aftermarket hood?

[07rangerfx4lv2]

hey i was just wondering if theres a bad side to aftermarket hoods? i just got a price for one and its 175$ which is a lot cheaper then even finding one off a wrecked ranger? has anyone had any problems?

 

[03Fx4MN]

Me and my buddy got him a new fender, hood, and header panel all dent/scratch/damage free and he paid 110 out the door for it all at the local U pull it I think the hood was something like $35. As for your question some have said the LMC ones are thinner sheet metal I personally have had no experience with after market hoods. Are you looking for fiberglass / something fancy or just a OEM replacement?

 

[07rangerfx4lv2]

just an oem replacement, the guy i was talkin to works at a used autoparts place and he told me they were pretty decent hoods, the cheapest ive found for a used hood is 300, ive bin tryin to find info but not finding much? people seem to say use hood pins?

 

[07rangerfx4lv2]

bump

 

[stmitch]

In general, aftermarket replacement parts are cheaper than OEM pieces because they use cheaper materials and/or the tolerances aren't as strict. What the usually means, is you get a product that doesn't last as long, or one that doesn't fit as well.
As far as a hood goes though, there's not a lot that can go wrong or malfunction. It may be a little thinner material than Ford used, and the panel gaps may be slightly larger, but most people would never notice.
The cheapest thing for you to do if you can be patient, is look for a hood from a ranger that's the same color as your truck. That way, you don't end up paying for a hood (aftermarket or OEM), and then paying a couple hundred bucks to have it painted too.

 

[07rangerfx4lv2]

hm i see thanks for that, he said 175 for the aftermarket replacement and about 500 for one off a scrap ranger, ive bin tryin to find one my colour but it seems to be more difficult then i would have thought, im not too sure what they would charge for paint but im sure it cant be too ridicoulous

 

[stmitch]

$500 seems pretty high to me. I can find ranger hoods for under $300 all the time. You should be able to use any hood from an 04+ranger, so that should open up your searching a little. Paint is going to cost a couple hundred bucks, so you might as well get the least expensive hood that you can.

Here's an aftermarket hood for $75 plus shipping: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/FORD-RANGER-04-09-HOOD-STEEL-08-07-06-05-/110659782190?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&fits=Model:Ranger&hash=item19c3d6462e

Here's an original Ford hood for $250:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/04-05-06-07-08-09-FORD-RANGER-HOOD-STEEL-/150463054366?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&fits=Model:Ranger&hash=item23084c021e

If you look around at local salvage yards, or talk to local Ranger guys, I'm sure you can find some cheaper than that.

 

[gwaii]

i get aftermarket hoods every now and then for collision repair.pretty reasonably priced,and while i can't call them 'perfect',they are usually close enough that only a really picky search on them will reveal the differences(i'm talking things like the holes in the inner structure that the wiring goes into are slightly different,that sort of thing)

 

[07rangerfx4lv2]

thanks gwaii thats the sort of thing im looking to here, as for the prices stmitch for some reason canadian prices are about twice as much as american prices for pretty much everything to do with trucks, for an example a 4" superlift for my truck in the states is 1500$, up here the best price ive found is 2700$, makes no sense our dollar is pretty much at par