I have a gen 2 ranger (90), and the aluminum piece that covers the middle of the tailgate got some dents this week from the snow shovel trying to dig her out after she was buried. So does anyone know whats underneath this piece? I removed the screws, but didnt want to risk breaking any clips or whatever is holding it on , not knowing whats under it. I dont want to find a big hole underneath and have to do something I'm not ready for but I thought it if would just be a plain tailgate I'll just let it off. Has anyone removed one?

 

Ahhh the one part I wish ford would do away with.

Well infortunatly there are holes behind it. At least that is what my computer is showing, it hasbeen wrong before. If you want to take it off and push the dents outfrom behind, there are probably sevral plastic clips along with somescrews and probably a couple of nuts on the ends. W/o looking at it that is my best guess.

If you wish to replace it, here is the part number from ford
E9TZ99425A34B
est cost is 274.43 ouch!

Labor time is showing .6 hrs for R & I


Sorry couldnt be the bearer of Better news. Good Luck to ya!


Btw you could always take that part to a body shop, or do it yourself, paint it. Doesnt have to stay alum. A nice ford written in script perhaps, or something else that you would find tasteful. Just a thought =)

 

thanks for replying!!
iI never liked the way it looked anyway. a big piece of aluminum on the back of a tailgate....why??? the dents are livable...I guess i was looking for an excuse to get rid of it., bondo the holes from the screws and get some sort of custom thing that said ford on it....maybe even ford ranger....I was just afraid of the aluminum covering a giant hole. any other ideas let me know.

 

Hey redranger90, I have a 91 with the same panel. I pulled mine last week and yes, there's a nice embossed F O R D name in the middle of the tailgate. It would look nice if it weren't for the small holes drilled through it to mount the plastic clips that hold on the aluminum panel. Look inside the tailgate. That's what all those screw heads are for.

I was thinking of relocating the tailgate handle to the inside (I have a camper shell) so I'll probably pull the panel and fill those holes when I move the handle.

Good luck!

 

I have seen truck's wuth push-in paintable button's installed in the bolt hole's and painted to match the tailgate. It doesn't look bad and is a lot cheaper than replacing the alum. or the tailgate. Ford is getting rid of the aluminum plate due to warranty concern's.

 

Paintable buttons sounds a lot easier than bondo. I'll look for some, thanks for the tip!

Since aluminum tailgate panels cost $274.43 new from Ford, I'd be willing to part with mine for the low, low price of only $175!! (Hah...fat chance!!)

 

exactly, thanks big1.

I can easily live without the aluminum, it's supposed to be warm tomorrow, almost 50 guess I know what I'll be doing! I saw the screw heads on the inside of the tailgate and thought the same thing about moving it to the inside, but I can't with a locking tonneau.

Cav, how hard was it to get off? should I unscrew the ones on the back of the tailgate that dont go to the handle first?

 

Yes, unscrew it from behind if you're worried about saving it. Otherwise, you can just yank and it'll pop off the plastic hold downs. Then you can unscrew them from behind.

I didn't know the screws were there and started pulling until it popped off like a door panel. It came off, but the plastic tabs that hold it down bent a little and don't hold it flush anymore. It was bent anyway, so no big loss.

Putting it back was an even bigger challenge. Soon it'll come off for good. Today I saw an older Ranger with the raised F O R D logo painted and it looked pretty sharp. Not 10 minutes later, I saw a recent model with the flat tailgate and only the blue oval on the right. Both look better that that aluminum. Just depends on what look you want.

 

Well, I got the aluminum off. I don't really want to think about putting it back on. I unscrewed them and still had trouble getting them off. It looks like one or two of the plastic mounting pieces broke on the ends, so I guess there's no going back now.

Can I get the buttons at an auto parts store? I was thinking since its hard to match faded red paint, maybe painting them and the FORD emblem black....any opinions? or other suggestions? Thanks guys.

red