1991 ford ranger xl. First truck thoughts!

[DRF]

You won't regret it. First truck when I was 16 was a 92 Ranger, as is my current one at 36. Sometimes it's rocky relationship but worth every mile and every dollar.

DRF
1992 Ranger 4X4
Ardmore, AL

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

Some resources found at the top of every page;
tech articles; http://www.therangerstation.com/tech_library/index.shtml
other articles; http://www.therangerstation.com/resources/index.shtml
Use the "google custom search" button, also at the top of every page, for better search results.
There was a recent thread with a link to ford manuals. You can search for it.

Welcome to TRS,

Richard

 

[kid_crash]

Nice looking truck!
Just a thought, not knowing how new you are to 4x4, did you have the truck in neutral and foot on the brake when you tried 4low? Possibly may need the clutch pressed in as well, I can't remember if I did that in my 5spd.
Be careful with the clutch. Having the hang of it and being good at it are different things. Take a ride with someone that's has plenty of stick experience, they'll give you feedback and pointers. I'd hate to see you burn through a good clutch.
The frame rust, if it's only surface rust, wire brush then use some sort of rust inhibitor, the bat stuff is POR 15. If you've got major rust damage, don't be afraid to jump in and repair it, I'd make sure your working with someone that has experience in automotive repair though.
Anyway, nice truck enjoy and take good care of her!

 

[Cessus]

52 miles from the last blip before full to the last blip before empty.. Maybe te guage is off?

 

[Cessus]

I'm estimating around 5-7 mpg. What can I do to improve this. It doesn't smoke or leak gas or sound funny. I'm going to fill a gas can up and carry it in the back until it runs out of gas so I know if the guage is working proper or not.

 

[scotts90ranger]

it should have a 16 gallon tank, so if you took some gas with you and ran it for a while to determine where you can go... you should be getting 16-22mpg if I had to guess as I got 19 with the Explorer I had for a while...

If the gauge moves but isn't reliable, it's $55 plus shipping for a fuel pump and fuel sender at rockauto.com for a good delphi unit($50 for just the sender, or like $35 for just the pump... doesn't make any sense but I got the two together), with two people in about an hour you could have the sender changed. There's 6 bolts holding the bed on that take a T55 torx bit, 3 screws holding the gas filler neck in that take a 7mm socket, and a connector at the rear of the drivers side frame rail for the tail lights. After you get that undone, get one person on each side of the bed and lift it back about 2' then set it back down and now you can replace the fuel pump. To replace the pump there's two hoses going to the plate and an electrical connector, remove those then the silly plastic ring that has the notches for the hoses and the wires, now take a hammer and punch or something else that's blunt and loosen the lock ring, it is the plastic ring with ridges, turn it counter clockwise until it's loose. From there lift the old sender out, drop the new one in, and reassemble...

I just did that 2 weeks ago by myself (instead of using two people I used an engine hoist to lift the bed), while I was there I loosened the cab mount bolts and moved the cab back as far as it would go to gain some front tire clearance, with breaks and everything I think I had 4 hours in it so it's very doable in a day...

 

[Cessus]

With a mix of 4x4 and 2wd due to the recent snow I got 128.4 miles before it ran out of gas from the blip before full. I also found that 4x4 lo does work if I roll the truck forward a few feet first.