Molded Mud Flap Installation

mrowe8 · February 1, 2002

I was really thinking about a set of the molded flaps for my AV. How do they install? Any drilling needed? How hard?

Ed Hahn · February 1, 2002

I was really thinking about a set of the molded flaps for my AV. How do they install? Any drilling needed? How hard?

I just installed a full set (front and rear) along with a bugshield last Saturday.

There is drilling required - all the screws are tapping screws set into new, non-pre-existing holes. All of the holes are purely into the cladding, so this should minimize any concerns about damaging sheet metal or rust.

The biggest pain in the installation is that each flap has one screw which drills into the bottom of the panel (the remaining ones bolt into the wheel well edge vertical surface). The problem here is that the bolt hole is placed such that you need an offset screwdriver to adequately drive it (or a long screwdriver and some elbow grease). Despite what the directions state, I found it much easier to drill a pilot hole for this vertical screw, even though the directions say it isn't required.

Also, the rear guards really require that you remove the rear wheels in order to have sufficient clearance for the installation.

All in all, I'd say it was a fairly straightforward, simple process, which just takes a bit of time and patience.

The guards do look good, and definitely made a difference in keeping road debris off of my running boards.

Hope this helps,

ed

PS. The bug shield installation is a bit trickier - only because you need to double-side tape down the windshield side mouldings. It also would have helped if my Avalanche bug shield hadn't shipped with Escalade installation instructions. <!--emo&:angry:

djames · February 1, 2002

So Ed, your saying that the bugshield you installed came from GM and requires doubled sided tape that sticks to the hood?

Does it screw into the underside of the hood like the Silverado's do? I didn't want any shields that have any tape. I can deal with the rubber nipples. If you want to clean under the shield can you remove it with the tape?

Ed Hahn · February 1, 2002

So Ed, your saying that the bugshield you installed came from GM and requires doubled sided tape that sticks to the hood?
Does it screw into the underside of the hood like the Silverado's do? I didn't want any shields that have any tape. I can deal with the rubber nipples. If you want to clean under the shield can you remove it with the tape?

Well, sort of...

The GM bugshield itself uses both screws AND double sided tape on the UNDERSIDE of the hood to be held on (no double sided tape on the top side of the hood).

When the bugshield is installed, the airflow is changed such that at highway speeds, the mouldings on the side of the windshield (next to the A-pillar) can start to flap in the turbulence. To keep this from happening, you have to remove some torx screws which hold the moulding on, and then use some supplied doublesided sticky tape on the edge of the glass. When you reinstall the moulding it completely covers and sticks to the double sided tape.

So, while there is double sided tape needed to install the GM bugshield for the Av, it either:

1) resides under the hood - which is no big deal in my opinion, or

2) resides between the edge of the windshield glass and the side windshield molding, out of sight.

As for cleaning the back side of the bugshield, I don't think there will be any problems getting to it from the top; no removal should be necessary. However, if you did remove it, you would need to remove the old tape and reapply some new tape.

ed

PS. Since I conveniently got the Escalade instructions with my Avalanche bugshield :sarcasm: , I can report that the Caddy folks have to use double sided tape on the TOP surface of the hood - not something that I would consider. The Caddy installation has no screws to help hold on the bugshield either.

brmiller · February 1, 2002

Re: Bugshield and tape

As Ed said, they use double-stick foam tape on the underside of the hood between screws. The hood-line is so funky (okay, stylistic ) that I guess they thought the 5 screws weren't enough. I think it was a good idea--that tape is quite sticky--once it was on, it didn't want to go anywhere. I had to be carefuly to get it right the first time. The bugshield sticks out away from the hood enough that you can get a sponge, rag, etc. to wash in there (both hood and bugshield). As for the A-pillar moldings, this part was quite lame in my opinion. I'm glad I read that you _DO_ need them before I started; otherwise, I would have skipped them. The biggest problem of the double-stick tape is that the nearly 3ft long piece wants to stick to itself, the installation instructions and anything else within 2 feet. It had a mind of its own. But one thing I might suggest--I don't know why the instructions say all this stuff about marking the windshield with a grease pencil before taking the molding off, then putting the tape down on the outside of the grease pencil-mark (where the molding was), then re-attaching the molding. It seemed easier to take the molding off, lay it upside-down, and put the tape on the inside of the molding. Then, line up the screw holes, and press the molding back in place. Presto! The tape is secure! An added benefit is that the tape holds the molding in place so you can put the screws back in!

Re: Mud flaps and drilling

I chose to pre-drill all holes. In all my life, I've gotten burned more times than not when not pre-drilling. Even if they are self-tapping screws. My luck turns self-tapping into self-destroying. I know you can do the fronts with the wheels on, but I couldn't budge them on my garage floor (steering wheel wouldn't turn without driving in and cranking the wheel at the same time), so I just jacked the whole truck up, took off all four wheels, and worked that way. But if you're patient, you can probably avoid taking the front wheels off. Spend time to get the contour of the mud flaps to match the contour of the body cladding they mount to. There's a "sweet spot" where it's perfectly flush--anything else, and you're gonna have a little gap.

Both were easy and doable in an evening with time left to watch "Everybody Loves Raymond"...

Brendan

ScottS · February 1, 2002

I am with Brendan on the windshild trim tape, I did it as he did as well, and it worked fine, without the need to piddle around with grease pens and such.

I found the installation of both to be quick and relatively easy, while concurring with the above observations. Read your instructions carefully, the mudflaps have a couple of different screw lengths, and they are designed for certain holes.

Scott

gandolphxx · February 4, 2002

Now if we could just send this thread, especially brmiller's comments to all dealers and shop foreman we would all be happier :blush:

bradyb · February 6, 2002

:exclaim: Be careful! I installed the mudflaps on my Avalanche right after I bought it. My 2500 came with 245 tires, which look ridiculous, so I put 265's on the whimpy stock 16 inch wheels and tightened the torsion bars up an inch and a half. I was reversing through some deep snow and the front right tire grabbed the front mud flap and ripped it off along with the plastic panel it was screwed on to! 265's aren't that big and it really surprised me that the tire caught the mudflap. Next time I had a chance I went to the dealer and bought a new panel, that snapped right back on and took off the other mudflaps. The plastic fasteners that hold the panels on are pretty easy to break, be careful!