Whats this in my wheel well?

birdtail · **Posted:** Sun Jun 20, 2010 4:59 am

There's a little plastic "triangle-shaped" thingy behind my front tires, on my Jeep's body.. I looked under it and there is steel under it I think, but The tire guy at a local shop told me that Liberties are notorious for tire rubbing there.. Is there a fix or a good way to remove it or something? It metal underneath looks important so i cant imagine cutting it all off, but is there a way to minimize it's size? The tire guy said he could take a heat gun to it for me but I don't know what that will turn out like (and i don't trust him, lmao). Is a heat gun the right tool to use?

I want to try and fit 265/75/16 tires- My front bumper is trimmed but what else will i need to do to fit these babies?
Oh, i also am installing an OME lift kit as well. not much, the website says it'll give "1.5" to 2" lift over stock."

What's it called? My name of "triangle-shaped thingy" doesn't seem correct >=D

Im sorry if this is commonly asked, I put it in the FAQ section because I figured i'm not the first to ask about it :oops:

TAHOE · **Posted:** Sun Jun 20, 2010 8:06 am

It's call a "pinch weld" You can carefully cut the plastic back on one edge, use some type of heat gun, fold it back, then use a hammer and pound the "triangle" flap over flat, then with some cutting & mastery, you can heat the plastic back up and "weld" it back flat. Do a search for "pinch weld" I know there are some "how to's" with pictures showing ya how to do it.
Once you take care of the pinch weld and you stated you trimmed the front, you may be able to fit the 265/75's but then they give slight rubbing on the sway bar or control arms.

birdtail · **Posted:** Sun Jun 20, 2010 5:03 pm

Ohhh... Okay yes, i have seen that term used before, and i just did a search to see what I could find, looks like a job I can probably get my dad to help me with

Is there anything that needs to be done in the back wheel well? Doesn't look like anything is protruding in there...

Also, if i get 1.25" spacers from Spidertrax, will that help with the sway bar rubbing?

Thanks Tahoe =D

steve03sport · **Posted:** Sun Jun 20, 2010 7:47 pm

i had same questions. cant wait for anwsers

daspes · **Posted:** Mon Jun 21, 2010 7:34 pm

birdtail wrote:

Ohhh... Okay yes, i have seen that term used before, and i just did a search to see what I could find, looks like a job I can probably get my dad to help me with

Is there anything that needs to be done in the back wheel well? Doesn't look like anything is protruding in there...

Also, if i get 1.25" spacers from Spidertrax, will that help with the sway bar rubbing?

Thanks Tahoe =D

You don't need to do anything to the rear wheel well to run any larger tires. The max size you can run will depend on the lift, but figure 245/75/16 (31's) as the max unless you want to do major trimming, relocating the washer bottle, etc.

As for spacers if you are running the stock wheels, then yes spacers will allow you to run a wider tire. But be careful of spacers, you have twice as many bolts to torque and just as many that can fail, and they do fail... Food for thought, you can get a new set of Soft 8's or 'D' Windows in the correct backspacing for about the same amount as a set of spacers...

steve03sport · **Posted:** Mon Jun 21, 2010 9:02 pm

can someone explain in detail what backspacing is and how it helps or hurts??

birdtail · **Posted:** Mon Jun 21, 2010 10:37 pm

Quote:

You don't need to do anything to the rear wheel well to run any larger tires. The max size you can run will depend on the lift, but figure 245/75/16 (31's) as the max unless you want to do major trimming, relocating the washer bottle, etc

Okay, i think i'll just stick with 245/75/16's, because i don't want it to be a big project just to get my tires to fit correctly =D

Thanks for that info!

TAHOE · **Posted:** Tue Jun 22, 2010 9:08 am

steve03sport wrote:

can someone explain in detail what backspacing is and how it helps or hurts??

Backspacing is the distance from the center mounting flange of the wheel to the outside lip of hte rear of the wheel. If you have more backspacing, the wheel will sit in closer to the body, less backspacing causes the wheel to sit out farther. They both have their advantages in different situations. Many times in the 4x4 world, less backspacing allows tire/wheel to sit out farther, usually causing a better chance for rubbing on the fender lips, but yet helps keep the inside of the tire from rubbing inside susepsnion components. i.e. I was running a stock wheel on my Tahoe with over sized 285/75's on it, no issues what so ever, I switched to an aftermarket wheel with about 1" less backspacing, the tire rubbed on the front air dam whihc I had to trim. No biggy, but I also like the look now as it makes it look a little wider as the tire sits out just a bit farther.
As stated, go with some Soft 8's steel wheels or stick with the stock wheels and just stay with either 245/75 or 265/70's and should be very little rubbing issues if any.

steve03sport · **Posted:** Tue Jun 22, 2010 12:34 pm

so if i wanna run 265's and not trim will wheel spacers help?

daspes · **Posted:** Tue Jun 22, 2010 12:44 pm

steve03sport wrote:

so if i wanna run 265's and not trim will wheel spacers help?

You're going to have do light trimming at least. With 265's you will need spacers or wheels with the correct BSing, and then trim some more.

vermette · **Joined:** Tue Dec 21, 2010 3:30 am **Posts:** 3

I had very little rub running 245/75/16 Duratracs on my 2005 rocky Mtn KJ with a 2.5" lift and as soon as I put 1.25" spacers on I had to pound down the seam weld and cut alot of the well cover in front of the tires and add some soft rubber to keep the mud out. The spacers made the ride look alot better! But be prepared to be cutting alot out! With the seam weld I found it easier to just cut the piece that covers the weld right off, hammer the weld flat then tar coat the area till it's covered and near smooth.

KJ_WHEELER_2010 · **Posted:** Sat Dec 25, 2010 6:42 am

I'm running 265/70R16 tires with the 2" OME lift. I had to trim my front bumper, pound the pinch welds and I still rub a little. The rear wont goto full flex because I rub on the plastic fenders. I plan on adding another inch of lift and this should fix everything. Checkout the pics of it rubbing http://www.cardomain.com/ride/3897619/2 ... utility-4d

tjkj2002 · **Posted:** Sat Dec 25, 2010 2:43 pm

KJ_WHEELER_2010 wrote:

I'm running 265/70R16 tires with the 2" OME lift. I had to trim my front bumper, pound the pinch welds and I still rub a little. The rear wont goto full flex because I rub on the plastic fenders. I plan on adding another inch of lift and this should fix everything. Checkout the pics of it rubbing http://www.cardomain.com/ride/3897619/2 ... utility-4d

You will need to add extended rear bumpstops and cut alot.

I removed the inner liners and cut almost 1.5" of the flares that tuck under into the wheel wells,also "rolled" all the sharp metal as not to cut my tires to eliminate almost all of the rubbing in the rear when I was running 265's.

KJ_WHEELER_2010 · **Posted:** Sat Dec 25, 2010 5:01 pm

Yeah, I think I'm gonna have to do some work to get them to tuck nicely. They were rubing all up in there when I flexed it.

Whats this in my wheel well?

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