Roger,

The OEM bumpers have a pretty unique hole pattern in them. In fact, I'm not sure what all the holes are for, but they may distinguish a OEM bumper from an aftermarket.

Here's a TSM picture, and also a pic of my '81 factory bumper for your comparison. The towing bar brackets on my bumper were an add-on.

Matt

 

Matt

Miss your coffee this morning?

Hoss

 

Roger,

The OEM bumpers have a pretty unique hole pattern in them. In fact, I'm not sure what all the holes are for, but they may distinguish a OEM bumper from an aftermarket.

Here's a TSM picture, and also a pic of my '81 factory bumper for your comparison. The towing bar brackets on my bumper were an add-on.

Matt

Matt

Miss your coffee this morning?

Hoss

:laugh2:

But bumpers are important....

 

Well then, Bump for the OP!

(That makes me a bumper, and now I is important!)

:laugh2:

Hoss

 

MATT must be in Florida fishing...Too much sun.

 

Oh crap!! That's what I get for multi-tasking.

Fenders....bumpers.....pfft....they're all the same thing. >

Sorry.

Matt

 

I have found that aftermarket fenders are ok IF you get both sides so they match
and don’t mind that there are differences that that only a few will ever pick up on.
They are thinner.
There are less spot welds
The front lip fold under isn’t as clean ( mainly out by the plastic flairs front)
And the lower back inner fender skirts are wrinkled as they press and form process is not as good
Some may even have a higher iron content and could rust faster

I would go OEM stuff if possible but they are getting hard to find

 

Ed is correct. I had an oops and needed a new fender and my local go to guy didn't have one out of over 20 CJs that was worth putting on. I went ahead and ordered both sides. One side was perfect and the other need some minor work, but nothing I couldn't handle. I had to drill the holes for the flares which was a pain in the a$$.

If you need to replace the clutch linkage do it while the drive side is off. Also finger tighten the grill to fender bolts and the top fender bolt to keep it in place. Then loosely fasten the firewall to fender brace to the fender. You can't get it on after the fender is on and don't ask how I know.

 

Thank you everyone for the information so I am guessing that just by looking at pictures of used and painted fenders that there is really now way to tell for sure if it's oem or aftermarket fender for the buyer or seller
Thank you Matt I did need the picture of the stock hole locations for the bumper

Roger

 

If you're familiar enough with CJs you can tell the differences at a glance. Some are worse than others as well.

 

here is why I am asking as you can see in the pictures the circled spot are different one has a upward lip coving the seam the other just stops on the flat of the fender leaving that seam spot showing ?
is it just a difference in years or oem vs aftermarket. both sellers say they are oem

 

Both of those fenders look to be OEM. Early versions had some notches and openings along that upper seam as far as I know. The one notch towards the front is for a wire to pass through if you had a fender mounted blackout light like the military version had. AMC/Jeep closed up those notches later on around 81 or later. Even early hoods had contour plates to take out for an air cleaner snorkel system installation. Inner fender also changed with wide track axle CJ's, different shock mount.

I know the 85 and 86 model year fenders had to have nuts under the fenders added to hold the hood latches on. All previous years the fenders had spot weld nuts already installed. 85-86 hood latches are flush on top with 1/4-20 threaded studs on them.

All in all, OEM fenders are 18 gauge steel and most of the aftermarket ones are 1mm (19 gauge) thin. With the exception of fenders made by MD Juan out of the Philippines, they are also 18 gauge steel but not perfectly formed. I believe Quadratec sells them.

 

Interesting. I have some oem fenders I can look at later today.

Keep in mind that 76-86 fenders are not all the same. The shape of the inner fenders changed when widetrack axles came out. Most sellers are unaware of the change. The top picture still has the small indent near the front, which is for a power wire for a blackout drive light. It is a vestigial design hold over, much like the indent on the driver side of CJ5s for the under seat fuel tank.

The bottom fender does not have that. Could be because it is a later model fender.

Something I am not sure about, CJ5 never went to widetrack axles, but did they switch to the wide track style of fender at the same time as CJ7s?

I suspect the top picture is OEM. But it has some kind of weird rubber piece bolted or pop riveted to the inner fender which is definitely not original. A large part of the original inner fender might even be missing. (picture is in ebay ad). I would not buy that fender.

The bottom fender has a significant portion of the rear inner fender rusted away, which makes me wonder if it is a lighter gauge aftermarket fender. I wouldn't buy it either.

 

I have aftermarket fenders on my 76 CJ5. The main issue I had with them is the construction/fitment of the inner fender. It was absolutely horrid on the driver's side. I ended up sorting through half a dozen boxes of them at 4wd Hardware (back in the day), to find one that was anywhere near satisfactory. Surprisingly, the passenger side fender was much better. Really bad QC on Asian sheet metal....

 

ok that answers some of my questions now I have to find some fenders mine have a lot of pin holes in them on the front flat and in the curve between the flat of the fender and the molded body contour around the edge and of course the lower back where they always rust and that's before I remove the paint and what looks like lots of body filler.
I live in the rust belt and any used fender I find is the same or even worst then mine, has anyone ever had any dealings with someone I could trust to get some good used fenders
roger

 

I would continue to look at Jeep forums, facebook marketplace, and craigslist for ads listing fenders for sale. Be prepared to ask for more pictures as a lot of ads have pictures that are often hiding the true condition of the fender or are from an angle that is hard to determine if they are stock/aftermarket or narrow/wide track (must be able to see the inner fender to determine this).

Depending on what you plan on doing to your Jeep, you might consider aftermarket tube fenders. I put on a pair of poison spyder tube fenders back when they came out. They are made of thicker metal, less likely to rust through, less likely to get dented, and provide much more room for larger tires. Just changing the fenders allowed me to go from a 33" to a 35" tire. Mine required that I reuse my inner fender. However often the inner fender is still usable even if the outside is rusted/dented.

Yes they can be expensive, but good oem fenders will only get harder to find and prices will continue to go up. Might not be an option if you are restoring or trying to keep the original look.