Wheel Well Liner Install...Rugged Liner brand

[Mike-1000]

Today I installed a set of wheel well liners on my white '13 2500HD 4X. These are Rugged Liner brand and run about $110 online. I paid a little more than that locally. There are a few different part numbers for the Chevy trucks and the 2500HD part number is WWGMC011HD. The kit includes the two liners, 6 push pins (3 for each side) and 8 hex head self tapping screws (4 for each side). The instructions are pretty clear and there is a You Tube video from Rugged Liner just in case you need it.

The only tools I used were a battery/op screwdriver with a 5/16" nut driver and an awl to line up the push pin holes. The liners are marked LH or RH and while they don't really tell you, I assumed the LH was the driver's side. The instructions say start on the right side but I have no idea why. The Chevy liners can be installed with the wheels on and that's what I did.

After cleaning the wheel wells I went to it. Start by slipping the liner over the tire tucking each end in as you go. Once the ends are behind the lip of the wheel well push up on the liner. Now push the top lip of the liner behind and inside the top lip of the wheel well. Be careful running your hand along the metal lip of the wheel well because it is possible to put a slice in your thumb. Now everything should be inside the wheel well and although there is a little room for movement everything is pretty snug. Install the three push pins through the existing holes in the metal lip at the top of the wheel well. If you remove the push part from the pin it's a little easier on your fingers. I used the awl here to scoot the liner a little to get the pins in. The liner has a little ledge formed near where the pins go so you can pull down on the liner while pushing up on the pin. A little pushing and pulling is required here to get the pins to seat. You'll know when they are where you want them. I installed all three pins before I pushed the locking part in.

Once those pins are locked you can see the 4 holes for the self tapping screws. Again, you have a little movement here but not much. Push the liner where you want it and install the screws through the front and rear fender supports. I could get the top two screws in with a regular sized battery/op screwdriver but the bottom two were running at too much of an angle. I did have an angle screwdriver so I used that but a smaller profile screw gun (like the guy in the video had) would work fine.

The self tapping screws are dipped in some kind of plastic coating I assume to help the seal as they are driven. You could also use nuts and bolts here since you can get to the back side of both fender supports.

That's about all there is to it...except the other side. The instructions say 15 min. to install but I must be slow because I probably had 45 min in the pair. The thickness of the plastic is about the same as the plastic on the front factory liners. I think they will hold up fine but time will tell. The liners do cover up everything that is painted and come down to the top of the frame.

The first pic is why you need these on a white truck and the second is the installed liner. Notice that the push pins are black so they do stand out a little. I hope this post is helpful.

 

Mike

[CKNSLS]

I installed without the self tapping screws and it's been almost two years w/o any issues. Those things are so snug they are not going anywhere!

[Heard]

Is there any room for mud/dirt to get up between the wheel well and liners? They look great and up here in Canada might be a life saver with all the dirt and gravel roads. Only concern is mud and snow getting up there and causing the wheel well to rust out 10x as fast. Had that problem with my '05 that had a drop in plastic bed liner. Took it out before I sold the truck and the entire bed was rusted. Needless to say I put the liner back in and sold it.

[Mike-1000]

Although they are snug, they are not water/air tight. It does look like they are designed to allow any water that might get behind the liner to drain out. I think a good cleaning with a power washer would probably keep everything cleaned out. They can be removed easily enough so cleaning behind them every spring might be a good idea. Not sure if you could save the plastic push pins but they can be replaced. One last note, GM sells a set that is very similar and they install in the same manner.

 

Mike