Upgrade to newer style LED surround type head light help

[Jtrussell1890]

1996 XLT 2.3L 5sp supercab. Hit a deer in the wee hours of the morning and lost pretty much the whole front left quarter. Was already planning on replacing most of what was damaged for the resto project, but now that I'm forced to do it earlier than planned, I want to go ahead and upgrade my head lights. I'm very fond of the newer style with the LED light bar that surround the head light perimeter, but only see them available for the '01 and newer Rangers. How much trouble am I looking at to retrofit these newer style into my 96? Also if this has been done already, can some one point me to an example so I can get a visual idea of what is going to involve? Attached a picture of what I want to upgrade to.

 

[SenorNoob]

I know that people have swapped that before. I'd start here:
Installing a 1998+ Front Clip on a 1993-1997 Ford Ranger

 

[Jtrussell1890]

I know that people have swapped that before. I'd start here:
Installing a 1998+ Front Clip on a 1993-1997 Ford Ranger

Thank you for this

 

[Jtrussell1890]

Wanted to add some of the damage pics before I started to tear into this. Could have been so much worse. Thankfully everything that's damaged is superficial exterior parts that are easily replaced.

 

[Jtrussell1890]

Today I removed the bumper, fender and bad tire. Found a few issues with the core support, but it's getting swapped out for a new one. Here are a few pics of where it sits right now. At least now I can drive it a bit if I need to move it.

 

[JoshT]

Yeah, I was concerned seeing how low the front left corner was sitting in that first set of pics. With everything removed it looks like the frame is straight and the core support was just bent. New core support and inner fender would probably get everything back straight.

Sounds like you want to facelift to newer generation which involves replacing the core support anyway. Time to start hitting up some salvage yards and picking parts. I understand wanting to go new on everything, but I'd recommend at least getting your header panel from a salvage yard if you can find a good one.

I'm planning to do a facelift on my 99 to the 01-03 Edge style grille. Don't have to touch the core support or fenders for that, but almost everything else has to be swapped out. Parts shopping I quickly figured out that the small parts were going to nickle and dime me to death. By getting a salvage yard header panel I was able to get a lot of those small parts and hardware included.

 

[Jtrussell1890]

Yeah, I was concerned seeing how low the front left corner was sitting in that first set of pics. With everything removed it looks like the frame is straight and the core support was just bent. New core support and inner fender would probably get everything back straight.

Sounds like you want to facelift to newer generation which involves replacing the core support anyway. Time to start hitting up some salvage yards and picking parts. I understand wanting to go new on everything, but I'd recommend at least getting your header panel from a salvage yard if you can find a good one.

I'm planning to do a facelift on my 99 to the 01-03 Edge style grille. Don't have to touch the core support or fenders for that, but almost everything else has to be swapped out. Parts shopping I quickly figured out that the small parts were going to nickle and dime me to death. By getting a salvage yard header panel I was able to get a lot of those small parts and hardware included.

I looked into salvage yards around me and I don't know what has happened to their pricing system, but most of the parts are cheaper to buy new and I don't have to sweat for them. I'm 2 hours away from any pick and pull type of place so it's a bit of gas to get there as well. The only thing that's going to really eat me up is shipping for the heavy stuff if I do decide to order new. I'm on a tight budget so every penny saved is worth it for me.

 

[JoshT]

I looked into salvage yards around me and I don't know what has happened to their pricing system, but most of the parts are cheaper to buy new and I don't have to sweat for them. I'm 2 hours away from any pick and pull type of place so it's a bit of gas to get there as well. The only thing that's going to really eat me up is shipping for the heavy stuff if I do decide to order new. I'm on a tight budget so every penny saved is worth it for me.

Don't just look at the pick-n-pull yards, also watch Craigslist and FBMP for people parting out trucks. The regularly pop up on the listings around here, just no always the stuff I'm looking for.

I agree with you for things like the grill and lights. Local pull-a-part wants $40 for a grill regardless of condition, new one costs $60 delivered. Cloudy headlight assemblies for 45 each, new pair with marker lights costs about $65.

Things like the fenders, hood, header panel, bumper you could potentially save a fair bit on.

IIRC new header panels when I was looking cost over $100, plus shipping if it wasn't free. Then you have to buy all of the hardware (bolts and clip nuts) and the headlight retainers. Those retainers were 15-20 a piece new at the time then add in all of the other clips and fasteners, you're looking at another $100. I can't speak for your yards, but here I can get the header panel with those retainers and all of that hardware for about $60, and no shipping.

Similar story for the bumper. The bumper itself isn't bad, but if you're not replacing like for like, you have to consider all of the small parts that won't be included with a new one.

The gas for a 4 hours drive might seem like a lot, but if you can get most of the bits you need in a single trip it mght be worth it.

 

[Jtrussell1890]

Don't just look at the pick-n-pull yards, also watch Craigslist and FBMP for people parting out trucks. The regularly pop up on the listings around here, just no always the stuff I'm looking for.

I agree with you for things like the grill and lights. Local pull-a-part wants $40 for a grill regardless of condition, new one costs $60 delivered. Cloudy headlight assemblies for 45 each, new pair with marker lights costs about $65.

