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Do you find your car paintwork constantly chipping, especially around the tyre rims? If so, you need to fit a set of mudflaps to your vehicle. Mudflaps are a cost effective alternative to the problems that could arise if rust formed on chipped body surfaces. As a bonus, mudflaps will reduce the amount of spray thrown up behind the car in wet weather. This will keep your car cleaner.
It is best to fit mudflaps to all four wheel arches. Try to get rear flaps that have a built in reflector which act as an extra safety feature for night driving. When looking for mudflaps you will find two sorts on the market – those that are your car manufacturer’s custom fit flaps and those that are universally built to fit on any car. The custom built flaps are easier to put on, as they will simply screw onto predetermined points on the body of your car. The universal type will have to be adjusted to suit your particular vehicle. We will here discuss how to fit universal clamps, which come in two designs – the one held on by metal u-clamps and the other clamped into position by large plastic washers.
U-Clamp Flaps
To fit the clamp-on flaps hold the flap up to the lip of the wheel arch. Position it so that, although the flap hangs a good way down, enough of it is aligned with the lip to allow for the fitting of the clamp. You may find that part of the flap hits the inner wing. If so, mark this area to be removed.
After placing the flap on a hard surface, use a hacksaw to cut away the surplus area. Recheck the fit. Tidy up the cut with a file. Now hold the flap up to the wheel arch and loosely fit the top clamp, making sure that the bolt is inside the wheel arch. Fit the lower clamp and then adjust the flap until it is straight. Finally tighten the bolts on the U-Clamps.
Plastic Disc Flaps
Hold the flap up to the wheel arch. You will see some marked depressions on the flap. Check which ones align with the wheel arch lip and mark these. Punch through these holes with a screwdriver. Now fit the clamping discs, metal washers, nuts and bolts through the mudflap. Ensure that the plastic clamping washers are on the outside (unribbed) part of the flap. You are now ready to slide the flap onto the wheel arch lip. The lip should be sandwiched between the mudflap and the and the plastic disc. Make sure the flap is straight, then tighten the bolts.
On many cars there is a drain area at the rear of the front wing. This allows water, dirt and grit to drop back onto the road. Make sure not to block this area when fitting your mudflaps or else the resulting grit build-up could lead to rusting.
Fitting mudflaps is an easy way to help maintain the life of your vehicle. The short amount of time invested in doing so could save you many frustrating hours of trying to remove rust spots from your car.
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