“Fabric” wheel wells

[RS1]

Holy crap. Who thought this crap would be a good idea. My work brings me to some sloggy, slimy, yucky, super thick muddy job sites. Even multiple trips through undercarriage wash doesn’t help. I’m afraid to crawl under and look at the “fabric” shelf and what it has collected. I guess I need a long drive in a torrential downpour.

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[760Bronco]

Get a hose and give them a solid blast, works for me

 

[RS1]

When it warms up the pressure washer will get a workout

 

[Fossil]

When it warms up the pressure washer will get a workout

hope it's not one of those high power units lol

 

[eastcoastbroncosport]

Friend of mine who works for Ford told me it's because they allow water to drain through them, rather than pool above the wheel wells and increase body rusting... who knows!

 

[Glamdring70]

Friend of mine who works for Ford told me it's because they allow water to drain through them, rather than pool above the wheel wells and increase body rusting... who knows!

Well, I don't believe your buddy because the opposite is also true. These wheel wells allow water to go above them and get in my inner fenders! Look by the white pins from the side cladding. I'm OK with the fabric stuff because it seems to clean up OK, and I believe the noise claims, but I really wish it fit better or had a lip of sheet metal supporting it so it didn't leak.

 

[Mark S.]

Friend of mine who works for Ford told me it's because they allow water to drain through them, rather than pool above the wheel wells and increase body rusting... who knows!

Plus, they are cheap and easy to replace--something that will be important for off road adventures.

 

[AndyMac204]

yeah i'm totally not a fan of the fabric wheelwells…like at all. magnet for snow, ice and mud. all my other cars i would hit the plastic liners with armor all tire foam, theyd get shiney and super easy to clean off. the bronco sport ones have been a pain this winter but it is what it is.

 

[Osco]

I had the ‘Fiber’ bottom panel on my 2015 Transit Connect and never had a problem. It would get nasty and then dry out and drop all the nasty.
the thing just worked.
The minor PIA was having to unscrew one side and swing it away to change my oil and filter. But now I let the dealer do the wrenching, all of it.
Been playing in the mud and Georgia clay many times.
The trick is to leave it alone.
Spray it out after 90% of it falls off and goes dry.

 

[TnyM]

I'd love if some aftermarket plastic liners came on the market. Washing it after offroading I end up spraying each liner for quite a while before the water starts dripping clear ?

 

[DirtyLuke]

For what it's worth, I did some mudding and caked up the liners. Didn't get a chance to get to a car wash for a few days. As soon as the mud dried, it fell off the liner with some very light driving. Seems to not really be an issue in that regard.

 

[Mark S.]

For what it's worth, I did some mudding and caked up the liners.

Appropriate username!

 

[baja_bob]

Mine seem to attract snow and ice after a drive in deep snow, the whole wheel well is packed full down to the tire, once it freezes, it's hard as a rock. I'm afraid to kick at it too hard because I don't want to break off the little flaps behind the wheel

 

[Goinbroke2]

Plus, they are cheap and easy to replace--something that will be important for off road adventures.

Nope, just replaced the right front inner on my badlands. Wife hit a block of snow/ice while turning around in an intersection, maybe 5 mph. She got home and said there was a scraping noise. Yeah, the inner fender was laying/dragging on the tire! Ford said $360 to replace and install it as mine was beyond reinstalling. Then when the part came in, buddy wrote it up as a warranty claim and it cost me zero!

But the best part, for the week I had it waiting for the new fender I got measuring and with it out there is lots of room for 30’s or even 31’s. So, my idea is to contact ford performance and see if they will make inner fenders that are plastic and more importantly, are wider and deeper than the factory “wrap around the tire” type.

media; forgot to mention, something else I think needs a look at is the front mounting point of the inner fender. The tab is mounted OUTSIDE the bumper so anything you scrape over will peel it off! Take the clip and mount it on the inner fender instead of the bumper, then, place the tab safely inside the bumper, run the bolt through the bumper and the only thing left hanging down to get caught is a bolt head.

 

[Mark S.]

Ford said $360 to replace and install it as mine was beyond reinstalling.

When I say "cheap and easy" I'm speaking relatively, of course. If your wheel well liner was made of welded-in-place sheet metal and rusted out, or was damaged enough by a rock to require repair the cost would far, far exceed $360. Further, I would imagine it's just a matter of time (and supply chain movement) before an enterprising vendor starts producing replacements.

As an example, the "fabric" engine cover on the bottom of my wife's 2014 Escape was damaged when she when through a deep puddle of water at speed. The OEM version (IIRC) was somewhere north of $200 from the dealership, but I found an aftermarket replacement for around $50. What's more the replacement was made completely of sturdy thermoplastic rather than the fiber/fabric OEM part.

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