I'll start off by saying that I don't know jack sh*t about aftermarket parts. The only reason my truck has what it does is because I bought it this way already.
With that being said I am trying to find a relatively cheap front end add-on. Not necessaraly a grill guard, just something that if someone bumps me it won't be a direct hit to the bumper, and something to add to the look I currently have.
I am posting a pic of my front end because apparently I have a "special" setup. I bought tow hooks for it and they wont fit, there are holes for them, but the hard plastic from my bumper gets in the way. Will this affect what I have to get?



Any advice is appreciated.

 

What kidna tow hooks didyou buy? Ranger specific for your year? or jsut random ones?

You can get a grill gaurd and just not install the part around the headlights, might look into Waag as well, but I'm not sure if they make anything for Gen4s

 

They were Ranger specific to my year.

 

did you put em on backwards? sorry I really hafta ask that because I know a certain person who doens't ahve a Ranger anymore and the guy at the dealer put the tow hook on the wrong side so it wouldn't fit.

 

It didn't matter which side I put them on, the hooks dropped down lower than the hard plastic did.

 

May be because the body lift they won't fit? Another guy on here is selling his Waag Sportster bar, you may be interested in that.

 

it will do exactly what you want, it bolts directly to your bumper tho which kinda sucks so only get this if you plan to keep it on or sell it with you truck. ill try to get a pic of it on my brother xplorer.

and heres the link

 

I didn't see you had a body lift, I can gaurantee you that's the reason they don't fit.

 

wut if i wanted one that bolted to my frame or something stronger then my bumper?

 

Your avater is funny...

I watch king of the hill all the time...

 

im actually considering doing that aswell. youd just need to make some brakets for mounting it then weld the gaurd to the brackets and add some supports to it.

 

Damn! See, told you I didn't know sh*t about aftermarket! I didn't even think about the body lift kit!

 

That says it isn't for 2000 model?

By the way, the other guy solg his waag bar already.

 

Yep, tow hooks won't work with a BL, I know:)
Order a waag bar, it will bolt up to yours, the frame is the same or should be.

 

hes prob going to ahve to get brackets made because of the body lift to get the waag to sit right

 

i thought the waag bar mounted thru the valence attatched to the bumper.. which i thoght didnt get lifted with a body lift??? if thats all correct, he still might have to though if whoever lifted the body also did somethin to get the bumper raised as well.

 

i think the valance does because otherwise wouldnt it leave a hudge gap between the bumper and grill?

 

yeah i looked at the pic he has after i posted that.. looks like they had the bumper brought up too

 

The waag bar mounts to brackets on the frame around the valance.. I am sure it wouldnt fit without cutting.

Oh and mine is sold to Q...
Rand

 

i have seen someone with a body lift who made the tow hooks fit... they had to cut holes in their lower valance to make it fit though... not a bad solution

EDIT: found a pic and i dont know if you could even do this to yours since you have a gen IV and the bumper is different

 

^^ has my windsheild banner

 

That's part of why were here man..

I have a Manik brush guard. It's probably more than you're looking to spend, but it wraps around underneath the bumper and valance and bolts to the frame behind it, so I don't see why something like that wouldn't work as well. Some other guards I've seen (Waag comes to mind) have tabs that go between the grill and bumper that could cause you problems. The Manik guard I have does not..

 

Hey bring your old tow hooks, we may be able to incorporate them into your bumper.

 

I looked at my bumper and I don't think it would look right if I cut slots out for the tow hooks. It would work but pretty sure it would look funky.

So what have we found out? Waag bars won't work because of the lift, or if they do I will have to have special mounting brackets MADE to worK? So whatever I get needs to connect under the bumper to the frame right? I love how the Westin bull bar looks with the skid plate, bet that is pretty pricey. Especially since I am looking to get a rhino liner put in the back and thats going to cost me $400.00.

Don't suppose anyone out there has one for sale for cheap?

Worth a shot right? LOL

 

One word of caution regarding frame mounted bars + a skid plate: You may have problems. My Manik bar would not work w/ the stock front skid plate. It had to be modified. It was a simple modification, I just cut about 1" off each side of the leading edge of the plate. Probably took me 15 min w/ a grinder. But w/o the grinder it would have been tricky. Check out page 5 of my cardomain page for pictures of my modified plate.