'93 Ford Ranger XLT 4X4

[Gojira_Blanco]

Hey, how is everyone doing. I have been driving my truck for the past 5 years, its a 3.0 V6 5 speed. its definitely a solid truck but I'm looking to do something different with it. I still use it as my daily driver and for commuting about 50 miles a day. But I'm starting to use it more for offroad, camping, hunting, etc. I have about a $1500 budget. Just looking for new ideas. All information is appreciated. Take care.

 

[RonD]

Manual hubs are a good investment, Auto hubs can fail anytime and you don't know they have failed until you NEED 4WD, lol, so worst possible time.
Your front axle is an OPEN type, which means the easiest axle(side) to turn gets 100% of the power, if 1 auto hub fails to lock then it gets all the power in 4WD so no power at the front wheels at all.

3.0l is not a power house, you can free up a little power and get better MPG by removing the mechanical radiator fan and using an electric fan in it's place, not a hard conversion and if using a fan from wrecking yard not too expensive.
Mechanical fan uses horse power and fuel, when ever the engine is running, cool/hot 10mph or 70mph, always running.
E-fan does use alternator/battery power, but only when rad is warm and air flow is low, driving slow, above 50mph it will usually shut off since air flow is high.

And for off-road you can install an OFF switch for water crossings, the fan, mechanical or electric can soak the upper engine bay if water gets too high, which can cause shorts stalling engine, "mid-stream".

 

[Denisefwd93]

Swap in a 4.0 ! With some searching you can find a low mileage 4.0 I love my old truck and have a 98 62k engine and 5 speed going in, in the very near future.

 

[ridgerunner]

Powertrax No-slip locker for the rear!

 

[enjr44]

Hubs and an electric fan. You didn't say if there was a Ford limited slip rear end back there. But, most of the time you don't need them.

You can use your brakes to make an open differential act like a limited slip one anyway. Lightly applying you brakes will stop/slow down the spinning wheel and apply power to the one with traction. Just like there was traction on both.

 

[Curious Hound]

I'll double the vote for manual hubs. I got some recently at the junkyard - MileMarker brand, with all the hardware (nuts and washers) to do the conversion, for just $38 total. It's an easy project.

 

[Mightyfordranger]

I'll join the manual hub group too and also I'd get a winch if ya can there's many uses for a winch and a lock right locker isn't too much money if ya do it right youd could get great deals on new\used parts u could skate away with a decent used set of tires locker manual hubs and a winch it'll take time to find it all but its doable

 

[Kayakcrazy]

if your doing milder four wheeling, camping hunting, etc. I think the biggest bang for your buck is a good set of tires. Amazing where a mildly aggressive tire can get you in and out of. Winch for that occasional emergency.

Sounds like you use your truck about like mine. The stock components have held up well with keeping tire size in the closer to stock range and gets me most of where I need to go.

Now, I do intend on upgrading some stuff in the future for heavier wheeling but have to do small steps as money gets available. I think it's the natural progression. Or addiction