Hello FE's

I probably should have totaled the vehicle but after putting ball joints, front shocks, new wheels... I decided to go forth and attempt to repair.

Classic case of "Children and other hazards of sex".

My daughter rear ended a small SUV that had the spare tire mounted on the door. The spare pushed up the hood, rolled the bumper and bent the radiator Support. Headlamp mounting panel / grille destroyed.

I found a cheap place to get parts "CertiFit.com" that has better prices than a bone yard. They were out of stock on the Radiator Support and they actually recommended a place that is $15 cheaper than them but a bit of a ride further.

I have the bumper, hood, grill and headlamp mounting panel removed. Now trying to eye up the best way to remove the Radiator Support.

Anyone out there have any words of wisdom?

Also, I know the hood hinges got bent.. Anyone have any experience straightening out the hinges?

Regards, Chris
CFFE (Chris, Fellow Ford Enthusiast)

 

If your hood hinges aren't very badly bent you should be able to straighten them out pretty easily with a vise and/or a couple of slip joint pliers and a hammer. They're pretty easy to bend back. But if you think they're too bad to fix you can get new ones from your dealer for about $15 each.
The radiator support is spot welded to the fender support on each side. For the best access to replace the radiator support it might be better to take off both fenders. This support is also attached to the truck frame with bolts and rubber bushings. A lot of the after market body parts are not made as well as OEM parts and that's one reason they're so cheap. They don't fit as good as the originals. Bends are in the wrong place or at the wrong angle. They may not be as long or as tall as the original or they may have too much of a curve made into it. Or instead of having a nice smooth bend, the metal may be wrinkled to make the bend. What I'm getting at is to be careful in what you buy. The cheaper the price the worse the part might fit. I just went through this with one of mine a year ago. Body parts from Ford are still available but they will be about 2 or 3 times what the cheap stuff goes for.

 

Rangerman Stan

You were dead on about the tack welds and bolts. I relied on the mighty sawzall to cut the bolts. The bottom washers were completely rusted through so I didn't even bother wasting time on attempting to remove. I have just about everything disconnected and will be attacking the welds next.

Would you recommend air chisel or just attempting to cut or grind off?

On the hinges..
These things are recessed into the firewall and it is not clear to me how to replace them.. (thus I'll have to try to straighten them out where they lye) Am I possibly missing something?

-Chris

 

I guess if you wanted to get fancy you could get a spot weld cutter from a parts store that handles body shop supplies. But you can use an air chisel to cut the bad panel from the good one. Leave some of the weld on the good panel, then grind it down to the surface of the good panel so the new one will sit flat on it.
The hinges should be held to the fire wall with two bolts, one on each side of the hole where the hinge goes through it. Maybe some insulation or rubber seal is hiding the bolts.

 

It has been a busy few days. I managed to finally get the radiator guard off the Ranger and the new one in place... All but 3 small tasks to complete before I move on to replacing the headlamp mounting panel and messing with the hinges to get the hood on.

I'm taking a guess here... When to paint.. One friend told me to put all the parts on and paint while the parts are on the car..

Other option is to hang the parts in the garage, paint, then put on..

Anyone have any strong opinions on this one?

-Chris

 

If you want to paint the inner edges of the fender and under the hood on the edges then hanging them up to paint would be better. Plus you wouldn't need to mask off a lot of other areas to avoid overspray, like the cowl and windshield plus the good fender and top of the cab. It also depends on how you want it to look when it's done and how much work you want to do or avoid to get the desired result.

 

I finally got the ranger back together. Pic's of the rebuild can be seen at:

Chris O'Toole's Photos - Ford Ranger Front End Repair | Facebook


I was not happy with the paint match nor my application of clear coat. I plan to go to the paint provider to ask for "education" to see what possibly went wrong with the paint color and how to prevent "orange peel" when applying clear coat.

Taking the scrap to the salvage yard I noticed a vibration at 40 mph. Classic U-Joint. Replaced them over the weekend now the Ranger drives almost identical to my Ford Explorer.

Exploring ABS light issues. Will repost what I found there in hopes others can chip in.

-Chris