Take an exacto knife and poke a hole then drain the water. I would put a dap of paint over the hole made to keep water out and then talk to the body shop. Thats what I did but realized my bed was rotting. .again lol

 

I thought about poking the hole. Never thought of the DAP. My bed better not be rusting........ lmao. It was rust free last fall and I paid good $$$ for the undercoating which looks very nice.

I see a lot of $$$ going to the body shop... I want to get my clear fixed on my hood, this bed side problem fixed, and I found something that warrants further investigation on the roof.

I just can't figure out how the water got in there... all the metal feels solid......

Thanks for the input Matt!

 

Any time

I dont think it's rusting especially if it was just painted. What will tell you though is if you pop it and the color of the water that comes out, if it's brown then its rusting if not then its good but get it repainted soon because it will eventually rust.

 

Good call. Thanks! I will order some touchup paint and then investigate.

I just got back from the body shop. They are going to pull a quote together for me. I am going to see about getting the hood repainted, fixing the quarter panel, and fixing two rusting spots on the roof. The more I think about it, I may just learn to do body work... I know its going to be pricey. The hood needs sanded and repainted. I don't even think there are more than 2 or 3 small rock dents to fix. I can handle that. As for the bed, I am think of pulling it off in my buddies garage and getting out the chassis saver and hitting all the spots that Ziebart missed. Hopefully I can save it before its too late...

I was really surprised by the roof. One spot is on a groove channel on the roof and the other is near by in a channel. I've never seen anything quite that random. Anyway, should just be some sanding, putty, and paint. No big deal. It doesn't have to be perfect because no one ever sees it. I just don't want water coming through the headliner....

 

I have similar random rust spots on my roof, I lightly saved as hit it with 2 coats of the duplicolor oem match using a toothpick. Has held up for the better part of 2 years now. Only other rust I have is the wheel wells which was "repaired" before I got it. Depending on how bad your rust is doing what I did may work out. Ive patched other scratches all over the truck. Its not worth having them professionally repaired because its a daily driven truck. Anything smaller then a dime I do. Bigger then that I may defer to the pros

 

Good call. I agree on the bigger stuff, but I am always willing to learn. And I also look at it this way.... If I can buy the tools and parts needed to do it myself for less than 75% of the cost of the professional, its worth it (usually). For repainting the hood for example, I need to get an orbital sander, a paint gun, and some sand paper along with a few odds and ends. I have the biggest part, a compressor. I have a garage to paint in. Paint will probably be $150-$200. After that, I just have to learn. But if he says he can repaint the hood for like $400, I'll probably go that route

 

Yeah learning how to do body work is a big money saver. I plan to learn how to do body work on my 95 that way if it comes out bad then it's just my offroad project so it will be somewhat beat up anyway.

 

It is a huge money saver. I did my first bodywork on my Ranger. I took off the front fenders and replaced them with an unrusted, undented, paint matched set

 

So here is the bubble. I poked it a worked all the water out. It was completely rust free. I checked in the fenderwell and couldn't find any rust either I sealed it with some touch up paint.



These are the roof rust spots.





I am going to touch up these spots up.





This is the driver's side rear door. I touched up the paint. I am going to clear it on the next nice day.



And I found this today too. Passengers side rear wheel arch bottom. I am going to pull the mud flap, remove the flaked paint and touch it up.



I bought a Duplicolor touch up pen from Advance for the blue. I take some picture of the completed touch ups. I think it is a pretty good match. The Duplicolor touchup pens have color matched pen tip and blush and in the bottom, they have the clear coat. For $15, I am pleased. I need to get the silver one still. I didn't notice I needed it until I got home.

On another note, I got the transfercase back together and in the Ranger. I picked up new seals for my front axle. Hopefully I will have it back on the road by the weekend

 

Sold some parts this past week. So I bought some new ones

Picked up 4 Monroe shocks and 2 24" wiper blades from Advance Auto for $135. But.... there is a $30 rebate on the shocks through Monroe... so in the end, $105



Wiper blade comparison:



I disassembled the front when I got home from work. I am taking the rotors to get cut tomorrow morning. No more vibration...







Everything came apart pretty easy with the exception of smashing one finger with a hammer and I dropped a caliper bracket on another...

The pair:


Rotors came right off and are in nice shape.



While I have the front apart, I am going to grease the unit bearings, ball joints, and tie rod ends. I soaked the ABS sensors in OB Blaster tonight. Hopefully I do not encounter any problems in diassembly.



On another note, I picked up a new 15x8 wheel tonight for $20 and a 2 mile drive out of my way from work. This means I can finally get my extra tires for the Ranger mounted



I'll post a few more photos tomorrow after everything is installed.

 

Updates look good. So when are the headlights being installed?

 

As soon as I order the harnesses... whenever that will be. I tend to buy things and hold onto them a while. I've had the daylighters on the shelf since 2007 or so lol. I've had the 05 headlights for almost 2 years now lol. I also have an oil pressure gauge to connect in the Ranger and some Dixie horns to install that I've had for more than a year.

I am going to restore the lights on the truck first. I want to clean them up so I can sell them when I put the new ones on and recover some of the investment lol.

After the new headlights, I think I am going to change the cab markers and 3rd brake light. I have a little something in mind for those...

But before I do any of that, I need to change tranny fluid and replace the carrier bearing.

 

Mind showing how to change the tranny fluid? I've never done it before but now is probably a good time at 104k lol.

 

Check the tech folder either here or excursion section. Mark K has a step by step write up on the trans flush.

Wizkid- Didnt order the harness through riff raff with the Grease fitting?

I know the feeling on parts hoarding, its called procrastination or just projects getting in the way. I think the truck is the one that pushes me sooner where some projects I dont want to mess up. I have some 5" lights for the bumper just have not removed it to install, and will also require some trimming.

 

My GF actually made me clean my room a few weeks ago...and she doesn't even live with me lol, I had a dashboard, 4 rims, and tons of old truck parts in it lol. I'm a big parts hoarder, just haven't gotten around to putting them up on Ebay yet lol. Every few weeks they get closer and closer to an organized pile.

Wiz- your front springs look really flat, does that have a plow prep package? just curious mine are identical.