A few of my junkyard mods.
#1
A few of my junkyard mods.
I've been looting parts off an 05 FX4 here recently and pretty pleased with the results.
The first thing is my new grille guard.
It started life as a Westin brush guard off the FX4. The truck had been rolled and I honestly had no idea how messed up the guard was until I got it home and tried to bolt it on. As the guard looked pretty straight when compared to the truck. When I tried to mount the guard on my 04 the part that wraps around the pass. side head light was actually hitting dead center of the head light so I knew I was in trouble. I spent about 4 hours straightening it with BFH's and a porta power. I finally decided there was no saving the pass. side head light guard and chopped them off and painted it in bed liner.
The grand total investment was $38. $20 for the guard, $10 in grinding/sanding wheels, and $8 in bedliner. The original upper mounting brackets mounted to the outside of the guard so I'll be modifying them to move them to the inside. I hope they add some rigidity to the guard.
The last couple of things I picked up were a transfer case skid plate and a gas tank skid plate off the FX4. They cost me $20 a pop, which is a tad more than I wanted to spend but not totally out of line considering I got the tank straps and mounting hardware.
I've got a set of 02-04 Level II tow hooks on the way too. I should have them by the end of the week.
The first thing is my new grille guard.
It started life as a Westin brush guard off the FX4. The truck had been rolled and I honestly had no idea how messed up the guard was until I got it home and tried to bolt it on. As the guard looked pretty straight when compared to the truck. When I tried to mount the guard on my 04 the part that wraps around the pass. side head light was actually hitting dead center of the head light so I knew I was in trouble. I spent about 4 hours straightening it with BFH's and a porta power. I finally decided there was no saving the pass. side head light guard and chopped them off and painted it in bed liner.
The grand total investment was $38. $20 for the guard, $10 in grinding/sanding wheels, and $8 in bedliner. The original upper mounting brackets mounted to the outside of the guard so I'll be modifying them to move them to the inside. I hope they add some rigidity to the guard.
The last couple of things I picked up were a transfer case skid plate and a gas tank skid plate off the FX4. They cost me $20 a pop, which is a tad more than I wanted to spend but not totally out of line considering I got the tank straps and mounting hardware.
I've got a set of 02-04 Level II tow hooks on the way too. I should have them by the end of the week.
Last edited by Ranger_Envy; 04-20-2010 at 07:12 PM.
#6
Thanks guys. Its kind of fun JY hunting for Ranger parts because you can actually get some pretty good deals every now and then when the yard doesn't realize what they have. Back when I had a 4th gen F-body as soon as you said Camaro you can expect to spend a lot of $$$$$$.
Are gas tank skids hard to come by? There is another yard that has an FX4 in it that may or may not have a tank skid. If they're super rare I can grab another one.
Are gas tank skids hard to come by? There is another yard that has an FX4 in it that may or may not have a tank skid. If they're super rare I can grab another one.
#9
very nice man. btw, you need a signature! i wanted to know what year your truck was, what size wheels you have, etc, but dont know unless you have a sig! Also, looks like me and yuo are trying to go the same route for our rangers. chrome grille w/ stainless hooks, and polished wheels (whenever i get them..lol). i love my LII Tow hooks, but I have the 05+
#11
#13
Whats the problem with the strap ones? It looks like they might be prone to getting caught on things as they really stick out. I thought it would be a pain to install but it only took me about 15 mins. Drop the driveshaft and the impact made short work of them. I was out of town all day for work so this morning when I got in I found a box on my desk. It has my Lvl II tow hooks and they're in great shape. These things weigh a ton. I always figured they were light weight and flimsy but obviously not. I cant wait to get these things installed. Any tips on the best method of attack? I've never really looked at how you'd get to the bolts on them.
Last edited by Ranger_Envy; 04-22-2010 at 07:08 AM.
#14
Whats the problem with the strap ones? It looks like they might be prone to getting caught on things as they really stick out. I thought it would be a pain to install but it only took me about 15 mins. Drop the driveshaft and the impact made short work of them. I was out of town all day for work so this morning when I got in I found a box on my desk. It has my Lvl II tow hooks and they're in great shape. These things weigh a ton. I always figured they were light weight and flimsy but obviously not. I cant wait to get these things installed. Any tips on the best method of attack? I've never really looked at how you'd get to the bolts on them.
The bottom bolts, i tried different methods and found that this worked best. you will need a 15mm stubby wrench and a dead blow hammer. just put the wrench on and break smack with hammer. We pretty much had to loosed the bolts almost ALL THE WAY out doing this because a impact gun or ratchet wouldn't do it.
Now just remove all the bolts like above and take off factory tow hooks. And put on new ones and put all back together.
Im not sure, but some guys said that you may have to notch your valance to fit the 01-04 LII tow hooks. Id put them on first and trim as needed if so.
heres mine:
FACTORY:
07 LII Tow Hooks
INSTALLED
#15
Whats the problem with the strap ones? It looks like they might be prone to getting caught on things as they really stick out. I thought it would be a pain to install but it only took me about 15 mins. Drop the driveshaft and the impact made short work of them. I was out of town all day for work so this morning when I got in I found a box on my desk. It has my Lvl II tow hooks and they're in great shape. These things weigh a ton. I always figured they were light weight and flimsy but obviously not. I cant wait to get these things installed. Any tips on the best method of attack? I've never really looked at how you'd get to the bolts on them.
The bottom bolts, i tried different methods and found that this worked best. you will need a 15mm stubby wrench and a dead blow hammer. just put the wrench on and break smack with hammer. We pretty much had to loosed the bolts almost ALL THE WAY out doing this because a impact gun or ratchet wouldn't do it.
Now just remove all the bolts like above and take off factory tow hooks. And put on new ones and put all back together.
Im not sure, but some guys said that you may have to notch your valance to fit the 01-04 LII tow hooks. Id put them on first and trim as needed if so.
heres mine:
FACTORY:
07 LII Tow Hooks
INSTALLED
#16
#17
Yeah I was a tad worried about how tough they'd be to get out as I've heard people say they're a *****. Mine came out super easy and the Level II hooks are on now.
#19
LOL, I know how you feel except I feel that way about Level II's. I know when I first found this 05 FX4 I thought it was so rare and had so many cool parts on it. Then I learned its more or less just some skid plates with decals on the bed sides. I've ran across a handful of 03+ FX4's in the yards now. Why they can't ever be 02 FX4's I'll never know. Now I'm just jealous of these guys that run across the Level II's as I really want a rear end out of one.
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