Wheel Well liners: Good or Bad...?

[fkovalski]

I bought and installed the factory rear wheel liners on my '05 (had 'em stock on my '01. )... . but is the addition of this option hurting me or helping me with respect to aquired dirt and muck?



Granted, the initial schmutz and spray will be deflected, but what about the crap that eventually works its way into the areas that now cannot be accessed easily when pressure washing? It is also now more difficult to wash the other internal access areas around and along the axle.



Just wondering what your opinions are on this. Should I remove the liners?















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[mfburns]

I have a 94 without them and I kind of like it. Much easier to clean out with a hose. Easy to see under and around. No rust to date on this 14 year old truck. We use a lot of salt in the winter here and I drive it daily.

 

[Tinman]

I put them on the 06 and love them. Aesthetically at least. You can't keep the underside spotless, so I doubt it makes any real difference if you make an effort to rise the underside. I will wash up under the truck anyway if it get real dirty or is in a salt air environment.

 

[Crunch]

I don't use them because I'm using the frame tubes for sealed storage compartments:



https://www.turbodieselregister.com/user_gallery/displayalbum.php?userid=17744&albumid=1423

 

[MStrain]

I installed mine and the under carriage is way clean back there, my truck throws alot of crap under the bed and the wheel well liners catch most of it. When I installed them I pressure washed underneath and had mud and dirt all over the bottom of the bed and fuel tank and driveshafts, now it is nice and clean down there, plus they give the truck a nice finished look. I don't think Ford or Chevy have wheel well liners, at least I have never seen a truck with them.

 

[TKeeler]

I bought and installed the factory rear wheel liners on my '05 (had 'em stock on my '01. )... . but is the addition of this option hurting me or helping me with respect to aquired dirt and muck?



Granted, the initial schmutz and spray will be deflected, but what about the crap that eventually works its way into the areas that now cannot be accessed easily when pressure washing? It is also now more difficult to wash the other internal access areas around and along the axle.



Just wondering what your opinions are on this. Should I remove the liners?





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Got them and like them... wouldn't be without after having them on the 98. 5.

 

[rbattelle]

I periodically remove mine and clean everything out. About once a year.

Very easy to do. I also do that in the front.

Ryan

 

[JRBurton]

I have had them on my 2001 since I purchased it , I wouldn't be without them . It really keeps the underside a lot cleaner than one's that donot have them. Just my opinion I think DC did a dis-service to the truck when they deleted them.

 

[bmwm3csl]

I've had my on my 04. 5 since new and it is still clean as a whistle under the bed. The only area that seems to catch any debris from off-road driving is the back side of the rear bumper...

 

[KSears]

I have them on my truck. the main reason being as thin as the sheet metal is getting on these new trucks they dent practically just looking at them, I was concerned about rocks and such being flung by the tires and denting the sides up. They make the appearance much better and work well for containing dirt and mud. The only issue I had was having the cut a small notch out of the left one for my B&W hitch release handle( no big deal).

 

[donnier]

Iv got them on my o5 and wonder why they arent a factory install.

They have kept the junk from the road out of where it shouldnt get.

Iv also got the rear factory flaps that help keep the junk off the bumper as well.

 

[EBolgiano]

I had them installed along with mud flaps at all four corners before we drove either of our trucks off of the lot. They do a great job of keeping the under side of the trucks real clean. My 2005 looks almost as good underneath as the day it was new. Ed B

 

[Tinman]

Iv got them on my o5 and wonder why they arent a factory install.

The bean counters that's why. They also left out the underhood light, glove box light and block heater cord all of which was standard in a 01 and all of which I bought extra. Cheap, cheap, cheap.

 

[JVolpe]

Should be factory installed, but the best mod for the dollar I have installed. I got mine at the parts department when I picked up the truck. For me there is no down side.

 

[klenger]

I didn't put them on mine. Don't miss them at all. I have much better visibility to the 5th wheel hitch brackets, etc.

 

[donnier]

The bean counters that's why. They also left out the underhood light, glove box light and block heater cord all of which was standard in a 01 and all of which I bought extra. Cheap, cheap, cheap.

Iv got the underhood light and the glove box light on mine.

I think it came with the Big Horn edition which mine is.

Dont have the block heater in So Cal. :-laf

 

[Gary - K7GLD]

The '02's like mine came without the liners as well - I missed them at first - but quickly saw how much easier and accessible it was to clean the inner bed sheetmetal, and keep tabs on various underside items that would otherwise require a trip under the truck for inspection. As it stands, I don't miss the liners a bit - but it's obviously a personal judgement call, and most guys seem to prefer them



A question for Ryan - when you DO remove your liners for cleaning, is there much stuff trapped in under/behind them that would otherwise remain trapped?

 

[JWash1]

Should be Standard Factory Installed

Love them, can't do without them. Functional and lets face it, they Look Good Too. Should be Standard Factory Installed, but that would probably drive up the price of the truck far beyond the $90 that I paid for the set.

 

[rbattelle]

A question for Ryan - when you DO remove your liners for cleaning, is there much stuff trapped in under/behind them that would otherwise remain trapped?

There's always some grit (and I literally mean grit) that collects in the fold in the sheet metal, some between the plastic liner and the body sheet metal.



I don't know whether it collects more or less than a truck without the liners. I should note that I apply a thin layer of anti-seize lubricant where the plastic liners contact the body metal. That layer of grease will naturally tend to attract grit.



I would argue that without wheel well liners, the accumulation of grit on the inside of the sheet metal wheel well would be very small, if any.



I got mine to protect from rocks slung out from the tires. Plus the "sandblast" effect of dirt shot out from the tires over many thousands of miles.



I'm not sure there's really any way to determine whether it's better to have the liners or not. There are good arguments both ways.



Ryan

 

[TheBigSgt]

Well, living in UTAH and all the stuff that gets kicked up out here, I like them, and I think they look better than with out.



Mines a 04 555!