Body Work & Detailing

Someone clipped my passenger side view mirror last week, but only broke the glass. I purchased an aftermarket replacement glass, but it was awful and didn't last a day. I purchased the OEM glass replacement from a Ford dealer online arrived today, but can't seem to figure out how to re-attach it. I have looked at my Haynes manual and this form, but can't seem to find anything. I mostly find how to replace the whole assembly. Can anyone tell me how to replace the sideview glass on a 2004 Explorer XLT? The side view is powered and lighted, but not heated. All help would be greatly appreciated as I nervous driving my toddler around the greater NYC area without a side view mirror!:feedback:

The howling sound of wind and road noise leaking past tattered old weatherstripping finally drove me to remedy the situation. The front passenger door of my ’99 has been leaking air like a window screen in a hurricane and the resulting noise required attention, immediate attention. The front passenger door weatherstripping had seen better days. I obtained the door weather stripping ( part number F1TZ7820708C ) from my local Ford dealer for $41.00. The first step was removal of the old weatherstripping. This was accomplished by first loosening the plastic trim components ( no need to remove ) and then simply pulling the old weatherstripping free. The new weatherstripping was simply put into the metal on the body around the...

Here's my '97 Explorer 2wd 5-spd when I bought it This the way she looked after the first round of mods And now is under construction (heavily influinced by the likes of Gearge Barris, Ed Roth, Bill Hines etc.) with some old skool body mods. With the help of a '94 Explorer Sport as a parts truck I am building 'The One Ford Never Built' So here we go

I've been picking a lot of things up from the Ranger Forum lately, and this one takes the cake. This is a VERY simple way to change the background color of your Ford Emblem, it doesn't have to be blue! All it takes is some sand paper, paint, and some clear coat. Here are the steps: Step 1 - You will need to get the actual blue center part of the emblem out of the chrome casing that's around it. To do this, use a hair dryer or heat gun and spend about 5 minutes heating both sides of the emblem. The center part is held on with some apoxy. Once it is heated good, use something flat (such as a knife or small screwdriver) and pry the center part out. Step 2 - Once you have the center part out, sand the back until all of the...

Hi- not sure if this has been posted before. I looked around and couldn't find anything about it. I've had my Ford Explorer for 4 years now (it's a 2006) and over the last couple of months, the liftgate just opens by itself while I"m driving. We took it to the dealer and they couldn't find anything. However It's still happening. Anyone else experiencing this? Any ideas what's going on?

Well i have been fixing some things lately and it is time for new paint. Its something we are going to do at the house. My dad used to paint for a while and is a all around mech. Its time. Here is the deal. It has been primer for a year. I sanded it down a few weeks ago for new primer and i have decided to paint the explorer with some color this time. Not gonna spend a lot of money on it. No clear coat or anything. Im not fixing the dents because the min i do and get it all painted i will lay it over on a tree again and have a worse looking spot. From the trim on the doors down are staying black. They will be getting bed liner here in a few weeks. Im also going to do two black stripes down the center of the hood and roof section to...

Howdy everybody. It's been a while since I've posted here but thought I'd stop by to show what I've been doing. Last year I rear ended a chevy and pretty much totaled my truck. here's the thread with pictures Now, I love this ford. And hence, was not nearly ready to part with it... So, the transformation begins. Fist thing was to get rid of all that pesky body stuffs in front of the fire wall. I have pictures of this on a different hard drive and will post them if anyone is interested. Luckily the frame was still straight and I only fragged the ac condenser and radiator. In my mind, it just meant I get to have on-board air and slap on a bigger radiator. After that I needed to reevaluate the intake and battery...

