Bought a 2004 Ford Ranger XLT 4x4 that had been used as a mudding truck. Bones are still good and it runs great, but she needs some TLC and the previous owner didn't take care of it too well, I presume because it was their mudding truck. She isn't beyond saving though, so my son and I are getting her back in shape so that he can have a pretty nice first car. After removing the bed, power washing the frame and getting all the and dirt off, an inspection showed some suspension issues which are easy to fix and also confirmed that the rust is superficial other than the rear leaf spring mounts being toast. That's an easy fix and pretty common for this generation.

One of the things that I found odd however when I was under the truck is that there seems to be mats of what appears to be pink fiberglass insulation wedged between the cab and the frame. Hard for me to believe that Ford would put fiberglass insulation there where it would be exposed to the elements and quickly get ruined, but I don't know. Is this supposed to be there or is this something the previous owner wedged in there for sound abatement or vibration dampening. I figure it could be the latter because he'd also deleted the passenger-side cat because he wanted it to be obnoxiously loud. I've already replaced it which was pretty easy. So, if the fiberglass was added by him for sound abatement or vibration dampening, I will just yank it out but if its actually original and there for a reason, then I'll look at the feasibility of replacing it which might involve removing the cab (and I'd rather not do).

 

I can't speak for the color, but both of my Rangers (2002 and 2003) have a large fiberglass/foil "panel" between the cab and frame. The fiberglass is yellow on my trucks.

 

Not surprised if colors varied across years. Wonder what it might take to replace it as mine is in bad shape.

 

If it's like mine are, it's gonna be hard to replace it without lifting the cab. It's shaped to match the floor pan of the cab.

 

Any idea what that mat is called? I probably don't need to completely remove the cab, just lift it just enough that I can pull the old and slide in some new. Want to see if I can even find a replacement.

 

I'm not sure what it's called, but I doubt you can buy a new one. You may be able to find a new old stock one, but not guaranteed due to what it is. Your best bet is probably to get one from a wrecked truck or one in the junkyard.