1997 Ranger Compatibility Questions...

[mgreig]

New to the Ranger world as I just bought a 1997 4.0/5spd MT/4x4/supercab and looking for some help/clarification...

1. What generation ranger is a 1997?? - read a ton of seemingly conflicting info - so is it a Gen3? ... and Gen 4 came out the next year in 1998?

... the generation question relates to compatibility as some degenerates stole the truck last week and now I have a host of items to fix - thinking about buying a donor truck but want to make *sure* parts will work if I got that route...

So in specific if I were to purchase a 1998 - 2011 (or maybe just 1998 - 2003 if I that's more compatible??) donor truck would the following be a direct replacement or a no/go:

1. Fuel tank (idiots drilled the fuel tank to steal $40 in fuel)
2. Exterior door lock cylinder + power windows/poswer door locks/power mirrors - don't believe the doors are compatible b/c of the 4 door/suicide door config on the 1998+ supercabs - but if I'm wrong would LOVE to know ...
3. transfer case/4x4 - specifically the actuator is all that I believe is bad

I get that front end/grill is different but hoping that maybe the doors themselves are compatible or if not the doors, at least the power windows/power door locks/power mirrors and the interior door cards?? ... need to get rid of these towing-style mirrors and go back to stock ...

Appreciate the knowledge/guidance!

 

[rumblecloud]

You are Gen 3.

Go here Ranger Generations.

Anything after 97 will prolly not work or fit properly. Best bet is to match year, then there's no worries.
Post some pics of your issues and BTW,

Welcome to TRS

 

[mgreig]

You are Gen 3.

Go here Ranger Generations.

Anything after 97 will prolly not work or fit properly. Best bet is to match year, then there's no worries.
Post some pics of your issues and BTW,

Welcome to TRS

Perfect and thanks a bunch for the quick reply!

So to clarify - I ?should? be good with anything from a Gen3 -i.e. 1993-1997 ... correct?

... and am I safe to assume that the fuel tanks are the same regardless of 2 or 4 wheel drive and/or bed length?

 

[2011Supercab]

and am I safe to assume that the fuel tanks are the same

There are 3 different fuel tanks

Standard cab shortbed
Standard cab longbed
Super cab shortbed

 

[mgreig]

There are 3 different fuel tanks

Standard cab shortbed
Standard cab longbed
Super cab shortbed

Awesome intel - thank you ... so there's no such thing as a super cab longbed (at least not from the factory)? .. and transmission type/driveline type has no bearing on the fuel tank?

 

[Brain75]

The biggest problem with the generation labels is a mistake Ford made and then refused to acknowledge and kept saying something dumb.

Ford/Chevy/Dodge/Honda/Toyota/etc all the manufacturers all agree on one thing, when you change sheetmetal it's a new model/generation. So when the 1st gen ranger got changed in 1989 Ford broke their own policy and called it a facelift instead of a generation. Interior changed, the frame changed, fenders/grill/bumper/etc - the front end.. That should be the start of 2nd gen but Ford decided to call it a facelift.

Back then there was no u-tube and interwebs, and the media at the time (Car and Driver MAGAZINE, and offroad worlding MAGAZINE) chose to honor Ford's mistake and call it a facelift too.

Fast forward to now, and since there is disparity in the the 1st/2nd gen split and everyone has a different comment. Worse the media now includes any idiot with a keyboard who does little to no research and just parrots wiki or another such source.

If you stick to the definition 99% of the world agrees on (and we do), when the sheetmetal changes it is a new generation.

There are some really big common things - someone here has said it, not me, but if you take any generation's most basic components (bed / whole cab / whole front clip etc) and take them whole the holes will line up and you can swap em just about willy nilly (for example the box/bed will swap 6' for 6' all years 83-11 it will bolt right up, but the body lines wont line up). 1st gen and 2nd gen doors can swap spit all you have to do is drill out holes for different mounting points conveniently embossed with an X.

I don't know enough to answer the question of 3rd gen to 4th gen so generally will tell you to stick to 3rd gen (93-97) but even then there is a facelift issue. In 1995, the interior changed (just interior, no sheetmetal) and Ford called that a facelift. 93-94 has a single DIN radio just like 1st/2nd, 95+ has a double DIN radio, dash changed, door panels changed, etc. if it isn't interior I think like for like (6' model for 6' model) everything swaps whole generation (93-97), if it is interior then limited down to 95-97.

Another trick to figure out if something is interchangeable (say you have your eye on a gas tank out of a '98), go to www.fordpartscatalog.com and find your part (even if it says discontinuted this works), then click "Fitment" and if it shows other years, well you can get from those years with those options. (1997 has 3 choices for tanks: F57Z-9002-E , F57Z-9002-N , F57Z-9002-P - extended range, regular cab, super cab)... and the super cab has this "fitment" :

https://www.fordpartscatalog.com/oem-parts/ford-fuel-tank-f57z9002p?c=Zz1mdWVsLXN5c3RlbSZzPWZ1ZWwtc3lzdGVtLWNvbXBvbmVudHMmbD0yMCZuPUFzc2VtYmxpZXMgUGFnZSZhPWZvcmQmbz1yYW5nZXImeT0xOTk3JnQ9eGx0JmU9NC0wbC12Ni1nYXM%3D

 

[Brain75]

That is the strictest fitment btw, there is some instances where Ford changed the part number or redesigned it in so much of an insignificant way that it is "backwards compatible" and that fitment trick wont work for those - any question on those specific I would probably just ask here to double check cause fordpartscatalog is extremely strict.

