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Joined: Wed Jan 15th, 2020
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Well, I had planned on completing the rear frame swap this past weekend but, like everything seems to go in my life, I ran into a couple setbacks lol.
It started with the removal of the bedliner and spraying all the bolts with PB Blaster Friday night. When I looked at this truck before buying it, I lifted the bed liner up from the rear and from what I could see at that point looked pretty decent. There was some dirt under it but nothing that gave me concern - that attitude changed pretty quick when I pulled the whole liner out:
The following morning I began the bed removal. I was supposed to have help but at the last minute that person backed out so I was on my own. I quickly learned that only 1 of the 2 bed bolts in the front of the bed was actually holding due to the rust. Thankfully I took the time the night before to heavily soak all the hardware with PB Blaster - this helped tremendously with the bolt removal. Unfortunately I did end up snapping the 2 middle bed bolts while attempting to remove them though. Once I had all of the bed bolts removed, I unbolted the gas filler neck from the bed and replaced the cap to keep it free from any dirt and debris entering the gas tank. I tried to remove the rear bumper but ran into an issue with the last bolt being stripped off. After fighting with it for a while, I decided to leave the bumper attached and attempt to lift the bed above it for removal. After A LOT of time & careful work, I finally had the bed off of the truck. Remember I was on my own for this - I'm a very small guy - 5' - 6" and about 140lbs on a good day lol. It took me about 4 hours of work to get to this point:
With the bed finally off, I could now get a good look at the state my frame was in. It is almost unbelievable that from the tire back the frame is pretty much nonexistent yet from the tire forward the frame is rock solid. At this point I did realize I forgot to check something when taking a look at the condition off my leaf mounts & shack mounts - the shocks and their mounts. At this point I knew I needed to order new ones and that I would not have them in my hands any time soon:
I decided that I would take this opportunity to check over everything with the bed off and take an inventory list of everything I will want to replace while I am doing this job. About this time, my friend who let me use his garage to do this but couldn't be there in the morning showed up. Together we put the bed back on and cranked the 3 bed bolts I had left down as much as possible without blowing the steel out. We then used a ratchet strap to help secure the front of the bed to the good portion of the frame as a temporary fix.
If I am able to get all of the parts in by this coming weekend, I plan on making attempt #2 at this project... and with a friend to lift the bed off. 2 days later and I still feel like I got hit by a Mack truck going 80 MPH lol.
Parts List:
- (2) Rear Shocks
- (2) Rear Shock Mounts
- (1) Brake Line
- Bed Bolts
I am starting my search for a bed as well. I will probably attempt a quick fix on my current one and run with it until I find a new one. If anyone has a lead on a solid Oxford White bed in the Pittsburgh, PA/Wheeling, WV/Morgantown, WV area, let me know. I'll consider any color if the price is right and it is solid.
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OXFORD WHITE 2002 FORD RANGER SUPERCAB 4 DOOR XLT FX4 OFF ROAD 4.0L SOHC 4.10 GEARS V2.0
OXFORD WHITE 2002 FORD RANGER SUPERCAB 4 DOOR XLT FX4 OFF ROAD 4.0L SOHC 4.10 GEARS V1.0 - SOLD