Plastic Flare Repair

[Jerry]

The last time I took the Wrangler out four-wheeling I tore the right-rear Bushwacker flare loose while driving through a tight spot between two trees. There would normally have been enough room, but it was in the snow and all the rigs slid into a hole toward one of the trees. I was lucky to not sustain any real body damage. Anyway, the front part of the plastic flare ripped off the body leaving only small hunks of flare still attached to the body under the bolts.

My friend and chief mechanic, Dion, at Pepin 4-Wheelin' in Yakima told me he could "weld" the flares back together. I would have put it off until fall, but with the flare hanging loose it would only be a matter of time before the whole thing tore off. So I asked Dion to fix it.

The first step was to remove the flare, clean it and put the broken pieces together like a jigsaw puzzle. Next he used a soldering iron to "weld" the plastic. They make a special tool for this process, but he has been doing it his way for years so why mess with a good thing? Long story short, he not only fixed the rear flare, but also fixed the front flare. A couple of years ago I lost a hunk out of the front flare; it looked like someone had taken a big bite out of it. Dion used a piece of an old Bushwacker product out of the garbage to fashion the size and curves of the missing front piece. You have to use the same kind of plastic when welding two pieces together so the Bushwacker product from the garbage matched the material in my flare. Neat.

The job was done in a day, it came out great and now I'm ready to tear the heck out of it again.
Jerry

[Albino94ltd]

Sounds good Jerry, now you can come out to Liberty-2 Sept 12-13-14

[Jerry]

Not a bad idea except for one little thing. We have a Backroad Drivers Northwest tour scheduled for that weekend. It will be a 4-wheel drive event to Gallagher Head Lake near Salmon la Sac. Ours will be a day trip so anyone wanting more 4x4 trails packed into their weekend could join you on Sunday. It isn't far from Salmon la Sac (north of Cle Elum) to Liberty.
Jerry

[Albino94ltd]

I have been to Gallagher Head Lake several times including over Van Epps Pass and down to the mine.

I caught the only Cutthrout trout in that lake, twice

Very interesting geology, be sure to bring your 'Roadside Geology of Washington' book and a camera.

Salmon Le Sac / Cle Elum run 5-7-05 - Ford Explorer Ranger Enthusiasts Serious Explorations

The Return to Wenatchee/Cle Elum (pics) - Ford Explorer Ranger Enthusiasts Serious Explorations

[hutchman]

One of the things you can do to minimize flair destruction is to use the push connectors the I think GM uses on some of their stuff. Napa has them:

NAPAONLINE®

Use them to hold the flair on and they break away if too much force is applied and save the flair. A good friend of mine uses these and swears by them.