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Rokmen Unlimited Corners

Rokmen Unlimited Corner Guards

Part #:

I wanted some protection on the back corners. They seem to attract all sorts of manner of rocks, trees, and even shopping carts at times. I didn't really want something that wrapped around the entire side of the Jeep either. Now I already had the Rokmen sliders for the side of the jeep and I knew how stout they were. So I looked to Rokmen again to provide me with some armor for these corners. The Rokmen corners come predrilled for everything which is an added bonus.

Additional Parts:
Paint of your choice
Anti seize

Tools Needed:
T-22 Torx
Phillips Screwdriver
Flat Tip Screwdriver
10mm Socket
13mm Socket
5/16" Combo wrench
5/16" ratchet wrench
5/16" Socket
Extension
Ratchet
1/8" Drill bit
3/8 " Drill Bit
Drill

The Rokmen instructions are very good for this installation. I have broken it down a little more than their’s, but I have used most of their directions. I painted my corners and tailgate spacers before the install, and had to be very careful not to scrape and scratch them up to badly. I only did this because I wondered if I could do it painted. I recommend waiting a painting them after you do your drilling if you have the time. Otherwise, use some type of protection on the clamps.

Preparation:
These things look so nice, I almost wanted to just put them on like this, but I could just imagine the comments about Bling. Let alone how fast they would rust out.
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1. Remove both inner fender liners. There are 7 push fasteners holding these in. Easiest way is to use a pair of angle needle nose pliers to hold and lever them out. Remove the liner by just pulling out on the bottom and pushing the top inwards. The top is held in by 2 prongs through the body. Once the liner drops out you can just pull it up and over the tire.
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2. Remove both rear flares. These are held in by bolts and plastic nuts (in some cases). Use a 5/16” socket or combo wrench to get these out. I had a ratcheting box end that worked well.
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3. Remove the gas tank filler housing. Some of these have Phillips head screws others have T-22 Torx screws. You will need to remove the cap to access the 4 bolts holding the fill hose to the housing. Be careful. Remember to put the cap back on the filler neck to prevent anything from going down the neck.

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4. Remove the spare tire. This is a good time to figure out where you put the key for the spare tire lock. I waited until later to pull the tire and decided that it's easier to pull it early.

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5. I recommend that if you have a soft top, to just remove the side and back windows, and unclip the rear corners and flip them up so that you have plenty of working room. For hard tops, you can do this without taking the top off, it’s just a little more difficult.

6. Unclip the hardtop electrical line from the driver side of the body. You will be drilling really close to this and don’t want to hit it.

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7. Pull the carpet away from the outside edges of the body tub, otherwise if you drill through the carpet it has a tendency to ball up on the tip of the drill and you can’t get the drill back out of the hole. Don’t ask…..

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8. Remove the rear taillights. Remove the lens by removing the 4 Phillips head screws. You may need a flat tip screwdriver to carefully pry the lens out of the housing. Once you have the lens out, remove the 3 bolts holding the housing to the body with a 10mm socket and extension.

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9. Now, carefully pull out the wire for the taillights and unhook the connector. If you cannot pull the connector through the hole in the body. You will need to temporarily reattach the light with a bolt and reach up from underneath and unhook it.

10. Remove the license plate and license plate holder. This requires a 10mm socket.

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11. Remove the tailgate. If you have a 2004 or later model you may have the plastic covers over the tailgate hinges. First remove the upper right bump stop for the tire. Then on the long piece of the cover pry out the end by the taillight. It has a clip behind it holding it onto the bracket. Once you have this free just push the hole piece to the left to undo the hook. Now that that piece is off remove the short piece by prying out the ends of the arms. There is a clip about 1" in from the end on both arms. Once you get these off the piece should fall off. You can see how it hooks into the bracket on the other side.

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Short Piece back side
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Long piece back side

12. Unbolt the hinges from the body and the tailgate. I took a grease pencil and outlined the hinge position on the tailgate before unbolting it. This gave me a good starting point to reattach the hinges to the tailgate. You will need a 13mm socket to remove these bolts.

