Thought I'd pass this info on in case others are having the typical rust issues on their Dodge trucks.

Over the last few years or so I started to get some rust on my 2004 Dodge Ram. It wasn’t “terrible” but typically what you can see is not all of the damage. Fortunately the rust was limited to the back end of the truck at the wheel well lips, the bumper and the bottom of the tailgate. The bed, cab & other places are still in great shape & it only has 112,000 miles so I decided to get it fixed. I looked at new trucks on & off & still cannot believe what they go for. My kid is in college so saving money sounds good.

The after market parts are all available and very reasonably priced since they’re made in Taiwan. The left and right patch panels with the inner edges of the wheel wells were $260 shipped from a place called "MrTailLight.com".

Patch Panels

The rear bumper with all the brackets, step pad, lights and hardware along with the tailgate with a new handle, cables, latches, rods and hardware was $425 shipped. These I got off ebay from a seller called "bumber-outlet". Typical issues were that the items should have been packed better. The bumper was dinged on the end & it cracked off small pieces of the plastic step pad. The tailgate was bent in the upper corner & there was a horizontal hump in the sheet metal throughout the center. This was probably just a bad stamping but the seller made good on all of it by giving me a huge discount & sending me another step pad. I would easily buy from them again because the customer service was exceptional & the parts were shipped fast & free.

Bumper Assembly

Tailgate Assembly

It’s not a show truck or a restoration, just my daily ride so buying expensive original parts from Dodge made no sense. I don’t want to drive around a rot box and be the target to get pulled over by a cop hoping that he will be able to give me a ticket for other problems he finds.

Anyway, here are some before and after photos. The guy who did the work is local to me in NY and did the work on my yellow Plymouth Scamp back in 1992 or so. On the truck he cut out the rust in the wheel lips, welded in the new parts, sanded, prepped and primed the bumper and the tailgate, then painted these parts and did it all for $1500. All I had left to do is assemble the tailgate hardware, drop it in place & put the new license plate lights & step pad on the bumper.

Parts.....

Parts....

Done....

Tailgate....

Looks great and sounds like it was a great deal ! Way cheaper than getting a "new" truck !! . . . always wonder why people think spending $$$ on bodywork on older vehicle to keep it looking nice, is not good money spent ?!? . . . one another note, why not see if you can get Mopar wheel well liners for the rear ?!?! On my 2002 Cummins 2WD, they were not offered, but on the 4x4 they were . . . went to parts department, ordered a set and put them in - no muck getting up into the box area, etc . . . keeps it looking new ! . . .

Looks nice! The wheel arches are just starting to get little bubble spots in a couple places on mine. I've bookmarked that link if I need to get those panels too! Luckily that's the only area I have problems with.

The classic move here is to stick fender flares on when the rust starts... a dead give away looking at used trucks that there are problems.

Our 2002 1500 got the full wheel liners installed when it was a month old.. 17 years later they are still doing the trick. Do not recall the price anymore but they were really inexpensive at the time.

Did your body guy blow in wax oil from the back side after fixing your wheel lip openings? If not, do it as soon as you can!

Nicely done!

There are plastic liners in there but I am not sure if they are the same as what you mentioned. I'm going to be more diligent with washing out that area from now on.




That same supplier sells a 4 piece repair panel kit with a smaller outer panels for a little less money. It turns out that I probably didn't need the larger panel & just 4 pieces instead of 6 but the difference was minimal & as a true believer in Murphy's Law I knew if I didn't get the larger ones I'd have needed them.

Smaller 4 Piece Set

There is a local Dodge dealer that got in a nice Ram on the used car lot that had the same rust. The truck was very clean except for the wheel lips.The next day there were black plastic fender flares on it.
There is no way they repaired the rust, painted it & put flares on in less that 24 hours. This same dealer has had a bad reputation for as long as I can remember.




Probably not, but I'll ask him.


And by the way, thanks, I think it came out pretty nice considering what I paid. The guy did my 1971 Scamp back around 1992 & it still looks decent. It has a few spots that need to be redone, but not from rust......

Thanks. Yeah for the small difference I'd say it's better to get the bigger ones (hope they don't read this!!) I think I might actually grab those now cause if I don't end up needing them I should have no problem selling them.

Some people think the flares look good, when I see them I just think rust. Either they hide it or are the cause of it.

The full wheel well liners cover/protect the entire wheel well area, the one I see in your picture is the regular 'as shipped' half ### excuse that chrysler used as standard equipment.

I'd get a picture of mine but the truck is at the body shop getting a fender replaced due to an idiot and getting repainted under the body shop warranty from the last time it was fixed due hail damage (2005)

Pretty sure that this is the part number you need to look for, for the complete full inner liner . . .

https://www.moparpartscanada.ca/oem-parts/mopar-liner-kit-wheelhouse-shield-splash-55276323ab/?c=Zz1ib2R5JnM9ZnJvbnQtYW5kLXNpZGUtcGFuZWxzJmk9VEEwMjcwMDUmcj0xMyZhPWRvZGdlJm89cmFtLTI1MDAmeT0yMDA0JnQ9c2x0JmU9NS05bC1sNi1kaWVzZWw%3D

I know it says it is for 2500, but pretty sure it is same for 1500 . . . well worth the $$$ to keep all the crap from getting back up into the box area that you need to keep spraying clean (or should be) . . .

or try this link :

https://www.factorychryslerparts.co...heel-House-Right/4378736/55276322AB.html

I'm still tracking down a few other parts I decided to get but will look into the wheel well liners, thanks.

The tailgate looks naked without the emblems so I'm going to see if I can get the old ones off, clean them up & stick them on the new one. I'm also getting a new seat cushion for the driver side, tires in the next month or so & some odds & ends that have bugged me for years like the Fisher-Price grab handle that broke years ago.

I think these are the wheel well liners in questions. It looks like they went NS1 a long time ago but the 2009+ ones are easy to find. I wonder if they fit the previous generation.

^^^ Those are the ones.

Looks nice. You did a good job on the repairs. My Ram is far past the point of saving body wise but it just keeps on going... My rust has taken over the bed sides. Fenders, doors, cab corners and rockers. I did replace the rockers though for structure reasons. A buddy fell through one day and he was not happy. Lol.

That happened with my wife's Duster years ago. Someone was helping put something on the back seat & when they stepped in, they went through the floor to the pavement.