Lessons learned & rubber fenders

[grantgoold]

Just about to install the rear rubber fenders on the MCI 9.  The fronts were pretty straight forward. Anyone want to share tricks of the trade when it comes to installing the rear bumpers? What about the backing plate for the rear filler block? Looks like I nerd to take off the outside drive tire.


Thanks

Grant

[pete36330]

On my mci9 ,,the rubber fenders were shot ,,cracked /rotten ..I called around for replacements ,,got some shocking prices ,,So ,,I went with R&M fenders ..they were easy to install and look alot better ,,but thats just my opinion,and you can paint them ,,good luck ..pete

[plyonsMC9]

So Grant, did this get solved?  Do you already have the replacement rubber fenders, or still deciding on which to purchase?  Did you learn the tricks?!  Enquiring minds want to know!

Thanks, Phil

[grantgoold]

I already had the fenders! Found on Craigslist a full set. Had to make four of the retaining brackets as the seller only had eight. The dealer was might proud of each piece so with one example I made the missing parts. The rear filler blocks were $120.00 per side!

The fronts were pre drilled and ready. Took two people to install. First, I learned it was easier to set the retaking brackets in place with a gap and the slide the fenders into place and while my help pressed the fender inward I tightened down the bolts. They look good!

The rears are a whole different story. No pre drilled holes! I figured out that I would need to carefully make sure I drilled in the correct spot or the fenders would look bad. So I placed blue tape along the fender well and while two helpers held the fenders in their exact locations, with the filler block in place as well, I took a sharpie and marked the bolt holes.

Now the real fun began, I had to purchase a set of cobalt drill bits to get through the stainless. I also used a small bit to get a pilot hole and sent in all the way through the material.  Not fun at all! There must be 10 bolts per fender so that was 40 drill and taps!

Took me about eight hours over three days to carefully complete 36 holes.

I also learned I will need to remove the rear outside drive tire to get to five spots on each side! That of course meant I needed to purchase the new heavy duty torque multiplier! I also made a run up ramp as suggested by mic when changing rear tires.

I have run out of time this week so may in a few weeks I will get back to the bus and finish. I can see why this option was so expensive when ordering a new bus.

Grant

[plyonsMC9]

Wow! OK, so not a simple project.  Thanks for the post Grant.  This will be helpful for someone considering this.  If you get a chance would you be able to post a picture or two of the final outcome?  It sounds impressive.

Kind Regards, Phil

[grantgoold]

As soon as I get the project done I post pictures. Given what I understood about the fiberglass option, I thought the original fender option would be better. Maybe I underestimated the time for these units.

Grant

[lostagain]

I have the rubber fenders on my 5C. They came with the bus. They look nice. But they make removing the wheels difficult. Good thing I have a leveling system to raise the bus so the wheel will come out easier. I still think I should ditch them every time I take the wheels off in the winter for maintenance. The bus would look just as good without them. The bus gets dirty anyway with or without them in the rain or mud.

JC