Replacement Bumper

[professor229]

Good morning.... I bought a 2004 Ford Ranger project vehicle that needed a lot of TLC..... I will need a lot of advice but thought I would start with a fairly easy problem..... I decided to restore the rims first and did, and then order a new bumper and valence.... Back up a minute..... The old bumper was completely rusted out on both ends and I mean there was nothign left..... Now, when the new bumper came in and the valence from another seller, I laid this all out and it took two/three days to restore the metal brackets etc... and finally I used the old as a template to put the new parts together correctly... It went well... However, when I was done and had the new unit installed, which also went well, I noticed that there were four holes at the end of the metal bumper... Holes is probably not the correct word... Slits come to mind....Nevertheless, there are four places on both ends of the bumper and they must have a purpose.... My guesses? There was a plastic piece there for cosmetic reasons? or.... There was a "brace" that attaches here????

Right now, there are these four holes/slits on each end of the metal bumper and I would like to ask if there is a simple explanation for these? What goes there? Their purpose? and hope there is an easy answer....

And yes, I do document everything digitally and should have taken some close up pictures of this and will if I get a lot of head scratching and comments like "I have never seen this before.... " etc.... I will take some pictures.... but thought I would just ask first and see if there is an obvious answer...

Yes, I am new to the forum and thanks for any help... it is greatly appreciated.... PS.... attached a photo with the four hole area outlined in red.....

 

[Uncle Gump]

I don't have first hand knowledge here... but there has been some discussion on these replacement valence panels not fitting on the bumpers properly. Not sure if this is what the discussion was about. But it's a "thing".

 

[Uncle Gump]

After looking at the picture... which I should have done first... what I said above is probably not the case.

Are you sure you have the same MY parts? There have been subtle changes with the bumper but I couldn't say what or when for sure.

This is what i think of the factory bumpers...

 

[vigness]

Looks just like my 03 bumper. The lower valance comes up in the back and has the tabs with clips to pop into those slots.

 

[55trucker]

If memory serves the proper valance for the bumper you have there has a step molded into it at the very rear of the corners where it wraps over the steel bumper & hides the ends of the bumper.

 

[professor229]

I am going to keep looking and if all else fails, I will just put in some chrome bolts to cover the slots for now until I find the correct "whatever" is supposed to be there... I did take a few pictures of both sides and maybe that will help..... Our family Christmas just got canceled... covid and flu.... so we are taking no chances and the only thing left to do today was to head out and putts.... I did the entire rear of the truck.... and put in my four hours... removed the tailgate too and ground the surface rust where they rust out on the bottom and then did the rusty metal primer and two good coats of white enamel.... should make it a few more years... Then figured out why the previous owner wired in one of the headlights.... broken adjuster and after studying that, I found out that not all the adjusters are the same so I brought the broken one in and will do the ebay thing and make sure they match.... Anyway.... thanks for the help... and suggestions.... I have more questions coming... like... I did an oil change (3.0) and the filter is in a very creative spot..... Do you remove it from the top or the bottom and is there a specific filter cup wrench for this that works better than the others?

 

[55trucker]

Uh huh..... that is the incorrect valance for that particular bumper, depending on which way you decide to go either find the correct bumper for that valance or replace the valance for the correct item that is paired with that bumper.

The filter comes out from the bottom, one has to slip it past the starter motor contacts without touching them setting off sparks, it is a tight squeeze. One doesn't need to tighten the filter so tight that one needs a wrench to free it.

 

[professor229]

Thanks for the heads up on the bumper/valence.... I will just go with a plan B because I already spent the money on these.... If anybody has a picture of what this should look like, I would appreciate it....

As for the oil filter, I found out about the "sparks" already... I did the oil change and I looked from above and below.... and did manage to get it free from under the Ranger.... and bought the better Fram filter with the textured coating on it so I could tighten it by hand... but, as I get older, I find my hand strength isn't what it used to be so I always use a wrench to tighten the filter a quarter turn past contact.... but this should work....

Thanks for the advice.... and suggestions..... I did join one of the other Ranger forums..... but the response wasn't too good so its nice to hear from so many guys on this one....

Next question.... I usually have two sets of rim/tires for all my projects.... and I will look at swap meets next summer but I am wondering if all Ford rims are basically the same and will something like an F150 15 or 16 inch rim fit on a Ranger? and why aren't there more used rims out there for sale considering the amount of Rangers that are out there?

Thanks again.... Dennis

 

[Roert42]

F-150 wheels will not fit a ranger.

The ranger uses a 5x4.5” lug pattern. 5x4.5 is fairly common, though so it shouldn’t be hard to find a wheel that fits.

Although not all 15” wheels will fit. The stock 15” wheels have a bump on the inside to help fit over the break calipers. Any 16” should fit though.

 

[mikkelstuff]

Check out the bumper section on this forum:

Custom Bumpers, Sliders, and Cages

www.therangerstation.com