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Off Your Rocker Rear Corner Guards

Off Your Rocker Rear Corner Guards

Part #:

We back up all the time, or drag the rear corners of our Jeep through stuff.  I haven't done much more than dent one slightly, but I think I have been lucky so far.  I wanted to put a little more protection on this area.  There are many choices out there from aluminum, to heavy steel.  I had used OYR corner guards in the past and really liked their strength.  They are not light at 35lbs a set, but not as heavy as Avalanches full side plates.  I don't expect to ever get into stuff so bad that I would need theirs.  So another set of OYR's went on.  This is not an install for those squeamish about drilling holes in their Jeep.

Additional Parts:
Black Silicone
Tape
Tools Needed:
Drill
1/4" Drill bit
Pliers
3/8" Socket
5/16" Socket
10mm Socket
?? Socket for Charcoal Canister bolts.
Phillips Screwdriver
Flat tip Screwdriver
(2) C-Clamps
5/32" Allen Wrench
7/16" Combination Wrench
Scribe

 

Installation:
The OYR corners come packaged in a nice box with plenty of foam backing in between. UPS is starting to not like me.
Corners in a box
The first step is to remove everything that is attached to the back of your Jeep.  Flares, rubber wheel liners, taillights, license plate, and the gas filler surround.  Lets start by pulling out the rubber wheel liners.  These are simple.  There are 7 push inserts that hold the liner in.  4 in the back and 3 in the front.  One of the front ones is above the frame so can be a real pain to get out if you don't have a body lift installed.  I just inserted the tip of a needle nose pliers under the lip and pulled them out.  Now you will need to push in on the inner lip, to get the pins out of the body and pull it all out.  This is harder than is sounds since it won't want to cooperate.
fender flares removed
Now once you have the liners out, you can take off the flares.  You will need a 5/16" socket or combination wrench.  Luckily I had a ratcheting combo wrench so it made this short work.  You will need to remove all the screws holding the flare on.  Some have well nuts, and the others have a plastic nut on the back side.
 
Now that we have the flares off, we can pull off the license plate holder, just remove the license plate and unscrew the (4) 10mm bolts holding the holder on.  Oh the license plate is 10mm also. 
 
The Gas filler remove by taking the cap off and unscrewing the 4 Phillips screws from around the tube, be careful that you don't drop a screw in the fill tube.  Once these are removed you can unscrew the 4 Phillips screws from around the housing.  It would be a good idea to remove the gas cap from the housing and reinstall it on the fill tube.
gas cap surround removed
Now all that is left is to remove the tail lights.  Just unscrew the (4) Phillips screws from the lens and carefully remove the lens.  You will see (3) bolts that you need to remove with a 3/8" socket.  Be careful of the lights inside.  Now the drivers side is easy since you can pull out the connector and then disconnect it. 
removing taillight
The passenger side is a real pain.  You will need to fish your hand up inside the rear quarter panel and find the connector.  I was able to get it down far enough to get my other hand on it to disconnect it.  This connector is hidden behind the charcoal canister.  Now you will need to loosen up the charcoal canister.  Their are (4) bolts and (1) nut holding it in place.  First remove the metal shield from in front of the canister.  These (2) bolts and (1) nut are easy to see.  Now remove the 3rd bolt that is located towards the bottom in the middle.  Now once you get that done, you will need to loosen the last bolt.  Lie on your back and look up at the canister.  You will see a bolt.  You just need to loosen this one since it is in a slot.  You will need a real long extension to get to it.
getting to behind the evap canister
Now comes the easy part.  Take your c-clamps and clamp the OYR corners in place.  Make certain that the bend in the plate is tight against the body and then drill your 2 holes.  Insert bolts and tighten down.  Now work your way out from those bolts with the rest.  I found that if you drill a hole, insert and tighten the bolt, then drill the next ones further out works the best.  Once you have all the holes drilled and bolted up, then take a scribe and mark the holes for the flares, tail lights, gas filler, and license plate from behind.  Take the corners back off, and drill these holes.  Now all that is left is to debur all the holes, paint the holes you drilled and reinstall the flares using a little bit of silicone in the hole before you insert the bolts.  You will use the same pattern of installing the bolts as you did when you originally drilled the holes.  Make certain that all your holes line up so that you can reinstall everything.
clamping the corner on
You will drill on the average 22 holes in your body to mount these, so there really is no going back after you start.  Once you are completed, run a piece of tape along the body parallel with the top and the sides of the panel.  You can then run a bead of silicone along the top edge and sides to seal out water.  Leave the bottom open to drain.
 
left rear installed right rear installed rear picture side picture

This page last updated: 16-Apr-2008

Content and Design © 2002-present WanderingTrail,  Ronald Seegert
Common Sense and Safety should always be observed when working on your vehicle or doing modifications. Jackstands, wheel blocks, disconnecting the battery are a few of the basic safety precautions that should be used and may not be mentioned in the write ups on this site. You are responsible for your own installation, these write ups are a helpful guideline and should not be taken as an official installation instruction. My write up may be different from the kits currently out there, so alwasy double check the manufacturers installation instructions when installing anything. I try to keep the site up to date with changes that have occured as I discover them, but may not have the latest unless someone lets me know. If you feel that an install is above your capabilities after reading my write ups, I recommend getting together with a club and getting some help. Only a few times have I needed to employe some actual help from a shop to get something done. Usually welding or A/C work. While I have spent many years working on mechanical systems, I am not an expert, nor do I pretend to be one. I hope these write ups have been useful to you.
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