Finally, the Pinch Weld Mod

December 4, 2017.

Having recently installed bigger-than-stock tires, it was of course clear that I needed to do something to get them to fit up front, even before I get my new wheels installed…

I mean, they didn’t rub when driving on perfectly level ground which was nice, but pair a turn with some articulation of the front suspension and I had a bit of rubbing (just discernible on the bottom of the plastic) in the rear of the wheel well (like everyone).

The “normal” solution is to cut out the rear of the fender liner and bash down the pinch weld, giving another 1-inch or so clearance for the tire. I was going to do just that with a twist — instead of cutting out the plastic fender liner, I’d reshape it once the pinch weld was gone, so that it’d continue to protect the wheel well.
At least, that’s the hope. :fingerscrossed:

First things first — I had to take off the fender flare and plastic liner — always a bit of a pain due to the plastic grommets. This time, 1 of the 16 or grommets actually came out unscathed — a rousing success if I ever saw one!

Next, it was time to take a look at the pinch weld and come up with a plan. I’d grind down the first four inches of the weld from the tab near the center of this picture, and then bend the rest of the weld towards the engine compartment.

The grinding went smoothly, and while I had the grinder out, I cut the pinch weld where I’d bend it inward.

A crescent wrench works well to start the pinch weld bend, and then it’s hammer-bashing time. I’ve only ever bashed one other thing on the truck (to make room in the engine compartment for my compressor), so this bashing was very uncomfortable for me.

In the end though, it came out just fine, but of course in the process of grinding and bashing and bending metal, much of the paint came off. So, I cleaned it off with some alcohol and hit it with a couple coats of Rustoleum Undercoating to button it all back up.

And this is where things really got interesting. To see why, and how I addressed the rest of the modification, check out at The Pinch Weld Mod at adventuretaco.com.

Originally published at adventuretaco.com.