- Joined
- Dec 1, 2023
- Messages
- 13
- Reaction score
- 7
- Location
- Detroit, MI
- Vehicle Year
- 2002
- Make / Model
- Ford Ranger
- Transmission
- Manual
Exactly 22 years ago, I bought a brand new 2002 Ford Ranger 4x4 XLT extended cab 5-speed manual, off-road package using my brother-in-law's A plan. It is a 3.0L with a 4.10 rear axle and torsion bar suspension.
It was a nice truck, but honestly, I was disappointed. It was a dog when it came to acceleration and the CD player skipped. To pass somebody, I typically had to flip the AC off, downshift, hit the gas, curse my ignorance about buying a 3L V6 vs the 4.0, and then fear that the oncoming car was going to hit me, back into my lane, switch the AC back on. To pay for school and to save on gas on a long commute, I sold it to my dad with about 16K miles on it.
My dad drove it until he took possession of one of the last brand-new 2011 Rangers with a 5-speed. Then it sat, mostly unused (except for some tree pulling). At one point it suffered an unfortunate mishap involving a woodchuck that left a bullet hole in the A-pillar. By now my dad has a new Ranger, and this one stopped running a few years ago. Thinking that 2 running Rangers is probably good enough, he offered this one back to me for nothing.
The truck has about 140K miles on it. A new transmission was installed about 3000 miles ago. The body and frame were still in great condition (all things considered) and we thought we could get it running again by just replacing the fuel pump. I thought it would be fun to learn more about cars, and I live on a dirt road where 4x4 is a nice option in the winter. I also wanted something for pulling a trailer. By my reasoning, I could invest $1000 in the truck and have a nice backup vehicle with 4x4.
That was in June, fast forward several months, and we've spent a lot of happy hours fixing the things that needed repair... including the entire steering system, suspension, most of the engine sensors, ABS sensor, brake lines, brakes, cam shaft syncronizer, u-joints on the drive shaft, wires, plugs, coil pack, shackles, etc. etc. It feels like, the only thing that hasn't been replaced yet is the engine, and the radiator and the water pump. It has cost a lot more than $1000, but now I'm hoping to get a good pickup truck that will last another 10-20 years as a daily driver. My goal for the truck is reliability, fuel economy, and longevity. I cleaned and painted the chassis as much as I could with Chassis Saver paint, added roll on bed liner, and installed new Michelin tires. It now has a rear hitch and I have a front hitch receiver to install, for a Snowsport plow. I also added a new radio, and have lots of plans to make it a nice ride.
With help from this forum and helpful youtubers, we installed an under-drive pully and replaced the radiator fan with an electric one. This improved the acceleration quite a bit, but it is a lot more fun to drive now. I don't know how it will work with the AC running (AC is currently broken but it is winter),
Not all is well. From the very beginning, I've been getting a misfire on cylinder 6 and there is a persistent pinging coming from cylinder 1 or 2. Initially, I thought the problem was old clogged injectors, so I ran some sea foam and other cleaners through the engine once I could get it on the road. The problem wasn't fixed. Now I'm also getting trouble codes on cylinder 5 and a code indicating that it is running lean. This is after replacing the O2 sensors. I subscribed to identifix, and found that most people resolved the issue by installing a new cylinder head. So, I ordered a compression tester (should have done this first). The results were not good. I'm getting pressure ranges from 30 on cylinder 5 to 160 on other cylinders. Both sides of the engine have low-pressure cylinders below 100.
This might be a great opportunity to learn about engine internals and to pick up some torque.
First... I'm getting 19mpg. Should I stop driving the vehicle until I solve the low-compression issue? Is that making things worse?
Second... I'm dumping a lot of money into this truck. But, I just have PLPD insurance. If I crash the truck into a deer, I could lose a lot of money. Not sure if I can get better insurance that would cover upgrades to an old truck.
Third... I'm hoping that with a budget of about $2500, I could get a pretty reliable engine, with more than enough power, and fair fuel economy. I'm thinking of doing the following updates and interested in comments from others with experience...
a) Replace the cylinder heads. Can't decide if I should get new ones from Rock Auto and get new valves, etc. Or, should I buy refurb (can I trust refurb units), or perhaps I should just machine the ones we take off the engine? I'm going with a wait-and-see approach on this. Plan to replace all valves at a minimum. But, I don't know much about valve guides, etc. I could easily mess this up.
b) Install JBA headers. The only thing is, I've heard these headers don't fit the Y going into the catalytic converter. I don't know how to deal with this situation.
c) Install a plastic intake manifold from a Taurus, and add a 60mm throttle body. I am most interested in power and gas mileage, as I don't plan to race this thing or ever go past 85mph, so I think the longer intake manifold is better than the metal one.
d) 1:8:1 roller rockers.
d) SCT X4 tuner. Not sure how to do this but reading a book on engine tuning at the moment. I don't even know if this version works on my engine.
e) Debating the value of adding Gibson cat-back exhaust.
Fourth... there is a possibility that the engine problems are more serious than just the headers. I've considered just starting from a rebuilt engine, but not sure I trust something that I didn't do myself. And, I am not sure I can handle pulling the engine (I do have the means to do it). So, the current plan is to take the cylinder heads off, inspect the cylinders, and then go from there. But, wondering if I should attempt a full rebuild if I'm already taking off the cylinder heads. The engine has 140K miles on it, and I'd like to get at least 240K out of it.
