "retainers" are outboard of the fender (item 1) in the illustration, which would indicated that the 3/4/5 retainers are outside the fender, not inside. I don't see an "extra trim piece" on the illustration. So I too assume HOrrnbrod's photo is sort of an optical illusion. What I have in red here, is essentially what Skorpyo had identified in his posted pic too, right? Any chance HOrnbrod's 1991 model changed after the illustration was published? I'm anxious to get home tonight and see what my wheel well looks like. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOrnbrod Posted November 10, 2017 Share Posted November 10, 2017 Si, those are the studded metal retainers - my bad. In that case, my flares must be cut differently because the MJ front wheel wells were all the same AFAIK. I remember when I installed them I had to bend them up to get them to snap in under the flares. I'll take some better pics today - it's not an optical illusion. Also, the p/n's were different between years, but I think that's because the liners were made out of different materials: 87-90, 55001890-1, PANEL, Inner Protective 91-93, 55027152-3, PANEL, Inner Protective 94-96, 55175008-9, PANEL, Inner Protective Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coolwind57 Posted November 10, 2017 Author Share Posted November 10, 2017 Rock Auto's part numbers for the inner fenders claim to cover 84-96 Cherokees (plus 84-90 Wagoneers), so I hope any changes on size that they may had made in sizes over the XJ year span still adequately cover my MJ openings. We'll see tomorrow providing I have time to put them on then. Curiously, inner fenders are not found on Rock Auto's site for MJs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOrnbrod Posted November 10, 2017 Share Posted November 10, 2017 Fresh pics. The parts with the yellow lines drawn through them are the outer edges of the flare. The edge appears an inch or so wider than the edge on the flares you guys posted. It's plenty wide enough to tuck under the flare lip all the way around and leaves no gaps. So I guess the new manufacturers broke the original mold. Or cut them down too much. Or something. Unsat.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOrnbrod Posted November 10, 2017 Share Posted November 10, 2017 5 hours ago, coolwind57 said: Curiously, inner fenders are not found on Rock Auto's site for MJs. Lots of common XJ/MJ parts don't show up in the MJ listings on Rock Auto. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coolwind57 Posted December 13, 2017 Author Share Posted December 13, 2017 On 10/17/2017 at 12:00 AM, schardein said: They are a different material and I think they will hold up well, however, they do not fit as good, they leave a gap where they are supposed to extend under the lip of the fender flares. It is noticeable (to me at least) at the fender flare right behind the front tire. Both sides are like this. Here's an update on my Rock Auto inner fenders now that I got them installed. Check out this pic: I suppose they just don't make "em like they used to. The other side isn't quite as bad. I'll throw some black Gorilla tape on there until I can figure out a more permanent solution. Maybe a mud flap or something. Looks like PO maybe had some on at one point based on those drilled holes there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
schardein Posted December 13, 2017 Share Posted December 13, 2017 I think this confirms that the current offerings from Rockauto are to be avoided or used as a last resort (something is better than nothing). Unless someone has another source, my suggestion is still to cruise the junkyards for a good set off a later model XJ (94-95-96)(not to be confused with 97-01). A couple good raps with a knuckle should reveal if they are dry rotted and ready to fall apart. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOrnbrod Posted December 14, 2017 Share Posted December 14, 2017 Team Cherokee: http://teamcherokee.com/front-fender-liner-oem-jeep-cherokee-comanche-1984-1996/ Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=55175008 Ebay: Everywhere. Some even genuine Mopar Correct Mopar part numbers are 55175008 (R) & 55175009 (L) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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