Aftermarket wheels rub on mud flap/guard

BlackRST · May 21, 2020

So I know its been discussed on here previously. I cant seem to find the topic when I search. I just put 33X12.5 on 20x9 +1 wheel. It only rubs at full lock on the inside of the front mud flaps. I remember someone mentioning they removed the insider metal bracket on the flaps to gain 1/4 inch to clear. I took it off yesterday and I saw a fairly large bracket attached to the fender then its attached to the flap. Can someone elaborate further or have photos or instructions? Thanks!!

Trza · May 21, 2020

I removed the bracket yesterday and no longer rub. I'm on a 2 inch level with Duratracs in the stock tire size 275/60/20 on a 20x9 +1 and rubbed pretty bad on the passenger side. There's 4 bright silver bolts to remove the bracket. 2 down low stacked on top of each other. One up higher and 1 around towards the midline of the truck. I think it was a 1/2 inch bolt?

KrisH · May 21, 2020

4 hours ago, Trza said:

I removed the bracket yesterday and no longer rub. I'm on a 2 inch level with Duratracs in the stock tire size 275/60/20 on a 20x9 +1 and rubbed pretty bad on the passenger side. There's 4 bright silver bolts to remove the bracket. 2 down low stacked on top of each other. One up higher and 1 around towards the midline of the truck. I think it was a 1/2 inch bolt?

Is there anything structural about this bracket? Looking to run 33s on my leveled RST and am trying to plan ahead for any modifications it'll be needing as well.

Trza · May 22, 2020

Don't think so. Really, the bracket was just a place for the mud guard bolts to screw into. I bought my truck with the splash guards installed from the dealer. These flare out a bit at the bottom while the mud guards follow the wheel well straight down. I believe the new trucks have mud guards from the factory and the splash guards are an accessory add on.

The OEM splash guards that I have, have 2 holes on the inside of the mudguard. One is for a torx bolt, which has nothing behind it to screw into since the bracket was removed, and the furthest hole is for a rivet that is attached to the liner. I removed both to run a zip tie through the 2 holes and attached the zip tie to one of the bolt holes left from removing the mud guard bracket. This tightens up the liner and pulls it back quite a bit opening up a ton of room for the wheels. I then just used a heat gun and formed a nice groove with splash gaurd following the fender liner.

Hope this helps. When you take everything apart and remove the bracket, it will all make sense.

KrisH · May 22, 2020

13 hours ago, Trza said:

Don't think so. Really, the bracket was just a place for the mud guard bolts to screw into. I bought my truck with the splash guards installed from the dealer. These flare out a bit at the bottom while the mud guards follow the wheel well straight down. I believe the new trucks have mud guards from the factory and the splash guards are an accessory add on.

The OEM splash guards that I have, have 2 holes on the inside of the mudguard. One is for a torx bolt, which has nothing behind it to screw into since the bracket was removed, and the furthest hole is for a rivet that is attached to the liner. I removed both to run a zip tie through the 2 holes and attached the zip tie to one of the bolt holes left from removing the mud guard bracket. This tightens up the liner and pulls it back quite a bit opening up a ton of room for the wheels. I then just used a heat gun and formed a nice groove with splash gaurd following the fender liner.

Hope this helps. When you take everything apart and remove the bracket, it will all make sense.

Wow that will be a big help. Great post, thanks for the info!