This week we install Bushwacker cutout fenders on the front wheel wells of the f-450 super duty. The cutout fenders and the 2.5 inch lift kit will allow us to fit the 40 inch tires up front. The Bushwacker installation instructions were awful and it took a full weekend to get them installed. We couldn’t find any Super Duty Bushwacker Cutout Fender write-up’s so we made this. For gods sakes Bushwacker make an installation video for the super duty series! The way we did it is below, but I’m not sure if we did it right.
We started by making a template of the fender flare by tracing the inside edge on a cardboard box. We then held the template up to the truck fenders and traced it on to the fender, using the measurements in the instructions as a guide.
We then removed the fender liner and cut the outer truck fender along the traced line using a 4 inch angle grinder.
Once the outer fender was cut we placed the fender flare into position and used it as a template to cut the inner flare. Some spots were close to wires or had screw mount holes so we bent these with pliers, rather than cutting.
We test fit the fender flare, once it fit without obstruction we then started to cut the fender liner. The instructions said to cut it every three inches and to a depth that matched the inner fender. We ended up cutting to far in.
We spent several hours fighting with the inner line trying to get it to fit. It helped to use a heat gun to reshape the plastic.
The instructions were not super clear on where to mount the l-shaped tabs, this is where we mounted ours.
The driver side was more challenging due to the parking brake cable and the metal box above the cable. We were not sure if we should cut into it, so we just bent some of the protruding parts in and left it mostly alone. We used the head gun to bend the liner around these.
When the wheel is turned all the way it contacts the fender liner. We used some metal strapping to pull it back. We sandwiched the stock fender liner clips in the strapping and used the stock fender liner screws to attach it to the liner. We drilled a hole in the body mount post to attach the other end of the strap to the frame.
The tires also rubbed on the front bumper. We had to cut several inches of the bumper, enough that the rusty brackets shown in the image below would no longer mount.
Once we got all the problems worked out and the fender test fit with the liner well, we painted the fender flares with some Rustoleum. We were going for a light gray metallic look, like in this picture:
That sums it up. There is plenty of clearance when not turning, however, it gets tights when the steering wheel is fully turned in one direction.
