Bedside replacement?

[koda6966]

Well as some of you know the drivers side of my truck has a large scrap going down it, according to the PO its from a sideswipe at Lowes, but the more likely story is they hit something driving drunk.

Anyway, for those of you who havent seen it, I'll add a picture of the scrape when I get home.

So what I was thinking was that I could just rip a panel off from another Ranger thats got a good one at a junk yard, and then just put it on.

Are they bolted on or would I have to cut it off and weld it back on mine? If I did, the weld wouldnt show because it would be under my bed liner if I do the whole panel. Good idea or bad?

Maybe it would be easyer to just put on a whole new bed.. but thats more costly at a yard.

Still don't know what I'm going to do. I'm going to check and see what shape the trucks are in when I go to get a better rear bumper since mines rusted out.

--Edit--
http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r115/rdnx4life/Ranger Station/Scrape.jpg
http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r115/rdnx4life/Ranger Station/Cap.jpg

 

[Insanejughead]

They are spot welded on at a half a billion places. You could just grind off the edges of the metal to save trying to drill out the welds.

I would just say to repair just that section. Pull out the dents, bondo what you can't, then paint it really good!

 

[wvcat]

For the cost involved buying a bed side, cutting it off, welding a new one on, minor bodywork and paint, you could just buy a clean bed, have it painted and bolt it on...It would end up nicer in the long run. Beds have been going for 300-500 on craiglist. Personally I would straighten it and paint it.
John

 

[koda6966]

For the cost involved buying a bed side, cutting it off, welding a new one on, minor bodywork and paint, you could just buy a clean bed, have it painted and bolt it on...It would end up nicer in the long run. Beds have been going for 300-500 on craiglist. Personally I would straighten it and paint it.
John

I can get a single bedside for $40-50. And if you read the post, there would be no minor body work and paint involved, I would weld it back on underneath the bed liner so that it wouldn't show (after spraying it with some spay paint I have laying around to prevent rust on the welded part.)

They are spot welded on at a half a billion places. You could just grind off the edges of the metal to save trying to drill out the welds.

I would just say to repair just that section. Pull out the dents, bondo what you can't, then paint it really good!

I might end up doing that, depending on how hard it is.

 

[wvcat]

I read the post, but if you don't care about the required body work (scratches and even minor waves) and want to spray it with spray cans or mixmatched paint thats a completely different story. I though you were going for a professional appearence...sorry for the confusion. If your not that concerned about how it looks...why even bother?

 

[koda6966]

I read the post, but if you don't care about the required body work (scratches and even minor waves) and want to spray it with spray cans or mixmatched paint thats a completely different story. I though you were going for a professional appearence...sorry for the confusion. If your not that concerned about how it looks...why even bother?

-sigh-
No, you didn't read the posts. Either of them.

If I did, the weld wouldnt show because it would be under my bed liner if I do the whole panel.

And if you read the post, there would be no minor body work and paint involved, I would weld it back on underneath the bed liner so that it wouldn't show

 

[wvcat]

Ok I guess I didn't get it, but if you can find a current red bedside in a junkyard for 40-50 bucks and it has no damage, dents, or scratches you are luckier than me. I would do the swap if I was in that situation the same way you are saying. It would be my luck that I would have the paint ruined before I got it installed.

 

[Insanejughead]

I'm sure Koda has a good idea on what he's going to do. If he screws up, then he'll fix it and move on.

Make sure everything lines up (body line especially) whenever you get ready to weld it all back on.

 

[koda6966]

I'm sure Koda has a good idea on what he's going to do. If he screws up, then he'll fix it and move on.

Make sure everything lines up (body line especially) whenever you get ready to weld it all back on.

I think I might try your idea, before I go to all the trouble of cutting off a bedside.

 

[Insanejughead]

You talking about the dent pulling, bondo, and repaint?

 

[koda6966]

You talking about the dent pulling, bondo, and repaint?

Yep. Its stretched metal though. So wouldn't pulling the dent make it stick out?

 

[Insanejughead]

I don't know... I honestly haven't done that much dent pulling. All that I have worked with was tiny dents.

I believe that if you were to drill some holes and pull them out with a hammer that the tiny holes would allow it to contract to fill those a bit instead of sticking out badly. I would consult someone with a higher knowledge of this than I though...

God Bless!

 

[Loanranger]

Theoretically, you could do what you are asking about. There will be welds along the front of the bedside, top inner lip, down the back in the tailgate jamb, and a few at the lower rear corner, and the wheelwell opening. Unfortunately, with the way insurance companies are now days, I have had to weld junkyard bedsides on. Let me tell you it is a royal pain to get the jy bedside off without damage. The worst part, will be the foam between the bedside and the outer wheel house. It is a structural foam. The probabilty of you getting the jy bedside freed from the jy bed without damage is going to be very slim. Then account for the fact that the paint is going to burn away from around where you weld it back on, it just isn't going to look good by the time you get it back on. If you were going to have it painted professionally, it could turn out looking good, but just spraying some paint over the welds is going to look far worse than the dent you have currently.

As for straightening the panel you have. It will involve time and patience to get it right. DO NOT drill holes and pull it out, unless you plan on welding up the holes when you're done. If you just cover the holes with bondo, it will shrink back over time, and this will also allow water to soak in behind the mud, and before long, all your hard work will fall off the bedside. IF you drill holes and weld them up, this will help to shrink the stretched metal to an extent, but it will also warp the panel, unless you know what you're doing. The best method would be to try to get behind the dent pushing on as much of it as you can at one time. If you push in small areas, it will stretch the metal more. The best method overall would be to invest in a stud gun and puller, and work the area slowly from the outside of the dent in, but for the price of the studgun, you could probably find a used bed.

 

[superdave1984]

As for straightening the panel you have. It will involve time and patience to get it right. DO NOT drill holes and pull it out, unless you plan on welding up the holes when you're done. If you just cover the holes with bondo, it will shrink back over time, and this will also allow water to soak in behind the mud, and before long, all your hard work will fall off the bedside. IF you drill holes and weld them up, this will help to shrink the stretched metal to an extent, but it will also warp the panel, unless you know what you're doing. The best method would be to try to get behind the dent pushing on as much of it as you can at one time. If you push in small areas, it will stretch the metal more. The best method overall would be to invest in a stud gun and puller, and work the area slowly from the outside of the dent in, but for the price of the studgun, you could probably find a used bed.

Question: I have been told you can heat the panel then place an ice pack on the hot metal to make it shrink. Not sure how true that is however. Also, I had a friend jokingly suggest filling dirlled holes with JB-Weld. Would that work??? Sounds plausible and surely has to be better than bondo.

 

[rockin86ranger]

i say buy the whole bed then take your old one to a scrap yard and get what ya can for it. justm my opion though