93-97 Fender Flare Clips/Hardware

[97Ranger3.0]

Hey guys,

Does anyone know if the clips & hardware used to hold the fender flares on the 93-97 Rangers can still be bought new? Or has anyone come up with their own hardware for these?

I'm doing some body/paint work on mine so I took the flare off, and when it came off it left all of the clips and hardware in the bed rather than coming off with the flare. I'm afraid to try and remove the black plastic clips because I feel like they will break easy and I'm not sure how easy it would be to find replacements. And the yellow plastic retainers towards the bottom on each end, anyone know if new replacements exist or what to do if they break when trying to remove them? I'm assuming the only way I'm going to get the flare back on is by taking all of the hardware off and put it back on the flare before installing it, I can't see a way you could slip the flare around these clips/retainers with them on like in the picture.

Anyway... any advice would be appreciated!

 

[Uncle Gump]

As far as a I know... that hardware only comes with a new flare.

I broke all of mine on a couple different trucks. I made strips of sheet metal... drilled holes and tacked 10/32 bolts on them and slide it into the groove. Then put the flares back on.

People say there are youtube videos that remove and install the flares and it's easy.... but I've never watched any. You might take a look and see what they do.

 

[Bird76Mojo]

You can't use the standard "christmas tree" push pins?

 

[97Ranger3.0]

As far as a I know... that hardware only comes with a new flare.

I broke all of mine on a couple different trucks. I made strips of sheet metal... drilled holes and tacked 10/32 bolts on them and slide it into the groove. Then put the flares back on.

People say there are youtube videos that remove and install the flares and it's easy.... but I've never watched any. You might take a look and see what they do.

Yeah I tried to look up videos on it but they all were on newer trucks and they seemed to be attached using different clips and hardware than these. The idea with the sheet metal and bolts is something I'll have to keep in mind though, thanks!

You can't use the standard "christmas tree" push pins?

So some of the clips you can. I'll have to take pictures later to explain better, but the ones that push in on the bottom of the flare are that type and I found Dorman replacements because all of mine broke when I pulled them out. The ones that you can see in my first pic are a little different - they also have a groove in them that the metal tabs slide into, if that makes sense. I'm not sure how common clips like that are. I'll be attempting to put the flare back on in a few days so if I break any of the hardware and have to get creative you'll hear back from me soon! lol

 

[Uncle Gump]

Good luck...

Soak them good overnight and go slow. I've never had much luck... well any luck really. But I'm pulling for ya!

 

[97Ranger3.0]

Good luck...

Soak them good overnight and go slow. I've never had much luck... well any luck really. But I'm pulling for ya!

Well your good luck wish must've paid off lol, because I had no issues at all getting the factory hardware off and reusing it. Can you wish me luck every time before I go work on this truck? I figured there'd be no way I'd get away without breaking any of it, I'm honestly amazed.

Anyway, I took better pictures of the hardware so hopefully that'll help someone else. This is a closeup of the plastic piece that you can see on each end in my first picture in this thread. These have small bolts/studs in them, and there are nuts on the backside to hold it to the bed. Surprisingly, for me, these came out extremely easy. But I would recommend using some penetrating fluid just in case. Worst case scenario, if the bolts just break off, I think you could easily just replace them so that's not really a big deal.

The black plastic clips that are in the bedside in my first picture with the metal tabs on them look like this. I'm not sure if you could find replacements for them if you break them, but I was able to pop them out carefully with this plastic trim tool pictured below. If you take your time, you can get it at the right angle where it pops one of the tabs out first and then the clip comes out easily without breaking. Just take your time here figuring out that angle so you don't just break the clips.

Lastly, the clips I was referring to in my previous post. There are 8 of these, and if they break off it's not a big deal because Dorman makes replacements. The part number is 963-022D.

 

[Uncle Gump]

Well... I've always lived in the rust belt...

That might be the difference. Glad you got them off.

 

[97Ranger3.0]

Well... I've always lived in the rust belt...

That might be the difference. Glad you got them off.

Well that's why I thought I was going to have that problem haha. I'm originally from Massachusetts and I had bought this truck from a guy in Connecticut. It's pretty clean, but still being from the rust belt originally it's got it's rust issues here and there. Most jobs I've done on this truck end up being a fight one way or another with at least one rusty/seized bolt breaking off on me in the worst spot possible lol. I guess I got lucky this time