Hi all,
Today I needed to access the power antenna motor. To do so I had to remove (or at least peel back the rear of) the passenger side fender flare. This allowed me to get to the clips holding the fender liner to the fender. I searched and found a few that had performed the operation and Midiwall gave me the best advice. Here is a short rundown on how to remove the limited flares (very different than the SR5).

First remove all the obvious machine screws from the inside of the flare, with a 10mm socket.






Then remove the rivet from the connection between the rear of the front flare and the lower body cladding. This is from underneath the truck. I just cut it off, you could drill it out.




Once the rivet and all the exposed machine screws are removed the flare is ready to be peeled off. The trick is knowing what is under there.
First, the flare has a section that fits into the body cladding as seen in the last pic above. Take the lower rear section of the flare and flex it toward the front of the truck. This will allow that horn to come out from under the side body cladding. When doing this the flare will also come loose of the white clip in the following photo.




The flares are now held on by the red clips in the following pic. Steady pressure pulling away from the fender allows the clips to disconnect. I was worried about bending the flares and creasing them or peeling some paint, so be careful, but that is all it will take.




Once peeled back it looks like this, and allows you to access the clips that are under the fender flare.




Once these clips are removed, (I just drilled them out and replaced with new ones -over $2 each) you can access the antenna motor.


Others have posted how to fix the antenna, so I will stop here.

To reinstall the flares replace the clips that hold the liner in place, then carefully realign the flare and snap in place. Finish by re-installing the sheet metal screws around the inner flare . I did not replace the rivet yet. The dealer sold me a clip that was supposed to fill that location, but looks to need drilling the hole larger. I may just leave it out. The flare locks into the side cladding anyway and I do not think a fastener is necessary.

 

Hey George,

Would you mind if I used your pics and narrative and add it to my writeup for Limited owners?

Bob

 

Nice work George!

WOW! Just goes to show you the difference in parts prices coast to coast. I got those suckers for like $0.67 each. I can't believe they were $2 each!

We had 20 folks show up last night! Many more than expected!

 

is there a profile shot of the car with the flare off that i can see? want to know how bad those holes look along the side.

 

Sure... I posted it so others could benefit.

He is working Waskilly!!

 

Sorry, no.
I never totally removed the flare.
I just pulled it away enough to do the work I needed to do. The shot of the two red clips is probably the best I have for your answer. The square hole behind the red clip (in the fender) is something like 3/8" square. If you are thinking of filling them in it would be a real job to weld in the holes, then finish. I do not even know how many holes there are. Probably 5-6...

 

dont worry, i like my limited fender flares. im not an off-roader (yet?).

 

Awesome, great for those of us who have the SR5 Sports package. Will be doing that when I get home from the East Coast someday!

 

Great write up, tried it today. One note, those of us with the Sport flares, the bottom bracket for the flare is plastic, not metal, so be careful as I broke mine today. Also, since there is no side cladding, we can ignore the part about the flare sliding under the moulding.

 

Please stop calling them "Limited" fender flares and just refer to them as "Large Fender" flares or somthing. I have an SR5 with the Large flares. It's not just the Limiteds.

 

The SR5 can come with two types of flares, and neither is the same as the Limited version.
It is JUST the Limited Fender Flares. The SR5's are NOT the same.

 

Sorry, but I have to disagree. I have personally examined Jeff the Marmots Limited Flares and they are exactly like my SR5 flares. We both have a 2000 Runner. Mine also are the same as in removal write-up posted above. I have removed them several times.

 

Jade,
For the purposes of removal perhaps the large flares are the same.
But, Look at the bottom of the rear portion of the front fender flare. The place that interlocks with the running board. All of the Large SR5's I have seen do not have the same type of lump that locks into the running board. Also, the way the outside edge of the flare is shaped, to flow into the running board is different. The SR5 Large flare tapers more toward the body metal there. I believe they are different part numbers and slightly different parts. I do not claim to be expert in anything Toyota. I was not trying to slam SR5's, I just have a Limited and can only speak to the work I have done.

 

Yes I believe your correct on that SkyRat. I stand corrected.

 

Thanks SkyRat for this awesome write up! I was about ready to give up my power antenna fix and take it to the dealership when I thought I would search on fender flare removal. Glad I did!

The dealership wanted $60 just to take a look at the problem not to mention the fix.

I probably saved about $200.

This forum rocks!

 

Thought I would add a new members .02.

There is a quicker and easier way to do these antennas. You don't have to remove the flares.

In your first pic. The piece of black plastic just to the right of the flare.
You can pull the holes over the top of the retainers without breaking anything if you are careful. Peel it back toward you and then you can reach the back side of the retainers. Push the two tabs in and you can pull them out, and save them for re-installation. You can reach up in there and remove the 10mm bolt holding the antenna. After removing the top nut on the fender you can pull the antenna out and the wires are long enough it will rest on the tire so you can remove the cover and the broken antenna cable pices.

This is how I do them at the shop. Only takes about 10 minutes.

I will admit however that it helps to know how everything fits, because if you do it this way you will have to do it by feel as you won't be able to see very well. If you have never seen how it looks with the flares off you may have a harder time, but if you are familiar with them this will save you a bunch of time and trouble.

 

Thanks QIK,
When I did it I had no idea how the things went together. I had only seen the standard flares.

 

I just replaced my antena this weekend and found that QIK's way of doing it was easier.

 

I want Limited flares....bad

 

Yeah i need to fix my attena sometime.