Thanks to participants in a forum that has been very helpful to me so far, and any suggestions or insights are appreciated.
It was a nice truck, but honestly, I was disappointed. It was a dog when it came to acceleration and the CD player skipped. To pass somebody, I typically had to flip the AC off, downshift, hit the gas, curse my ignorance about buying a 3L V6 vs the 4.0, and then fear that the oncoming car was going to hit me, back into my lane, switch the AC back on. To pay for school and to save on gas on a long commute, I sold it to my dad with about 16K miles on it.
My dad drove it until he took possession of one of the last brand-new 2011 Rangers with a 5-speed. Then it sat, mostly unused (except for some tree pulling). At one point it suffered an unfortunate mishap involving a woodchuck that left a bullet hole in the A-pillar. By now my dad has a new Ranger, and this one stopped running a few years ago. Thinking that 2 running Rangers is probably good enough, he offered this one back to me for nothing.
The truck has about 140K miles on it. A new transmission was installed about 3000 miles ago. The body and frame were still in great condition (all things considered) and we thought we could get it running again by just replacing the fuel pump. I thought it would be fun to learn more about cars, and I live on a dirt road where 4x4 is a nice option in the winter. I also wanted something for pulling a trailer. By my reasoning, I could invest $1000 in the truck and have a nice backup vehicle with 4x4.
That was in June, fast forward several months, and we've spent a lot of happy hours fixing the things that needed repair... including the entire steering system, suspension, most of the engine sensors, ABS sensor, brake lines, brakes, cam shaft syncronizer, u-joints on the drive shaft, wires, plugs, coil pack, shackles, etc. etc. It feels like, the only thing that hasn't been replaced yet is the engine, and the radiator and the water pump. It has cost a lot more than $1000, but now I'm hoping to get a good pickup truck that will last another 10-20 years as a daily driver. My goal for the truck is reliability, fuel economy, and longevity. I cleaned and painted the chassis as much as I could with Chassis Saver paint, added roll on bed liner, and installed new Michelin tires. It now has a rear hitch and I have a front hitch receiver to install, for a Snowsport plow. I also added a new radio, and have lots of plans to make it a nice ride.
With help from this forum and helpful youtubers, we installed an under-drive pully and replaced the radiator fan with an electric one. This improved the acceleration quite a bit, but it is a lot more fun to drive now. I don't know how it will work with the AC running (AC is currently broken but it is winter),
Not all is well. From the very beginning, I've been getting a misfire on cylinder 6 and there is a persistent pinging coming from cylinder 1 or 2. Initially, I thought the problem was old clogged injectors, so I ran some sea foam and other cleaners through the engine once I could get it on the road. The problem wasn't fixed. Now I'm also getting trouble codes on cylinder 5 and a code indicating that it is running lean. This is after replacing the O2 sensors. I subscribed to identifix, and found that most people resolved the issue by installing a new cylinder head. So, I ordered a compression tester (should have done this first). The results were not good. I'm getting pressure ranges from 30 on cylinder 5 to 160 on other cylinders. Both sides of the engine have low-pressure cylinders below 100.
This might be a great opportunity to learn about engine internals and to pick up some torque.
First... I'm getting 19mpg. Should I stop driving the vehicle until I solve the low-compression issue? Is that making things worse?
Second... I'm dumping a lot of money into this truck. But, I just have PLPD insurance. If I crash the truck into a deer, I could lose a lot of money. Not sure if I can get better insurance that would cover upgrades to an old truck.
Third... I'm hoping that with a budget of about $2500, I could get a pretty reliable engine, with more than enough power, and fair fuel economy. I'm thinking of doing the following updates and interested in comments from others with experience...
a) Replace the cylinder heads. Can't decide if I should get new ones from Rock Auto and get new valves, etc. Or, should I buy refurb (can I trust refurb units), or perhaps I should just machine the ones we take off the engine? I'm going with a wait-and-see approach on this. Plan to replace all valves at a minimum. But, I don't know much about valve guides, etc. I could easily mess this up.
b) Install JBA headers. The only thing is, I've heard these headers don't fit the Y going into the catalytic converter. I don't know how to deal with this situation.
c) Install a plastic intake manifold from a Taurus, and add a 60mm throttle body. I am most interested in power and gas mileage, as I don't plan to race this thing or ever go past 85mph, so I think the longer intake manifold is better than the metal one.
d) 1:8:1 roller rockers.
d) SCT X4 tuner. Not sure how to do this but reading a book on engine tuning at the moment. I don't even know if this version works on my engine.
e) Debating the value of adding Gibson cat-back exhaust.
Fourth... there is a possibility that the engine problems are more serious than just the headers. I've considered just starting from a rebuilt engine, but not sure I trust something that I didn't do myself. And, I am not sure I can handle pulling the engine (I do have the means to do it). So, the current plan is to take the cylinder heads off, inspect the cylinders, and then go from there. But, wondering if I should attempt a full rebuild if I'm already taking off the cylinder heads. The engine has 140K miles on it, and I'd like to get at least 240K out of it.
Thanks to participants in a forum that has been very helpful to me so far, and any suggestions or insights are appreciated.
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