I have a 2004 Ford Ranger 3.0 v6 with some dings in the hood. The estimate from paintless dent repair is beyond the cost of a new hood. I think that traditional body work would be even higher so I was thinking of just getting a new hood.

Does anyone know of any issues with aftermarket Ranger hoods not fitting well or any other problems? I got an aftermarket hood for an 88 Mazda b2200 once and it fit pretty good but don't know if the same will be true for this Ford. There's one on ebay (steel) for $127 shipped. Thanks for any help.

 

maybe call around to your local junkyards. Sometimes you can find one already the color you want. I did that with the tailgate on my '04. I bought the truck with a big dent in the gate, so I called around and found one from another '04 the same color (white) for $100 and it looks perfect.

 

One thing I am considering is a cowl-induction hood from LMC that is about $625 shipped to your door but you will still have to have it painted. I live in central Texas a heat is a problem and a buddy of mine said that it will help greatly with the underhood temps since the air will be pushed out the rear of the hood. It is something to think about but it may be out of your price range. It is just a thought...

 

OP--You'd better double-check that LMC hood before you consider ordering it for an '04--I'm pretty sure the cut-off year for that is '03. Your '04 hood is different. The paintless dent repair might be more than the cost of the new hood, but then you'll still need to have the bodywork and paint done on the hood. I had some PDR done on my truck and I'm a believer!
MikeR

 

im a bodyman and take it from me...yes aftermarket hoods are cheaper than OEM but 9 times out of 10they fit like **** and come in damaged anyway

 

pfftt my first reply didn't go through...

VH5150, thanks I've had good results with a PDR shop here also but forgot to mention that one of the dents is too deep to do this way anyway.

djfllmn not what I wanted to hear but thanks. I'll look in some junkyards for now, maybe I'll get lucky.

I thought about getting a hood scoop since I heard it helps cool the engine. I didn't know about the cowl but that's probably out of my price range and I see '03 is the last year supported anyway. I do like that the cowl is a drop in replacement, not something you have to mod.

I'm not really an enthusiast but this is my first Ranger so thanks to all for the info.