Holes in your Ranger rocker panels?

[WhyNot21]

I bought these: 3/4" 0.75 inch Black Rubber Plugs for Flush Mount Body and Sheet Metal Holes Qty 10
They worked great.

Those are the ones I bought, twice. I thought there were only 4 or 5 holes per side. Super cheap and fit perfectly!

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[HappyCat]

Those are the ones I bought, twice. I thought there were only 4 or 5 holes per side. Super cheap and fit perfectly!

I ordered the same. Fit great but looks like crap against my cactus gray paint.

 

[WhyNot21]

I ordered the same. Fit great but looks like crap against my cactus gray paint.

How tall are you?

 

[Motorpsychology]

How tall are you?

84 inch lift?

 

[Motorpsychology]

How long can this go on? Here are the facts:
2019 - plugs
2020 - plugs
2021 - FU no plugs

Is there anyone with a 2021 Ranger: any trim any configuration that has factory plugs? Australia, Central & South America, EU? I don't believe that the holes were left open on '21's for ventilation, and I can't tell if there is some sort of coating on the inside of the rocker panel, although I would suspect (hope) there is.
Might be interesting to look at the Bronco rocker panels., If they are a different construction, It could be an indication of what to expect for the 6G Ranger.

 

[Grumpaw]

Coupla weeks back I ordered the Amazon pack of 25 rubber plugs. 2021 Super Cab has 8 holes on each side, and were not plugged from the factory.
Feeling around the inside of the holes with my pinkie I did not detect any type of coating or spray.
I had a spray can of heavy duty PTFE Multi Purpose Lube on hand...type used to lube garage door rollers and hinges. Dries to a slightly greasy waxy consistency.
Gave each hole and inside area around each hole a goooood shot of the lube, pretty much coated the inside of the rockers, and sealed with the plugs.

 

[alcohenusa]

So, all this talk about the holes and ‘fixes’ on the 21s….

Has anyone taken theirs to a dealer to get an explanation on the change? Maybe things are getting ‘fixed’ that aren’t broken….

 

[Grumpaw]

So, all this talk about the holes and ‘fixes’ on the 21s….

Has anyone taken theirs to a dealer to get an explanation on the change? Maybe things are getting ‘fixed’ that aren’t broken….

You mean take it to the dealer and actually expect them to step up and offer to "plug" your truck....for free ??? Get them to admit that Ford made a boo-boo by leaving them off ???
And, you just arrived here from what planet ???
Easier for me to just spend $12 bucks on Amazon and do it myself, knowing that it was done right.
(For info, the 25 pack of plugs is now $9.99 on Amazon)

 

[HappyCat]

So, all this talk about the holes and ‘fixes’ on the 21s….

Has anyone taken theirs to a dealer to get an explanation on the change? Maybe things are getting ‘fixed’ that aren’t broken….

My dealer is 60 miles away and I plan to go up there later this month. One rocker panel was missing two inner plugs which I also replaced. Glad I put plugs on before I loaded my rockers full of mud and road salt.

 

[alcohenusa]

You mean take it to the dealer and actually expect them to step up and offer to "plug" your truck....for free ??? Get them to admit that Ford made a boo-boo by leaving them off ???
And, you just arrived here from what planet ???
Easier for me to just spend $12 bucks on Amazon and do it myself, knowing that it was done right.
(For info, the 25 pack of plugs is now $9.99 on Amazon)

That didn’t take long….

 

[Motorpsychology]

My dealer is 60 miles away and I plan to go up there later this month. One rocker panel was missing two inner plugs which I also replaced. Glad I put plugs on before I loaded my rockers full of mud and road salt.

So are you saying that you had plugs in your SuperCrew from the factory, but two were missing?

 

[Motorpsychology]

You mean take it to the dealer and actually expect them to step up and offer to "plug" your truck....for free ??? Get them to admit that Ford made a boo-boo by leaving them off ???
And, you just arrived here from what planet ???
Easier for me to just spend $12 bucks on Amazon and do it myself, knowing that it was done right.
(For info, the 25 pack of plugs is now $9.99 on Amazon)

He never said anything about getting the holes plugged, just an explanation.

Maybe Ford has found that plugging the holes on the 2019-20s is causing the rockers to rust because of freeze-thaw condensation build up, and leaving them open was keeping them drier.

 

[tremorman]

So is there a consensus here that leaving it unplugged is bad/significant enough that it should definitely be plugged? '21 tremor here without plugs trying to decide what to do...

 

[Motorpsychology]

So is there a consensus here that leaving it unplugged is bad/significant enough that it should definitely be plugged? '21 tremor here without plugs trying to decide what to do...

Conventional horse sense tells me to plug them, but I've had enough "truth stranger than fiction" moments in my lifetime to see the possibility I outlined in post #151. Probably Ford just saving $1.13 per truck but I'd like to get an answer from a currently Ford-employed @P. A. Schilke type person before I seal 'er up.

 

[AzScorpion]

Conventional horse sense tells me to plug them, but I've had enough "truth stranger than fiction" moments in my lifetime to see the possibility I outlined in post #151. Probably Ford just saving $1.13 per truck but I'd like to get an answer from a currently Ford-employed @P. A. Schilke type person before I seal 'er up.

Chris you might have missed his post but Phil isn't going to be on here much from now on. Here's the post from the other day.

https://www.ranger5g.com/forum/threads/good-bye-farewell-so-long-see-ya.14558/

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