ROCKCRAWLER.com - Off Your Rocker Panels and LED Light Install

Tools Required:

Drill & 1/4" drill bit.
Hammer & center punch.
Large clamps to hold corners in place while drilling.
Scribe.
Silicone sealer.
5/16" wrench or socket.
4mm Allen head wrench.

Extra Tools:

Reciprocating saw (Sawzall).
Die grinder.

A finished tail light

A finished Lite'n-Boltz

One of the first things I decided to do when I picked up the '99 TJ was to install body armor and skid plates. From past experiences with my '97 TJ, one thing I had in mind to add was a set of rear corner guards. Along with the corner guards I wanted to flush-mount the tail lights so they wouldn't be an easy target. I also wanted to relocate the license plate since I tore it off more than once.

I contacted Dan Duffy of Off Your Rocker Panels and told him what I had in mind. The corners come pre-cut for the tailgate hinges, fuel filler, and tail lights. I had Dan make mine without any cutouts for the tail lights. Dan offered to make the cutouts for my new tail lights, but I had not decided on the exact lights I was going to use. About two weeks after I placed my order, the corners arrived. They are constructed of 10 gauge steel and have a powder-coated finish. The standard corner guards are diamond plate, but you can special order them in a smooth finish.

Off Your Rocker Panels manufactures corner guards and rocker panel guards for Jeeps from 1955 to present. These panels are beefy!

I played around with various ideas for tail lights. I decided to use two "Model 60" LED tail lights from Truck-Lite Manufacturing on each side. It would have probably been a tad easier to use the standard 4" round LED tail light, but I wanted my TJ to look a bit different. I found the lights at a local truck parts company, Houston Truck Parts. They are a distributor for Truck-Lite and had good prices for the LED lights.

The license plate and reverse lights will reside on the tire carrier of my Steel Horse bumper. To be legal, the license plate must be lighted. I found some neat bolts called Lite'n-Boltz that I purchased from Doug Chartier of CBRack.com. The Lite'n-Boltz are 5/16 x 3/4 stainless steel bolts center-drilled so that a small light and wiring can be embedded in the top.

You will notice in the pictures that the TJ is shown in various stages with either the hard top or soft top installed. During the actual install, you will want the top off and out of the way. The weather decided to make the install a challenge. Due to the weather, the actual install time was over the course of 3 weekends. If all you're going to do is put on the corner guards and keep the stock lights, you should be able to do the install in one weekend.

Remove inner fender panel and fender flare

Remove tail lights and license plate bracket

Once you have the top out of the way, start by removing the flares. This is easier if you remove the three snap connectors at the rear of the inner liner and drop it down out of the way. To remove the tail lights, you need to remove the lens to gain access to the 3 bolts that hold the light to the tub. Remove the fuel filler trim. The trim is held on with eight screws, four screws hold the trim plate to the body, and four screws connect the trim plate to the metal fill tube. The gas cap is attached to the trim plate. Push the plastic retainer back through the hole and screw the gas cap back on the filler tube to keep out any debris.

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RESOURCES
Off Your Rocker Panels offyourrockers.com Phone: (650) 726-3008 Fax: (650) 726-3008 Email: sales@offyourrockers.com Address: P.O. Box 462 Half Moon Bay, CA 94019	CBRack.com www.cbrack.com Phone: (281) 530-4543 Fax: Email: doug@cbrack.com Address: 7023 Navidad Rd. Houston, TX 77083
Houston Truck Parts Phone: (713) 675-5694 Fax: (713) 675-3414 Contact: Brian Gallagher Address: 1703 N. Wayside Houston, TX 77020	Steel Horse Automotive www.steelhorseautomotive.com Phone: (800) 533-7704 Fax: (310) 537-3210 Address: 601 W. Walnut St. Compton, CA 90220-5010