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Hopefully it is better quality than a fender I got from them for my '97, less than 20,000 miles on it and it had 9 cracks, found one in a wrecking yard and replaced it.
I also grabbed the core support so I could have a spare.
Yup, bought a fender for an 04 Toyota tundra from the aftermarket variety and that thing was garbage, that thing was so thin that it buckled with the press of the thumb, looked and felt like 26 or even thinner gauge sheet metal. Unfortunately Toyotas are rare to find at the local pic-a-parts around here and the few I have found (2) that have them are usually front end wrecked
Yup, bought a fender for an 04 Toyota tundra from the aftermarket variety and that thing was garbage, that thing was so thin that it buckled with the press of the thumb, looked and felt like 26 or even thinner gauge sheet metal. Unfortunately Toyotas are rare to find at the local pic-a-parts around here and the few I have found (2) that have them are usually front end wrecked
That’s good to know. I guess I’ll stay away from their fenders. The hood I got from them was a fine replica. Even the guy I had paint it remarked about how good it was. I gather when he heard that it was aftermarket, he was worried that it would be much worse. I guess a hood must be strong to tolerate the stress from hood springs. The original hood that I had was too badly rusted and was buckling just enough that it wasn’t translating enough energy from the hood springs to the hood latch in order to open the hood consistently. The replacement works every time.
The radiator core support seems fine, and the dimensions seem good. I haven’t installed it yet, though.
Is there a better source for new body panels, or is it best to just get them from old F Series trucks from rust-resistant regions like the southwestern US?
I bought directly from Woolwax. If you speak with Bob he may give you a discount code, especially if you buy a kit like I did with the gun and an aerosol can, which was vey helpful to get inside door panels and jams.
I see that you can buy directly from their website. I’ll give it a look!
Make sure you protect and suspend that transmission/AC core so you don't break the AC lines or you'll have a new problem to solve.
I wrapped mine in cardboard and duct tape together with the little transmission cooler. Then, hung them as pictured above.
Hope you got your replacement support bushings and bolts. Looks like you'll need them.
Can't wait to see pictures of your completed replacement.
Good luck
I have all new brackets that attach to the frame and all new bushings, bolts, and hardware for that. I wasn’t holding out hope for any of the fasteners and ordered new of everything I could find.
I got the radiator liberated today. I tested the coolant that I drained out, and it was needing additives. I’ve got coolant additives in the mail, and I’ll throw them in when I fill the radiator after replacement. I also deleted the little transmission cooler, which is no longer necessary after the manual transmission swap.
I’m making slow progress. I’m taking my time and labeling all of the fasteners. I’ve only broken five or six fasteners so far. I hope to get the grinder out tomorrow and fix a couple that rounded off. I was expecting this to take me some time due to all of the rust, and I am meeting my expectations on that account.
You might consider putting the radiator you removed on the PRTS FOR SALE thread elsewhere on this list server. Or, sell it on Facebook marketplace under OBS Ford parts. Check Ebay or elsewhere for its value.
Presoak overnight those bolts with a decent penetrating oil and where safe apply heat. Use a propane torch where there is no fire risk or a decent heat gun near flammable surfaces to use expanding metal to break the rust.
You might consider putting the radiator you removed on the PRTS FOR SALE thread elsewhere on this list server. Or, sell it on Facebook marketplace under OBS Ford parts. Check Ebay or elsewhere for its value.
Presoak overnight those bolts with a decent penetrating oil and where safe apply heat. Use a propane torch where there is no fire risk or a decent heat gun near flammable surfaces to use expanding metal to break the rust.
Do you mean to put the transmission oil cooler on sale since I deleted it? I still need the actual radiator to cool my truck once I get it back together. I do not really have time to mess with it right now, but I'll see about how to get it into the hands of someone who might need it this Winter. I do not use Facebook, so I won't use Facebook marketplace, but I would be willing to sell it. Or, if someone needs and will use it from here, I would give it away for the cost of shipping to someone in need.
