new prospective ranger owner

[Melt]

sup guys, ive been into hondas pretty much as long as ive been driving (almost 8 years) and finally decided due to a few things i need to do in the coming year that a truck will better suit my needs.

I like rangers / b2300's because they are reasonable priced and look good.

Anyways, heres what im looking at currently

97 b2300 xcab 2.3l 4cyl 5spd 2wd (gas mileage is priority #1)
138k miles, new clutch, ac, heat, bedliner,
138,600 miles

homie wants $2850 obo for it .... blue book in "good" condition is $3300 on kbb

anyways a few questions

1) what sorts of problems should i look for in general
2) im under the impression that these have a timing belt. Being a honda guy all my life, the timing belts on those are changed every 90k and you have to pull out the engine to do it ... how often should they be changed on these and how labor intensive is it?
3) how easy is it to acquire parts to lower it and what does it generally cost. From what i understand these suck to lower in comparison to s10s due to suspension design, but no way im getting an s10 cause the 4cyl is weak as hell
4) do they make aftermarket clear lenses / grills for the front? Never been a huge fan of the 97 older mazda front end, but this truck is a very good deal because finding an xcab is hard around here, and finding one with a/c harder.
5) if not how hard is it and what is required to convert to a 98+ front ... ive seen pictures of some other dudes b3000 that put an 05 ranger front on it.
6) oh and how much of a pain in the ass is it to wire up an amp and subs in the back of the xcab ... im assuming theres some sort of removable grommet in the floorboard by the firewall like theres been in every honda ive ever had ... ive seen rangers with systems so it cant be that bad

if anyone has other suggestions let me know, and hopefully im not being too noobish to the board. Im also considering getting a nissan frontier cause those arent bad either ... but not really a s10 or tacoma guy cause like i said earlier the s10 is gutless, and the tacomas are generally out of my price range.

and yes if you are on ranger-forums youll see this same post over there ... still trying to figure out which forum i like

 

[slammedteg91]

First, welcome to the board and to rangers in general! I'm new to the board (and somewhat new to rangers) as well, and almost all my vehicles have been hondas, so maybe I can help. I have a 91 ranger now (different gen then the one you are looking at tho), so Im not very familiar with the newer ones. But I'll try to answer your questions!

anyways a few questions

1) what sorts of problems should i look for in general
Check for normal things like smoking, leaks, noises, etc. Check fluid levels, ie mine was low on coolant and you guessed it, it needs a radiator! One good thing is, everything seems to be cheap on these, unlike some Honda parts. Like blown struts on a honda suck (spring compressors, stuck bolts in bushings, etc), and are expensive, but blown shocks on your ranger and cheap and easy to change, so don't sweat small issues.
2) im under the impression that these have a timing belt. Being a honda guy all my life, the timing belts on those are changed every 90k and you have to pull out the engine to do it ... how often should they be changed on these and how labor intensive is it?
Again, this is so much easier then on a Honda. I "think" its every 60K, but it doesn't look hard to change at all. Its right up front, if you need to take out the radiator for even more room then so be it, but it looks very easy. I plan to do mine soon. It's not 2 inches from the frame like on Hondas lol.
3) how easy is it to acquire parts to lower it and what does it generally cost. From what i understand these suck to lower in comparison to s10s due to suspension design, but no way im getting an s10 cause the 4cyl is weak as hell
Hmm, mine has the damn twin I-beams in the front (not sure if yours does, I don't think so), so I need to get different ones to drop mine. Rear is with a kit that puts the axle over the spring to drop it. Don't know about S10's tho...
4) do they make aftermarket clear lenses / grills for the front? Never been a huge fan of the 97 older mazda front end, but this truck is a very good deal because finding an xcab is hard around here, and finding one with a/c harder.
Maybe check ebay? Not sure.
5) if not how hard is it and what is required to convert to a 98+ front ... ive seen pictures of some other dudes b3000 that put an 05 ranger front on it.
Don't know
6) oh and how much of a pain in the ass is it to wire up an amp and subs in the back of the xcab ... im assuming theres some sort of removable grommet in the floorboard by the firewall like theres been in every honda ive ever had ... ive seen rangers with systems so it cant be that bad
I haven't checked yet, but I'm sure theres something somewhere lol.

if anyone has other suggestions let me know, and hopefully im not being too noobish to the board. Im also considering getting a nissan frontier cause those arent bad either ... but not really a s10 or tacoma guy cause like i said earlier the s10 is gutless, and the tacomas are generally out of my price range.

and yes if you are on ranger-forums youll see this same post over there ... still trying to figure out which forum i like

Only thing that was a bitch for me so far (im used to working on hondas as well) was that my header had a crack in it (I have a 4cyl as well) and it has an EGR tube that was a bitch to get to, to take off. Took me like 3 hours to change the header lol. Also changing the plugs were fun for me, just get a swivel socket and you'll be fine. I'm sure you will love the truck, I almost enjoy it more then the Honda now (my honda needs a timing belt so I parked it, thinking about selling). Good luck!!

 

[Melt]

haha i see you ride a 91 accord ... used to have one of those too wish i would have kept it

anyways ... the mazda i was lookin at got sold .. so im still lookin .. basically i want something 93+ and if i decide to go with a frontier 98 was the first year of those

 

[Melt]

called about a 94 i found today and it had no ac so thats a no go (i live in californias central valley where its 105 all summer)

 

[colinrmitchell]

You should PM MuddyCowboy. He put a 2000W amp and my 15"s in his extended-cab Ranger no-prob. He built a custom box out of MDF, took one afternoon and turned out SWEET.

 

[Melt]

that sounds awesome .... my setup isnt quite as big ... just 2 infinit 10s and a jbl 500.1 amp ... sounds good in my 96 integra figure it will be even better in a truck

 

[Melt]

update, im the proud new owner of a 99 mazda b2500 se xcab 4cyl 5spd with 90k miles, an alarm, and working ac. Drove 270 miles round trip to get it, cause everything i looked at locally had a ridicilous price, high miles, or no ac.

maybe more pics later, heres the one from the homies ad

 

[BlackBII]

Sweet!

Where's the 6inch lift and Swampers?

lol JK man

Looks real clean, good buy!

 

[Melt]

if anything i was thinking a 3/4 drop and 18s

 

[Melt]

more pics in members rides

http://therangerstation.com/forums/showthread.php?p=129404