Rust above rear wheel wells and options

[pfloyd32086]

Hi attached are pictures of the driver side rear wheel well. It’s definitely not good? I have several questions... if I went with a bushwacker style fender flare would I be able to cut out this section? What have others done to remedy this situation?  Do Cherokee flares fit the back, or are they Comanche specific? Any info would be appreciated. Thanks guys!

[Pete M]

our beds rot from the inside-out, so whatever you can see will be 100 times worse on the other side of the sheetmetal.   

 

2door XJ rear wheelwells can be made to work, but they are close, not exact.  plenty of owners have covered them up with bushwackers, but because it is worse inside the rust will always come back unless you deal directly with the rust behind it.    

 

Getting access is the hardest part, but protects like POR-15 can help stave off the cancer attack if you can get in there to prep and treat.  

[gogmorgo]

There is a company out there that was manufacturing bed side panels. 

http://stores.zmjeeps.com/bed-side-mj-comanche/

I can't speak to how it fits or anything, I'm just aware it exists. It doesn't look like it would replace much more than the exterior skin, though, if you need any of the inner wheel well fixed as well. And I think they're longbed, and while they should still work for cutting patch panels put on a shortbed, cutting and trimming them down for a full panel replacement on a short bed may not be as easy as they claim. And they're not entirely cheap, either, especially after factoring in freight. 

[pfloyd32086]

My truck is a long bed. FYI. Those panels might work.

[87MJTIM]

4 hours ago, gogmorgo said:

There is a company out there that was manufacturing bed side panels. 

http://stores.zmjeeps.com/bed-side-mj-comanche/

I can't speak to how it fits or anything, I'm just aware it exists. It doesn't look like it would replace much more than the exterior skin, though, if you need any of the inner wheel well fixed as well. And I think they're longbed, and while they should still work for cutting patch panels put on a shortbed, cutting and trimming them down for a full panel replacement on a short bed may not be as easy as they claim. And they're not entirely cheap, either, especially after factoring in freight. 

 

I had wasted my money - I mean spent money - on the left panel.  The opening for the wheel well was not stamped for the flares.

 

Save your money, especially after shipping.  

 

There is a thread on CC where a member cut the wheel well from an XJ to reshape the MJ wheel well.

[gogmorgo]

Yeah, I can see that now. I was thinking the whole panel looked a little plain. Too bad.