FATCAT

I need two fenders for the front of my truck. I have found a left and right fender from a local junk yard, but they are from a Dodge 1500, not a 2500.

Will the 1500's fit or are the 1500 and 2500/3500's two totally different animals?

trksrfun

if i were in your shoes i would take em, i dont think that there is much of a difference but please dont go by what i say to make the purchase. thats just my thoughts on the matter

FATCAT

Oh yeah, by the way, the fenders are from a 1998 Ram 1500.

FATCAT

Well, the used parts I found were for $100 each (i need both fenders) and are painted (green).
New parts that are specific for the 2500 are around $129 each, but are just primed. I would have to pay a shop to paint them and I'm not sure how much that will cost.
I just hopeing to get another year out of the old girl. The rust is excellerating very fast in spots.
December is my inspection month and the old truck won't pass due to holes in the fenders so I have to have this done, even to sell the truck down the road it must pass inspecition.

kawi600

I have a set of 1500 fenders here Im getting ready to paint and they look exactly like the 2500's
If you live in the northeast Id go for the primer'ed fenders since rust can be hard to get at and it may spread under your expensive paint later on.
are they just the outer shell or the whole part? Seems kinda cheap.
Having a body shop paint new fenders would probably cost you a lot. maybe more for used fenders. And if your truck is faded theyll want to blend in the color and clear the whole panel.
BTW if you decide to do yourself and dont have access to a compressor and spray guns, you can do it with urethane aerosols. Theres a few companies that make them like color-rite. Eastwoodco.com sells catalyzed urethane clearcoat in a rattle can too. Very nice. I used it on my rocker panels and it came out like glass.

FATCAT

Shell or whole part? I'm not sure, I don't know too much about these things. All I care about is PASSING INSPECTION!
Here is the link I fould:
http://www.car-stuff.com/carparts/do...ent9352q1.html

I wouldn't care if I took some old latex paint and an old brush to paint it. And I don't care what color it is ... color isn't important to me .... MONEY is important to me and (Unfortunately) CHEAP is the key word for me.

I have a silver truck but don't care if the fenders are green (like on the used one's I saw). I just want to get the sticker and thats it! One more year and I'll set it to the neighbor's kid for $1000.

My current fenders are rotting by the minute and have huge holes in them.
Poor old girl ... :-(

sean6oo

YES thay fit all 1995 -2001 1500 fenders will fit your 1997
as long as its a 2ng gen truck

FATCAT

Thanks for the info. I figured they would. I check the auto parts place online and the SKU # for the fenders for the 1500/2500/3500 were all the same.

I'll try to get the fenders I found at a local auto salvage place. All they have is green fenders ... Oh well, green fenders on a silver truck.

I just need to pass inspection, thats all and save some dough.

kawi600

you know whats ridiculous is that holes in the body should only be an inspection problem if they allow exhaust into the cab. Otherwise its just a ripoff.
Anyhow.. even a can of dupli-color silver paint should make it look half decent. If youre not keeping the truck long, rustproofing the back side is overkill.

FATCAT

Well, I found a set (already removed from a truck) of fenders for $100 a piece. They are red ... that will go good with my silver, or whatever color it is now, truck.
I'll be working on it Saturday and hopefully get my inspection sticker next week.