This is something that a saw a year or so ago originally suggested in a post by ncranchero, but also has been around the internet for a long time, VERY popular among the Jeep guys, so no credit should go to me. I thought this to be a very interesting and alternate method apposed to painting, which will fail and crack over time, to restoring the 1st through 3rd Gen plastics. I used a heat gun at first, but did not like how long I had to hold it on the plastic, nor did I like the pattern it was laying down on the fender. It might be due to the quality heat gun I was using (not very high). I switched to a propane torch and really liked the results! I thought I'd post up my findings to the Forum to help anyone trying to fix up their...

roccov12345's 98 Mounty Restoration Thread. Back From the Dead & Finished Well, after some thought and planning, I've decided to go ahead and start the restoration project of my mountaineer. I've been lurking through the explorerforum threads for quite some time. I guess I would call myself an amateur paint/body guy but we'll see how it works out. I'd like to say thanks to "MONMIX" for some influential chime ins and threads that I've studied and added to my book of notes. If you guys notice anything that I should change or attempt differently, just let me know. Constructive Criticism in my book is help, whether it's positive or negative. I have about 30 hours in her so far and I'm sure plenty more to go. Well, on with the...

Ive been looking around for rocker panels but all I could find is small strips that run the whole bottom lenght and several inches high. My rust areas are much larger then the panels i could find. The rear is rotted to my door on the inner and outter wall. Do the make large panels to fix this problem or do i have to go to a junk yard and cut out what i need and weld it in.

OK, here is how to bed line your floor. If you have a 1st gen I have every nut size in here. If you have a diff. model, you'll get the general idea. Note: I already had my carpet removed before I began this. So I'm not going to mention removing it. But, after all the seats and center console is out it should come out easily. I think it might work well between steps 19 and 20. You can just pull it out from the side paneling, with out removing all the plastic pieces. First I removed the back seat, next the front, and then the center console. 1: Lay the back seats down and flip up the spring loaded cover. Remove the 3 bolts (11 mm) retaining the spring. 2: Remove the cover by taking out the 7 bolts (8 mm) that hold it on. 3: Remove the...

How To: Headlight Restoration I have tried many different products to restore the plastic headlights. Nothing really worked well. There are many good threads/posts here read over many times. Thanks to everyone for posting and answering my questions. My buddy asked me about restoring the headlights on his 2001 minivan. I ended up using the 3M Headlight Restoration System. I picked it up at AutoZone for $20. Be sure to check out my other write-ups: How To: Replace Blend Door Actuator in 3rd Gen Ex How To: Remove/Replace 3rd Gen Door Panel How To: Install Signal Mirrors On 3rd Gen Ex How To: Replace Multifunction Switch in 3rd Gen Ex How To: Paint Rear Pillar Trim How To: Replace 3rd Gen Ambient Air Temperature Sensor How...

ok fellas, my next upgrade is the paint, might not get it done till next spring, but i'm gonna start planning, I'm not paying 2-3 thousand at some shop, i got a couple guys with spray guns, and i'll do as much prep myself... I would like to spend less than $1000, I found paint online around $50 a gallon, any one know how many gallons i may need, and any other stuff i will need to buy? I know nothing about car paint so please help me out!!!! It's white now, gonna go with orange or black.

Fixing a Rusted & Leaky Windshield (pictures) A leak had developed somewhere on the Upper passenger side Windshield seal. See My Dirty Headliner thread thread My windshield had been replaced 3 times and I knew the installers damaged the window lip 8 years ago (they cut into the headliner with their tools). I could see several rusted areas about the size of a quarter above the windshield, but none appeared to be rusted through. I knew I needed to have the windshield removed and the damaged repaired. I thought about removing the old windshield myself, but my glass company said they'd come out twice (Friday night to remove the old one and Monday to install a new one). It only took the installer 10 minutes to remove to remove the...

Got my perry's fenders and already gettin tired of the black fenders. I want to pay off my truck this summer and get them painted next summer... but i figure if i work my bejesus off i can afford it... maybe 1st rule = NO MAACO 2nd rule = Matching paint 3rd rule = Whole truck; not just fenders and then blended into the doors.. (maybe exluding rear hatch if its much cheaper) How much you think a job like this will cost? When I go to get quotes ill let them know that ill happily take everything off for them before i take it in (brush guards, trim, wind deflectors, etc..)