 

[97RangerXLT]

Welcome to TRS! I love your truck, I have one just like it only with the automatic transmission. The 1997 had some odd and different electrical connectors, one of them being on the transfer case shift motor. I know for a fact that the shift motor for a 1993/94 will *not* plug into a 1997... most of the stuff from a 1993 to 1997 will swap over with some exceptions, and 1995 to 1997 are pretty much identical. Interiors in 93 and 94 are different, the 4.0 also has a different upper intake than the later model 4.0 OHV engine. you can also swap many parts out of 98+ but the front suspension and axles changed dramatically and will not interchange in 1998.

And for my truck:

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

Welcome to TRS! I love your truck, I have one just like it only with the automatic transmission. The 1997 had some odd and different electrical connectors, one of them being on the transfer case shift motor. I know for a fact that the shift motor for a 1993/94 will *not* plug into a 1997... most of the stuff from a 1993 to 1997 will swap over with some exceptions, and 1995 to 1997 are pretty much identical. Interiors in 93 and 94 are different, the 4.0 also has a different upper intake than the later model 4.0 OHV engine. you can also swap many parts out of 98+ but the front suspension and axles changed dramatically and will not interchange in 1998.

And for my truck:

View attachment 122910

Look at me all sleeveless in the background

 

[mgreig]

Welcome to TRS! I love your truck, I have one just like it only with the automatic transmission. The 1997 had some odd and different electrical connectors, one of them being on the transfer case shift motor. I know for a fact that the shift motor for a 1993/94 will *not* plug into a 1997... most of the stuff from a 1993 to 1997 will swap over with some exceptions, and 1995 to 1997 are pretty much identical. Interiors in 93 and 94 are different, the 4.0 also has a different upper intake than the later model 4.0 OHV engine. you can also swap many parts out of 98+ but the front suspension and axles changed dramatically and will not interchange in 1998.

And for my truck:

View attachment 122910

very nice - good color combo me thinks ... REALLY appreciate the note RE: the transfer case shift motor in particular and yeah - it's been TOTALLY throwing me for a loop when I see 1993/1994 interiors ... which look like gen 1/2 and NOT Gen 3/4 (and explorers, sporttrac, etc..). Also very helpful to note that from an interior perspective it's basically 95-97...

The son and I agree that that flat hood/mostly boxy look is the fav of all of the ranger looks to us.

One exterior ? - any idea if a 1997 front bumper would fit a 1998/1999 gen 4 (and vice-versa)? I'm afraid I may know the answer but they look very similar ....

Nobody seems to make aftermarket bumpers for the gen 3 - all the stuff I'm seeing is marketed for gen4 (1998-2011). Which then also has me wondering how much work would it take to make a gen 4 bumper fit on a gen 3 (and vice versa as I'm trying to talk a buddy into swapping bumpers w/ me plus some cash...)

 

[mgreig]

That is the strictest fitment btw, there is some instances where Ford changed the part number or redesigned it in so much of an insignificant way that it is "backwards compatible" and that fitment trick wont work for those - any question on those specific I would probably just ask here to double check cause fordpartscatalog is extremely strict.

Thanks so much for the fordpartscatalog fitment hack - that's super handy to know. I'll go check some stuff out and see what they come back w/

And I'm honestly blown away by the response/activity on this board ... so many sites are post and maybe you get one response a week and a half later....

Thanks a ton all!

 

[Brain75]

I actually started a little bit of a frame swap article / chart.. every generation has different front frame horns.... the thing that I don't know for sure is if a person used gen 3 frame (yours), with gen 3 bumper brackets (the L shaped bracket between frame and bumper) on a 4th gen bumper or similar... I don't have any 4th gen vehicles in the yard (and I am too lazy to rip the bumper off my mom's 5th gen just to look)... that said, if you have flat stock and a welder and vice/anvil I bet you could custom fab your own bumper brackets to span the difference or refactor the stock ones. Will a 4th gen bumper look decent on a 3rd gen, that I don't know either. If you were 900 mi closer I'd take you to a yard where you could pick over all the 3rd gen you wanted.

 

[mgreig]

I actually started a little bit of a frame swap article / chart.. every generation has different front frame horns.... the thing that I don't know for sure is if a person used gen 3 frame (yours), with gen 3 bumper brackets (the L shaped bracket between frame and bumper) on a 4th gen bumper or similar... I don't have any 4th gen vehicles in the yard (and I am too lazy to rip the bumper off my mom's 5th gen just to look)... that said, if you have flat stock and a welder and vice/anvil I bet you could custom fab your own bumper brackets to span the difference or refactor the stock ones. Will a 4th gen bumper look decent on a 3rd gen, that I don't know either. If you were 900 mi closer I'd take you to a yard where you could pick over all the 3rd gen you wanted.

TY - and we just canceled a ski trip to CO (sister-in-law has a place a breck and out pretty regularly) so might hit you up depending on where in CO you are ... though Alaska Airlines might look at me funny if I tried to carry that bumper on and shove it in the overhead bin on the way home

 

[Brain75]

LOL... well vail/breck/copper those are 4 or more hours from me... I'm closer to NE than I am CO... when you look at the map that little notch taken out of NE - the armpit of NE - that's it... corn, cows and F150's dominate the landscape. One of the 3 yards I frequent that is cheap cheap is near I25 though - Iron Ridge Auto and Metal, Windsor CO (don't look at the price sheet unless you really plan on coming it will just make you cry how much more you have to pay for it there)

 

[rumblecloud]

And for my truck:

View attachment 122910

Why'd you park it on that rock?