97 Ford Ranger Step Side, 2.3 liter; should I sell, scrap or keep & put in new engine/trans?

[James Morse]

put a 4.0L in it? don't know what would be involved. mileage seems to suck but I don't care because I don't drive tons of miles and gas is cheap compared to other things and I like the sound of the 4.0 and the power. Seems perhaps better mileage on the highway (most of my driving so far is in-town).
You could put a lot of cash into it to make it right and just as you want, without even approaching the cost of a new one which to me doesn't have as much as the '97 had in terms of being a good truck.
I'm admittedly biased, but I got the '97 to get the 4x4 after I had the '99 a while and got it all working good, just didn't have 4x4 so I asked around here about them, ended up with the '97 and enjoying it very much.
If you have to put in new trans, depending what you are planning to do with it, you could maybe decide to change to 4.10 rear end. Just saying. Not sure if there was a 4.56 and it'd probably be overkill for most things.

 

[dlpatte]

It's a Ranger. I would go until the engineot trans start to make noise. Then I would only change what I needed to.

 

[sgtsandman]

What rear end do you have in it now? If it is a 3.08, 3.45, or 3.55, you might benefit putting a 3.73 in it if you drive mostly flat terrain. If youbspend time in the hilly side of Virginia, a 4.10 might be a better match.

The 3.73 will give a little bit more mpg along with some more pep. The 4.10 will be about the same but give you more get up and go for the hills.

If you have a 3.73 already, going to a 4.10 is going to make the mpg drop but you will get more pep out of it.

Most of the four cylinder Rangers really didn't have a lot of power but will get you from point A to point B reliably.

 

[sgtsandman]

You could do an engine swap but you are going to need the transmission, wiring harness, and PCM from the donar vehicle. It's generally best if you have the donar right there with you incase you find something else you might need.

Expect an average of about 16-18 mpg if you do the swap, depending on how you drive and where you drive.