Things like the fenders, hood, header panel, bumper you could potentially save a fair bit on.

IIRC new header panels when I was looking cost over $100, plus shipping if it wasn't free. Then you have to buy all of the hardware (bolts and clip nuts) and the headlight retainers. Those retainers were 15-20 a piece new at the time then add in all of the other clips and fasteners, you're looking at another $100. I can't speak for your yards, but here I can get the header panel with those retainers and all of that hardware for about $60, and no shipping.

Similar story for the bumper. The bumper itself isn't bad, but if you're not replacing like for like, you have to consider all of the small parts that won't be included with a new one.

The gas for a 4 hours drive might seem like a lot, but if you can get most of the bits you need in a single trip it mght be worth it.

Yeah, I am on board with what you're saying and depending on what I can get, the drive could be worth it. I live in coastal Texas about 2 hours from Houston, which is where all the salvage yards are located that are within driving distance. I've been researching and I did find a complete donor 3rd gen truck that is the same color as mine at one of the yards, but again it's just tough to justify pricing on used parts that matches new. Another factor for me is that I'm eventually going to repaint the entire truck with new color scheme, so the new parts that "need paint" get my attention as opposed to old faded used ones. I'm being wishy-washy about which way to go lol. It's also a time management thing too as I realy do need to have it up and going as soon as possible with out rushing things.

 

[JoshT]

Just though of one more thing to add to your parts shopping situation.

The headlights you're wanting to run work for all Rangers 2001-2011. I don't know where in this range you are aiming for, or if you've decided to go back stock in interest of time. You're probably aware that in the 01-11 range of Rangers there were a couple of different front ends used. Broadly be devided into three categories, largely based on the hood style.

01-03 2wd, 01-03 Edge/4wd, and 04+. The 01-03 2wd has the "normal" grill and a flat hood. (IIRC same hood as all 98-00 trucks.) The 01-03 Edge/4wd has the honeycomb grill and bulged "powerdome" hood. The 04+ only has a powerdome style hood, though it is a little lower profile than the previous generation. I mention this for two IMO important reasons.

The first is parts interchange. The 01-03 hoods will mostly interchange between the two styles, but that's how the combinations came. The 2004+ hood will not interchange with the earlier versions due to different grill shapes, the header panel is also different so keep that in mind too.

The second is availability. I know that you want to use new parts and not have to hit the salvage yards. The 01-03 hood is available as new reproduction. The 04-11 hood is available as new reproduction. To my knowledge there is no aftermarket reproduction for the 01-03 powerdome hood, they are only available on the used market. I'm not the only one that has looked for it and we've all come up empty handed.

The powerdome that is currently on my truck was found locally used from a private seller for $100 several years ago. I just picked up a spare from the salvage yard today for around $50. Did not need it, but both my truck and my dad's use this hood so I figured having a spare would not be a bad thing. For $50 I didn't want to let it go to the crusher. These hoods online go for several hundred and shipping isn't much better.

To summarize... If you want to stick with the "flat" style hood or go to the 04+ front end, you should be able to buy new. If you want the "Edge" hood, you probably want to shop locally.

 

[Jtrussell1890]

Small update, I have received a few of the parts I ordered via rock auto. New header panel, grill, both left and right inner fenders and sone of the headlight mounting hardware. Still need to source the outer fenders, bumper pieces, valance, hood and core support. Been patient and have run across a few on the CL parting out 01 - 05 Rangers, but also asking astronomical prices on pull off parts. One ad said the outer fenders were $120 each and the hood was $500. Some people reach too high. I tried to walk them down on their pricing hoping they were just wishing to get a good sale price, but no dice. They were pretty stuck at what they listed everything for. I will keep searching, but this is my daily so I need to get it back up and running asap s well.

 

[MaicoDoug]

Where did you find those headlight buckets at?

Often the seller will tell you that they are "polycarbonate" (Lexan) but they are not, just have a very thin sprayed on coating which doesn't last more than 6 months, do yourself a favor & clear coat them yourself first. I did this to my replacement one piece buckets and finally they look much better after a year exposed to the Texas sun.

 

[Jtrussell1890]

Where did you find those headlight buckets at?

Often the seller will tell you that they are "polycarbonate" (Lexan) but they are not, just have a very thin sprayed on coating which doesn't last more than 6 months, do yourself a favor & clear coat them yourself first. I did this to my replacement one piece buckets and finally they look much better after a year exposed to the Texas sun.

I haven't purchased them just yet. I've been looking at several different suppliers such as Amazon, parts geek and so on. I realize the less expensive they are the more likely they are to be made of cheaper quality material, but I'm researching to find the best value for the dollar amount. Once I do make my decision and buy a set, I'll be sure to update this thread with the info.

 

[MaicoDoug]

The one piece design is really a nice feature if & when you buy new. A quick spray with WBPU and a couple of re-coats I would recommend. Please share a picture.

 

[SenorNoob]

Just an FYI there are MANY grades of polycarbonate. Very few of them use the Lexan name. Oddly enough they are often mixed with black colorant and ABS.