bought a new (to me) ranger

stackz · Feb 19, 2017

so after selling my last one a couple years ago and regretting it. I finally found another one (actually even more what I wanted finally).

bought a 1996 extended cab 3.0 5speed red exterior and grey interior for $600 yesterday. get this, 458,000 miles on it haha.

runs good but has a check engine light for evap leak (go figure with 450k on the clock the vacuum lines are rotted haha).

couple questions since I've forgotten by now...

1. how do you check abs codes? Its got that light on as well most likely for a wheel sensor or 3.

2. it doesnt have a tach, I cant stand not having a tach. can I get a tach cluster from any ranger in this year range or does it have to be from a 3.0 ranger to read correctly?

3. heater core is bypassed but a/c works great. I can refill the a/c no problem but would rather not have to if I dont need to. can the heater core be replaced without having to drain the a/c to get the heater box out?

trader007 · Feb 19, 2017

wow... 458k, youre brave to put money into that thing!

but if it doesnt have a lot of rust, it can be a good truck. parts are cheap and plentiful!

look on rockauto.com for everything first. they usually have what you need. if you cant get a factory plug-in tach, just buy an aftermarket one.

the ABS light means your truck fixed itself. ABS sucks on these old vehicles. I got tired of winter driving, hitting the brakes and the damn truck simply wouldn't stop... I intentionally disabled ABS and now the truck stops when I want it to.

Evap leak can also be a bad gas tank cap. Check that first.

stackz · Feb 19, 2017

body is perfect and rust free. once the engine or trans gives out, I've got a spare drivetrain from my mustang thats going to go in there. in the meantime I'm just going to fix stuff. I will likely never get rid of this truck. I will always need a bed to haul stuff around and I really dont want to mess around with a trailer.

one odd problem is that for some reason I cant connect to the ecu through the obd port. I checked all the fuses and none are blown so I'm kind of at a loss.

BLOODBANE · Feb 19, 2017

stackz said:
one odd problem is that for some reason I cant connect to the ecu through the obd port. I checked all the fuses and none are blown so I'm kind of at a loss.

My Explorer (94) has this problem. My problem was squirrels (chewing wires). I thought I had everything back together, but even the FORD techs couldnt get it working correctly. I can jumper the CEL and count the flashes, but my code reader doesnt communicate with the vehicle through the port no longer. Start tracing wires.

stackz · Feb 20, 2017

day #2

pulled both radiator hoses off and yup, no t-stat in it. explains the coolant gauge barely ever moving.

pulled both hoses off and used a hose to flush the radiator and the block the best I could. fresh coolant and a new temp sender and all is well. it heats up nice and hold temp really good.

I whipped out the pressure washer while I was flushing it out and cleaned the engine and the suspension and as a bonus, the abs light went off. most likely the wheel sensor that was freaking out was caked in goo from the power steering which I will address in the near future. P.O. was actually using automatic transmission fluid in it. sigh. I know its all "almost" the same but seriously, dollar general? yup, the bottle was still wedged over by the battery.

cleaned the maf sensor as well while I was at it.

its amazing! it cranks up immediately, the idle doesnt hunt anymore, and it idles at operating temp. its amazing what a $5 sensor, $12 in antifreeze, $16 for a thermostat and gasket, and some time and effort does.

hell, even the alternator isnt wobbling at idle anymore.

will probably grab a tach cluster out of an explorer from the u-pull tomorrow.

wildbill23c · Feb 20, 2017

400K+ seems a little high in the mileage department but if the body is in great shape and the interior is in good condition and with a few simple fixes to make it a daily driver why the hell not. These older RBV's are at least for me enjoyable to drive and not too bad to maintain. Having the manual transmission in your truck is probably why its got 400K+ on it, not much to fail other than clutch & related components, if the PO drove it properly the transmission will probably last forever. May want to change the fluids including the differential and transmission.

I have sunk quite a bit of money into my 88 Bronco 2 I picked up last summer and been driving it quite a bit and really enjoying it. Still have a few small things I'm working on just waiting for good weather to do many of those things.

I believe you would need a gauge cluster from a 3.0 truck otherwise the gauges wouldn't work properly. At least you could always just install an aftermarket tach.

stackz · Feb 21, 2017

I went looking on ebay yesterday and it seems all the gauge clusters are universal from 95-01 for rangers and explorers. I want to say I remember actually putting a cluster from an explorer in my old 2.3 ranger....I will likely be finding out in a week or two lol.

not really worried about the rearend much as I will just bide my time until an 8.8 traction lock from a 4wd ranger pops up in the u-pull and swap that in like I did on my last one.

the biggest thing is figuring out why I cant hook to the ecu through the obd2 connector. once I get that hashed out I will be happy.

bought a new (to me) ranger

stackz

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