Any advice...

[97rangerxl]

Hey im new to rts but i currently own a 97 ford ranger xlt. it has about 225000 miles on it and the clutch is going bad..ive went to some mechanics and some have said that it is better to sell than to fix and some have said that it is better to fix than sell seems how the motor still runs strong with no problems..i have also had this much help from family..but one mechanic who is a friend of mine along with a few gear head relatives said to just completely rebuild and have fun with the truck..i use it daily for both my daily driver along with some off roading on some trails and pretty nasty back woods roads but nothing too radical. i was thinking of a light power 5.0 swap while swapping the rear 7.5 to an 8.8 but am not sure..i want to keep the truck cause i have yet to find anything else that i like other than my old camaro that i used to own and would like to keep to the rangers ...any advice is greatly appreciated..

 

[Andy D]

If you can R+R the clutch yourself , go for it. If you have to have the work done, check for a few prices first

 

[97rangerxl]

i would but no place to do the repairs

 

[Catch22556]

If you can R+R the clutch yourself , go for it. If you have to have the work done, check for a few prices first

x2, clutches are not that much of a pain, if you have another vehicle to drive get a good Manual and dig in! It would be a good learning experience for you. A 5.0 swap is a little more involved, if you are not capable of doing a Clutch then the motor swap probably wouldn't be for you.

EDIT: Read your reply after i did mine. Hell i have done a couple clutches outside in the dirt/gravel during winter. As long as you have the Tools and a driveway, your good to go .

 

[97rangerxl]

i am mechanically inclined so the mechanics/parts arent a problem..its just that i live in an apartment so i dont have the space to do it at

 

[Catch22556]

i am mechanically inclined so the mechanics/parts arent a problem..its just that i live in an apartment so i dont have the space to do it at

Yea that would be an issue. Sounds like unless you know someone that will allow you to borrow their driveway/shop for a weekend, you are kind of stuck with having a shop do it for you. As far as the 8.8 swap goes, it is relatively straight forward, do a search on here for more info. BTW, go for an 8.8 out of an Exploder if you end up doing the swap. Ranger 8.8's are 28 spline while the Exploder counterpart is a 31 spline, more beef .

 

[2813josh]

Well, I'd say fix her up. My Explorer has 221k on the ticker and still runnin strong'. Can be done in a driveway. If you can find a buddy and a place to work on it, definitely go for it...just be sure to replace the slave cylinder while you're in there.
To me, the hardest part doing a clutch job on a ranger is removing the damn y-pipe.Bleeding can take some time too. Anyways...Good Luck and welcome to the site!

 

[doorgunner]

Hey.....the money you would save by doing it yourself using a repair manual....you could rent a cheapy storage space for a week or month & still come out ahead moneywise.....

 

[Catch22556]

Hey.....the money you would save by doing it yourself using a repair manual....you could rent a cheapy storage space for a week or month & still come out ahead moneywise.....

Didn't even think of that .

 

[scotts90ranger]

the clutch is only hard if it's a V6 where the exhaust gets in the way, on a 4 cylinder truck you can do it yourself in a weekend

 

[chrwilkins30]

you can squeeze the trans past the ypipe fairly easy

 

[arren]

If you were anywhere near Vancouver, WA I'd help you out. If you do end up doing it yourself, soak those y-pipe bolts in lots of pb blaster!

 

[Brandon Nootenboom]

For about $350 I got a new pressure plate, throw out bearing, flywheel, flywheel bolts, slave cylinder, and rear main seal. I pushed my 97 4x4 up on some ramps in my friends driveway and with a 140 piece tool kit and a hammer had my clutch done in a couple days going just off the manual. It's mostly time consuming but definitely possible with the Haynes manual. I just learned the hard way don't try to cut corners

 

[mp3deviant721]

Keep it man. Fix it and drive it. Mine has 220k and still runs great.

 

[4.0B2]

It's easy. Do it yourself bro. Keep the ranger! Don't sell it! Unless you wanna sell it to me cheap! Lol