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Now that we have everything prepped for installation we can move on.
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Installation:
1. Rokmen recommends covering the edges of the bare sliders with tape to prevent scratching the paint on the body and I agree, otherwise having a bottle of touch up paint handy is a good idea. Loosely place the driver side corner on the vehicle using clamps and by reinstalling the factory license plate bolts. This will give you a nice tight fit against the body.

2. With the corner installed on the driver side of the jeep some alignment needs to be checked before any holes should be drilled. Verify fitment of the flare below the front edge of the corner by loosely placing the flare back on the vehicle. If the flare slips under the front edge continue on, if not loosen the clamps or license plate bolts and refit. Also, make sure the top edge of the corner does not tip up or down, making an uneven gap between the corner and the top of the tub. This initial fitment is very critical, if the corner is not properly positioned at this time the overall fit and finish will not be optimal.

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3. With the corner still installed and tight on the vehicle you can begin marking the holes to be drilled. Use a center punch to mark each hole before drilling. For each hole first center punch, then drill with a pilot bit, then open up the hole with a 3/8” drill bit. After drilling each hole, install the supplied countersunk bolt with washer, and lock nut to secure the hole. Begin the process at the rearmost hole on the body side, working your way to the front most hole, keeping a close eye on the overall fitment in step 2 above.

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4. Once the top row of body side bolts have been drilled and bolts installed move to the rear and repeats the same process as above. The lowest hole closest to the tailgate goes through two body panels. Make sure the drill is as straight as possible as the countersunk bolt will not sit flush if the two holes are too far off in alignment. The drill bit may need to be repositioned in the drill to reach the second body panel, take special care not to hit the body with the drill.

5. Once the holes for the rear and the top row of holes on the side have been drilled it is time to enlarge the holes that attach the rear flares and the corner, these holes will be obvious as the holes in the corner correspond to the factory holes. The bottom hole should have a “nutsert”, or factory nut in the body. Using the 3/8”drill bit, drill out all of the holes. Simply drilling the nutsert with the 3/8” bit will remove it and will give you the needed hole. This step can be done with the corner still installed on the vehicle.

7. All holes should now be drilled on the driver side and the corner can be removed. Touch up the holes with some paint to prevent rusting.

 

8. The driver side prep and fitment is now complete. The passenger side installation is the same as the driver side, except you are now dealing with the tailgate. Align the passenger side corner the same way as the driver, being very careful to check the fitment of the flare as well as the overall fitment.

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9. Paint the corners and the tailgate spacers.

 

10. After both corners and tailgate spacers have been painted install the corners on the Jeep. Again using the hardware and new holes to get the correct alignment. Check to make sure that the flare will clear the corner, and that overall fitment is correct. Start by installing the bolts on the side of the tub at the top rear, work you way to the front watching overall fitment. Then move to the rear. The stainless bolt located a the top closest to the tailgate on the driver side, first gets a half washer installed to compensate for the two body panels that meet in this location. On top of this, place a standard washer, followed by the lock nut. Be very careful with this half washer and washer. There is an opening on the backside of the tailgate latch pin bracket that will swallow them up if you drop them. The lowest one on the rear, closest to the tailgate on both sides gets the 3 1/2” stainless bolt.

11. Before the grade 8 hardware can be installed to attach the flares and corners to the body, the flares need to have the corresponding holes enlarged. Using the 3/8” drill bit, enlarge the holes. Be careful as the plastic is soft and very little pressure is necessary. The flare and corner are attached to the tub using the provided grade 8 hardware, with a washer on both the bolt head and the nut side. Tighten with the nylock nuts.

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12. With the corners installed, attach spacers to tailgate using the factory hardware. Do not fully tighten at this point. Loosely attach tailgate to vehicle using factory hardware. Gently close tailgate, checking gaps around gate. Adjust and tighten bolts. Reinstall lights, fuel filler, license plate hardware and installation is complete.

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Note: Rokmen recommend removing corners at least once a year to inspect and clean both the body and the corners. For harsher environments, inspect more often. I would agree, even down south they get pretty nasty behind.

Rokmen
303-907-6303
www.rokmen.com

  N-m Ft. Lbs. In. Lbs.
       
       

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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