Had a wreck in the 95 ranger xlt. Ran into the back of another vehicle. The front is damaged, hood, right fender, bumper, radiator, and the front of the engine compartment, but thats just what I could eyeball so far. Any advice on how to take apart and try a self repair to get it back on the road? I repaired an old datsun pickup back in my youth with front end damage but its been a long while. Is there a good place to source body parts and panels?

 

is the frame straight and true?
i wouldnt go any further before verifying that

 

Hope no one was hurt

LMC Truck has replacement body parts for Rangers

car-part.com is a good place to find used Ranger parts from local(to you) wrecking yards

+1 on the frame, it can get tweaked in a collision, but can be straightened, so check that FIRST as a straight frame will allow new parts to fit, lol

 

Thanks. No one was hurt thankfully. how do i check for frame straightness? I'm sure if its bad enough, I may be able to see it but Ive never checked that before. Any tips? I'm going to look online as well and see if I can find any videos or instructions.

It has been towed to a collision center anyway, but its not covered under insurance so repairs are on me. I'm sure they could check for me but I was interested in doing the work myself and if I needed to have it painted then Id farm it out. I was going to have it towed to my home but the tow truck driver would not do it. He said he would not charge storage fees, just the tow charge, and if I wanted it at my house then Id have to transport it from his lot myself.

 

Here is the picture I have.

 

Looks like lower speed accident so most likely no frame damage

You will need to take hood off, then disassemble the front clip and get the bumper off
And cut rad support off, its the only spot welded on part
Then measure frame squareness

Have a tarp to cover engine bay if it will be stored outside without hood in place

 

I got some of the body parts off. Looks like it got into the inner fender as well. Do you think it can be pulled out by hand or winched?

 

Applying a bit of persuasion to the ranger to get it back into shape.

 

Almost done. Reused all body parts except for grill, header, lights and one trim piece around one light. Inside the engine compartment is where the money went. Radiator, fan clutch, fan shroud, belt, tensioner, crash sensor, battery. I still have the original ford emblem to put on the new grill.

 

You have done a great job getting the Ranger back into shape. Sorry to hear about the accident but sounds like you have got to learn something about fixing body damage. Great job!!

 

Been driving it for a month or so now and all seems well. I had replaced one crash sensor because it was crushed and it gave me an srs error 52. I finally found the diagnostic plug behind the passenger kick panel and shorted the two pins until I heard it start beeping. Then let go, and reset the key. Now the srs airbag does it’s checking at key on and start up, then the light goes out so I guess it’s ok now. I had to replace the fuel lines as well between tank and hard steel lines. The main supply line got a small cut in it during the crash and would leak fuel only while running. Once replaced, it’s good to go. I put some extra rubber between the hose and the tank holding strap.


Alignment of the head lights was a real pain and took several attempts to get them right, but I think I got them set correctly.