I'm with you on presoaking everything. Every time I go into the garage, I spray all of the fasteners that I can see with penetrating oil. Good idea on the heat. The garage that it is in does not have any utilities, so a heat gun won't work, but I will grab a torch the next time I am near a hardware store on give that a try. I've had pretty good luck by just power and penetrating oil so far. I am not planning on reusing many, if any, fasteners, so it's almost just as good if they break. Typically fewer turns that way, anyway.
In case anyone is reading this who is getting ready to do this on their own truck, be advised that there are a bunch of secondary parts that connect to the radiator core support that are not part of the actual radiator core support itself. For example, there are brackets that connect the core support to the fenders and brackets that connect the battery trays with the core support. If you are replacing the core support due to rust damage, consider that those other brackets may also be significantly corroded and may require replacement at the same time.
I got the old core support out of the truck with the help of my new cordless grinder and my new cordless reciprocating saw. I still need to replace those brackets between the core support and the fenders because I snapped a bolt off in each one about a decade ago and I can't be bothered to extract them when those brackets are pretty rusty in spots, anyway. I also need to replace the battery trays while I am in here.
Look at the old core support. Half of it has returned to nature, which you can see in the garage floor in this picture. I don't know if my paranoia about it catastrophically failing were justified, but I'll feel better once I'm finished replacing it.
I was working on trying to cut the bolt with a reciprocating saw and gave up because it was binding really bad in what was left of the rubber bushing. I then decided to grind the head off of the bolt instead and try to hammer it out. I got that done, and I was trying to pound the bolt out, I noticed that it was just coming apart. Looks like nature already cut the bolt out for me by rusting through the mount bracket.
I'm chipping away at this. I hope I'll be able to get things together faster than they came apart because I won't be fighting rust as I'm putting it back together.
Man, a lot more than replacing the radiator support.
The frame mounts are replaceable. They are riveted if original equipment. Grind and punch the rivets and they come right out. Clean the frame of factory wax under the brackets with wax and grease remover and razor scraper before sanding or scraping off rust. Get yourself a can of Rust-oleum Rust Reformer primer and a can of Rust-oleum "Professional" enamel in whatever color you want to cover the areas where the mount goes before you reinstall the mount. Clean and paint the mounts before installation. Give the "Reformer" 24 hours to cure per label instructions.
When you find your battery brackets, clean them up and paint them too before reinstalling them.
You wrote "I still need to replace those brackets between the core support and the fenders", are you saying the "L" shaped brackets that hold the top of the support to the fender need replacing? If so, make sure the replacements are exactly the same, especially the bolt holes because those control the spacing between the fender and the hood.
This is actually the perfect time to change your water pump if you think that's needed........Just saying
You will be an expert at this job before you are done.
Good luck.
You wrote "I still need to replace those brackets between the core support and the fenders", are you saying the "L" shaped brackets that hold the top of the support to the fender need replacing? If so, make sure the replacements are exactly the same, especially the bolt holes because those control the spacing between the fender and the hood.
This is actually the perfect time to change your water pump if you think that's needed........Just saying
You will be an expert at this job before you are done.
Good luck.
Yes, those are the brackets I mean. I’ll measure the replacements and make sure they’re the same before I install them.
The water pump is still mint. I replaced it years, but not too many miles, ago.
EDIT: Actually, the L-Shaped brackets are not the brackets that I plan to replace, if you are talking about those that mount to the top of the core support in a way that is horizontal. The brackets that I meant are not exactly L-shaped, but are instead the ones that frame the headlight openings. Sorry for the confusion, I just needed to look at the truck again before I fully understood what you meant. Those L-shaped brackets that mount to the top of the core support look like they're fine on my truck and I do not plan to replace those.
Last edited by BuckHammer; Oct 4, 2023 at 08:06 PM.
Reason: Correcting a misunderstanding.
A neighbor of mine helped me drive out the rivets that had held on the mounting brackets, because he has a really good air hammer. I painted the frame where the brackets had been. I went ahead and removed the battery trays and painted replacement trays and a few odds and ends and brackets. Everything is out and I've conquered the rust. Next week, I will start putting everything back together. It has become a race against the clock with Winter knocking at the door.
I'm thankful that I have a great neighbor who has helped me quite a bit, especially with the more frustrating parts (hammering out those rivets, broken bolts, and etc).
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