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Keeping Your Vehicle In Great Condition

Hi there, my name is Nellie. Welcome to my site. I am excited to share my knowledge about automotive service on this site. I would like to help everyone learn about how to keep their cars and trucks in excellent condition over the years. My site will cover all of the different maintenance and repair tasks required by vintage and modern vehicles. I will talk about the tools and safety equipment you must use for each task. I hope you can use the information on my site to keep your vehicle well-maintained and running great. Thank you for your visit.

Keeping Your Vehicle In Great Condition

How To Replace The Front Wheel Well Liner On A 1998-2011 Ford Ranger Pickup Truck

by Ana King

As your tire spins around while you drive, it will kick up a lot of road dirt and debris that can get all over your suspension system and external engine parts. The liners inside the wheel wells are there to prevent this from happening. If the liner deteriorates, you'll need to replace it to protect the suspension and engine parts. This is a job most vehicle owners can do by themselves. If you have to replace the front wheel well liner on a 1998-2011 Ford Ranger pickup truck, here is how to do it.

You Will Need:

  • Flathead Screwdriver
  • Wheel Lock Key
  • Socket Set and Ratchet
  • Side Cutters
  • Lug Wrench
  • Jack
  • Jack Stands

Remove Tire You need to remove the tire from the wheel well where you are going to replace the liner. There is a slot on the hubcap on the Ford Ranger that you can slide the tip of the flathead screwdriver in so you can take the hubcap off of the truck. Slip the screwdriver into the slot and pry the hubcap off. Many Ford Ranger pickup trucks have a wheel lock lug nut so the tire can't be stolen. You will need a wheel lock key to remove this nut. All other lug nuts can be removed with a regular lug nut wrench. Set the pickup truck on a jack stand and remove the lug nuts. Take the tire off of the pickup truck.

Remove Mud Flap There is a 7mm bolt on the front side of the mud flap facing the wheel well. Remove the bolt. There is also a plastic clip on the top corner of the mud flap facing the fender. Remove this clip with a pair of side cutters. Side cutters have a flat part on the forks of the tool that easily slide up under the cap on the clip. Slide the side cutter under the cap and twist the clip outward to remove it. There is another plastic clip on the outside of the mud flap where it rests against the side of the fender. Remove this clip with the side cutters. There are also two more 7mm bolts where the mud flap connects to the underside of the fender. Remove these bolts as well. The mud flap will now come right off of the truck.

Remove Liner There are three 5mm screws along the bottom edge of the fender in the wheel well. These screws connect the liner to the fender. Remove the screws with a ratchet fitted with a small extension for the socket. You need to remove the four 8mm bolts located in the middle of the liner and front end of the liner near the bumper. A small portion of the liner is clipped to the back outer side of the fender near the doorpost. Remove the clip holding the liner to the fender with the side cutters. Pull the liner down so you can reach and remove the two vacuum hoses that are connected to nipples on the liner. Make sure you take note of which vacuum line goes onto which nipple on the liner. Take the liner out of the wheel well.

Install New Liner Put the vacuum hoses back on the liner. Push the liner up into position and bolt the middle and front end of it to the truck. Put the screws in along the edge of the fender and clip the back end onto the outside of the fender by the door post. Clip and bolt the mud flap back on to finish the job.    

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