I have an 01 Ranger with a chipping bezel. Also, the left air vent just above the bezel is extremely loose and will not stay in place worth a darn. It was bought used like this, and it is starting to irritate me. So my question is would it be easier to buy new vents and a bezel? Or would it be easier to just take it off and repaint it and somehow tighten the left vent? I'm no expert with crafting so I don't know if I want to repaint it.

And I also notice that there is some minor paint chipping on the speedometer. Should I worry about this? If so, how can I fix this?

You can scratch off all the rubbery coating from the bezel. Not too difficult. It's a semi-gloss black plastic behind that, which doesn't look too bad as-is. It's not hard to repaint/coat it.

As for the vents, I've seen guys wedge o-rings on one side of each vent (towards the middle) and that solves the limp vent issue.

I'm of no help with the speedometer problem.

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1998 Ranger XLT x-cab 2.5L M5OD-R1 black styleside, salvage title

Here's my o-ring fix for the vents.

Left vent out

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Bezel turned 90* to place 5/8" o-ring

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O-ring on both sides.

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This works great. The vents don't move useless you move them. Only one o-ring per vent needed.

2005 2.3L XL - Alpine CDE-134HD Head - Rockford Fosgate T1682's next

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2005 2.3L XL 5SOD 3.73 K&N
KYB Shocks Husky Toolbox
Alpine / Rockford Fosgate Sound

"Ask me about my AC Vent fix!"

Awesome. I bought a few different 5/8" O rings, hopefully they'll work when I try this tommorow. How do I remove the bezel safely? Will the radio come out with it? And should I worry about wiring?

I dont remember if u need to pull the radio first, been so long since I had a factory radio...maybe someone can chime in here?

Afaik, there are only 2 bolts holding it in, they are around the heater controls somewhere. Pull yer battery cable before removing the bezel, ive shorted out the cigar lighter wire before and blew a fuse...after the bolts (and maybe radio too) are out, u should be able to give a tug on the bottom to get it started coming off and work from there.

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2000 black Ranger XLT 3.0 auto ext. cab 210,000 miles and counting
Kurtz Kustomz intake | Dynomax 2.5" catback exhaust | new headlights and clear corners | black tail lights | custom rear bumper | explorer leather power seats/OHC/lighted visors/center console/auto dim mirror | auto headlights mod
Future: 5.0 swap ( don't tell the wife!) | paint correction | maybe a lift

There are two 7mm bolts at the bottom of the bezel. If you don't remove the radio, it will come out with it. You will have to disconnect the radio harness, cigarette lighter wires and power port connector.

The vents pop out if you push them from the windshield side toward the seat side. You only need one o-ring per vent, or it may be too tight.

I am still completely satisfied with this fix! The vents never move unless I move them.

2005 2.3L XL

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2005 2.3L XL 5SOD 3.73 K&N
KYB Shocks Husky Toolbox
Alpine / Rockford Fosgate Sound

"Ask me about my AC Vent fix!"

This!
On a side note, I found it much easier to just unhook all wires on the bezel, and pull it all out as a unit.
Then it's a piece o' cake to remove the vents, radio, cig lighter, acc outlet, and the 4x4 & fog light switches (where applicable). If you yank all that off the bezel, the only thing you'll need to tape off is the "2wd/4Hi/4Lo" part.

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A Bad Day Fishing is Better Than a Good Day at Work

2003 RangerXLT Supercab 4.0SOHC/Auto 4x4. DWB.
Turn Signal Mod. Fog Light mod. ACC power mod. Rhino Lined bed. LED gauges.

Awesome! I'll try all of this once I get around to buying a 7mm socket! Thanks for the help!

Well, the o-ring trick worked! You really need to submit a tutorial on this! It works great!

I especially feel accomplished because this is the first mod I've performed on any vehicle . Now once I get the chance, I think I'll paint the bezel! Thanks for your help guys!

Glad u got it worked out, thanks for keeping us updated! Have fun with the paint and remember, its 90% prep, 10% paint!

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2000 black Ranger XLT 3.0 auto ext. cab 210,000 miles and counting
Kurtz Kustomz intake | Dynomax 2.5" catback exhaust | new headlights and clear corners | black tail lights | custom rear bumper | explorer leather power seats/OHC/lighted visors/center console/auto dim mirror | auto headlights mod
Future: 5.0 swap ( don't tell the wife!) | paint correction | maybe a lift