RedneckJeep

There's nothing wrong with cutting the pinch seam corner off. It's just a matter of opinion. The cons of cutting are exposing unpainted sheet metal to the elements, and possibly losing a spot weld. If you DO cut the corner off, you just want to make sure that you coat the hell out of any exposed metal with paint. I think this is why TEEJ said not to cut it. He's not wrong, either. ANY exposure of bare metal to the atmosphere and it HAS been exposed to moisture. Also, cutting the corner off creates a "hole" between the layers of metal making up the body in that area. Extermely hard to clean out after Jeepin in the mud. If you cut it, you might even consider covering the area with some sort of epoxy, to seal it off, and then painting it.

Ewok

Thats a good idea! The guy is actually a wheeler and we were talking about welding the sliders on but I decided if I ever wanted new ones I F'ed!

2drREDROCK

Its the first thing I did when I got home with my new tires
I thought that is what everyone meant with some trimming
This is what I did,used a felt pen a small hack saw and them filed the edges to smooth it off.

mkjeep

Marine putty will seal where you trim, you can get it at most hardware stores and it's a cheap easy permanent seal.

seer1

Two words: sawz-all! Then, of course paint it and sh!t.

FunWagon

I need to trim it too before any more off-roading.

RotorHead

Yup, just cut it and fill the gap with marine adhesive or putty. Wait for the putty to dry for a couple of days and paint it. I also cut about 3" off of my Rubi rails and reattached the cap.

mattb2179

It may be just my unskilled opinion, but my first thought of a rubbing issue is too much tire or not enough lift. Don't get me wrong it looks great and I wish I had the $$$ to do that to mine. I would think that if it rubs there just driving around then stuffing that tire in the wheel well when off road would have major rubbing issues.

Also did your lift come with adjustable control arms? It may be the red arrow in the picture but it looks like the axle is sitting a little forward in the wheel well. If they are then extend the CAs by an inch?

Go ahead and flame my response but just throwing it out there......

TEEJ

LOL

I suppose that's why its an unskilled opinion.

Sure, it can mean that...but, rubbing is simply contact..and, ANY means of correcting it that works, works.

A Body Lift for example gets the fenders up out of the way...as does REMOVING the fenders. Getting new fenders with more clearance also works....all working great, w/o needing smaller tires or raising your center of gravity.



The reasons for folding a pinch seam include maintaining structural integrity...not just preventing corrosion.

A fold is simple to do, and works, maintains the weld, etc...and if the paint flakes off, itss just surface repair, not seam repair type patching.

A fold also presents a rounded contact surface if you stuff further, say coming down off a ledge, etc...which stuffs you more than lifting the tire with a jack, etc. (The thicker rounded edge cuts the tire less than a sharper thinner cut off edge...).

For a mall crawler, you can get away with losing a bit of rigidity, but, if flexing it up off road, you want all the structural integrity you can get...many rigs can develop stress fractures in the sheet metal from this activity over time, etc....and losing a weld doesn't help.



Besides, a few well placed BFH applications, and its done...easier than cutting it off anyway.

Hellbilly

"BFH" I love that! ............anyway, sorry guys, but I'm gonna have to vote with TEEJ on this. Flex alone causes enough problems, you dont want any more uninvited problems. Bending it over may even make it stronger. And for the guy who said he didn't want to hit his jeep with a BFH, but in the next sentence he cut it with a hack saw...........wtf? But hey, everyone has an opinion. Do whatever helps you sleep at night. .............BFH, that cracks me up!