Why are these parts difficult to find being 2 screws and 2 tabs for my third brake light assembly

[bobbywalter]

 

[bobbywalter]

Ford Nylon Nut Fits 1/4 Hole #8 or #10 Screw Size

Ford Nylon Nut Fits 1/4 Hole #8 or #10 Screw Size

www.clipsandfasteners.com

 

[Gary DuBois]

well....you should.

the odds of me buying a ranger with a third brake light of that vintage are damn near zero. so i dont know what you have exactly....maybe yours was already modified and the wrong stuff anyway...

since you managed to strip them its probably time worth spending. if you are buying them on the spot what difference is there? 2 screws.

the link you posted i would say #8 would be better....but the size of the square hole is also a thing.

my 02 ranger has the factory 2 fasteners and i did not strip them out. I will keep looking until i find what i need.

 

[Gary DuBois]

Ford Nylon Nut Fits 1/4 Hole #8 or #10 Screw Size

Ford Nylon Nut Fits 1/4 Hole #8 or #10 Screw Size

www.clipsandfasteners.com

I like that link the best so far but maybe i can find them local and then go in and pick them up =)

 

[Curious Hound]

my 02 ranger has the factory 2 fasteners and i did not strip them out. I will keep looking until i find what i need.

If they don't work, then SOMEBODY stripped them out. Doesn't matter who. You need to measure the hole and measure the diameter of the screws and figure out what to buy.

You can find charts on-line to figure out the dimensions of threaded fasters. That screw is not a common machine screw thread. But its diameter will be close to the same. So, if it measures 5/32" or 0.15625", then it is a #8 screw size. You can do this.

 

[Gary DuBois]

View attachment 139757

I wish i was able to find those exact fasteners at oriellys because i like oriellys auto parts they use to be called schucks auto parts if i remember correctly.

 

[97RangerXLT]

for exact replacement, you may need to go to Ford. go in person, tell them what you need, year of truck etc, they can look it up on their system and they might even have them in stock. (take your old ones to compare) I had to do this for the stupid plastic clips for the tailgate handle on my 97 because all the auto parts stortes did not have anything that worked. some were close but still didn't work. you might be surprised at how cheap OEM Ford hardware might be, it cost me 11 bucks for two new plastic clips, made by ford. I can't imagine those being that much.

As for stripped, your clips may have also been aftermarket (maybe the previous owner needed to replace them and found a Dorman version and they were a so-so fit and now you are dealing with the fall out. give Ford a try.

AJ

 

[Li'l Work Truck]

I wish i was able to find those exact fasteners at oriellys because i like oriellys auto parts they use to be called schucks auto parts if i remember correctly.

Do you have an Ace Hardware nearby? They are much more helpful than my local O'Reilly. They'll help you find what you're looking for, or something close enough. The stark reality is that these vehicles are getting old enough that OEM is just not available for smaller bits and pieces.

Now, what a lot of people do is future model compatibility research, and similar model year research, because sometimes those parts have a different part number but are either the same or similar.

I kind of want to reiterate what some other guys have said in that it's not necessary or even possible to find those exact screws or clips, but that it doesn't matter because another clip will do what you need, and in the end, maybe you could help us by telling us what you did find, here in this thread. I am actually looking for screws for my tail lights, too.