Mudflaps installation

The only drilling is in the plastic rear bumper material. There's no drilling in metal, so no chance of rust.

They give you clips to put over the holes that are already drilled in the metal fenders where the wheel well linings are already screwed in.

You can put the front ones on without removing the wheels, but you'll probably need to pull the rear wheels. Other than that it's simple and quick.

One of the instructions posted here shows where they put an extra screw on the inside bottom of the rear flaps, because they thought it needed one there. When doing mine, I looked at it and agreed, so I put one in too.

 

The installation is really simple. Using a hydralic floor jack in the middle of the rear works great as it lifts both rear wheels off the ground. I agree with the extra screw thingy!
They do a half decent job of keeping most of the over-spray off the side of the car.
The other day my wife graciously removed a rear one when she backed into a curb on the passengers side....aaarrrgghhh!! It snapped right off and left all the screws and clips still in the body. Only probem is having to order a complete set of four just to replace one. Oh well, I'll hang on to them just in case she decides to drive my baby again.

Proud Prius owner from Delaware
2005 Silver.....#9... paid MSRP

 

Hello ScottY:

FWIW, I installed the splash guards from CoastalEtech last weekend. (Plug for coastal: I ordered the splash guards on a Monday and received them on a Friday, the same week.) The job was very simple, requiring less than an hour total for all four.

The front two can be installed by simply turning the wheels in order to create sufficient clearance, while the rear pair require removing the tires. I used the road jack to simply lift each side, remove tire, install splash guard, replace tire and move on.

As stated previously, the drilling is into plastic only, no metal involved, and the holes you drill are solely to let the screw thru to secure into the spring clips that you install behind the plastic, ergo the plastic isn't seriously stressed by the install.

This is a really simple install that to be honest, with hindsight, I would not have a problem letting my 13 year old do. (Disclaimer: Mileage on your 13 year old may vary.)

If you haven't seen the results of the tire splash up your side panels yet, I can guarantee you will want these the first time you do.

 

I also installed the mudflaps (fender mullets) from CoastalETech, and will second everything PhilCase said to the letter.

- Bill

 

Just installed mine this morning. Very easy install and you can get some practice with the jack in case you ever get a flat. Some extra screws in the rears would be good, I'll have to get some and install them later.

 

I want to install the mudflaps, but I want them to match the car. I was planning on having an auto-paint place paint them for me.

Are there differences in the mudflaps CoastalETech sells vs others?

 

i installed mine yesterday - bought them from coastal & they match the black moulding that runs along the bottom of the car perfectly... not sure paint would really look better.

btw, although they call them mudflaps, there's not much mud here in AZ, so i'll call them splashguards. they are very helpful here in keeping road resurfacing stuff (tar, rocks, etc.) from splashing up onto the paint.

great upgrade & easy to install - 45 mins to install all four - i also put in the extra screw & now see others have done the same. drilling is no big deal - it's not thru anything substantial or visible.

 

I had saved this as Fav Place, but couldn't locate it on PC doing a search. Here it is for all interested



http://www.vfaq.net/mods/SplashGuards.html

 

Hi All,

I thought I would weigh in here as I have mudflaps on my car and they are indeed painted to match the body of my car. Millenium Silver. I have seen them installed on other cars in their natural black state and think that they look good both ways.

They do make a big difference on keeping road muck off of the body of the car, but they do cause the teeniest hit on your mileage due to drag. I think that the protection they provide is a pretty even trade.

We did our install here in the driveway using the factory jack. It took around 1 hour total and was pretty much a piece of cake (although, I confess I did keep my eyes slammed shut while my hubby was using the drill .

Bottem line, the car looks great with or without the mudflaps and the istall is easy as pie. Just make sure you are working on a firm, level surface and that you have a magic marker handy to mark the spot to drill and you will have no problems!

Take care all!

Tisza

 

I got these and am not sure what you all are talking about when you say there is no drilling into the metal. They clearly must be drilled into the metal, at least for the rears.

http://catalog.toyotaparts4u.com/scripts/p...p?idproduct=143

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Rest @ Oct 26 2006, 06:25 AM) [snapback]338487[/snapback]</div>

It's very simple. It is not metal where you drill. I had the same concern, but it turns out that you are drilling into plastic.

I've installed two sets - Barb's 2005 and my 2006. Trust me - no metal is drilled.

- Tom

 

I concur with Tom 06
I got my flaps from my dealer - a little on the pricey side I thought at the time
but......
I did all 4 in about an hour - just followed the instructions
Kit even came with the little Allen key for tightening them up

No drilling, no need to jack the car up and no need to remove the wheels either - although for the rears there wasn't much room but it wasn't so difficult.

The first one took the longest by the time I did the 4th it was a snap

I'm very pleased
I would not have thought there could be much difference between the US and UK models in this respect.

Just take your time and you'll be fine

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(pinball @ Oct 26 2006, 07:47 AM) [snapback]338496[/snapback]</div>

Scotty, I got mine from Deland Toyota in Florida (Ebay). Took about 45 minutes to install, without jacking up the car or taking off an wheels. Just remember that the clips with the narrow spacing go in the front (over metal), and the wide spaced clips go in the back (over plastic). Most of the guys in LIPOG have them.

Sy

 

I got mine from DeLand Toyota on eBay, too, Sy. Easy installation! I just couldn't find a good place to use a floor jack without crushing something.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(xbdude @ Oct 26 2006, 12:01 PM) [snapback]338616[/snapback]</div>

The manual will show you where to position a floor jack to raise both rear wheels at once. There is kind of a box type structure sticking down in the center several feet in from the rear bumper. The jack goes there.

- Tom