'97 XLT 4x4 125k miles

[James Morse]

Cool on the lift I'm going to check into that. Yes probably 31" is about the limit I think they are about the biggest that would look right - I'm saying that sight unseen it just seems at some point they look too big for the truck.

Yes if the CD changer has a wiring issue that could definitely happen. Maybe something worked loose. There were cd's in it so I kind of think at one point it was working - well - for sure when it was new at least. It was used at least afters when "Lumineers" came out assuming it was working then.

My am/fm/cassette has the buttons for the CD's so you can choose the disc so it was set up for it. I just get that "no" and "DJ" so I can't choose disc or songs it has something going on that's disabling it which I think is probably failure to read the discs so could be super dirty head or any number of things and I was hoping the DJ would tell me something but so far I can't find what it's trying to say. Which might or might not help.

 

[scotts90ranger]

Absolutely James, my sentiments entirely, and for the same reason I would never attempt to convince someone they should use manual. There are still some die hards, and I see their side as well, but I will not oft be on Devil's Backbone or whatever their preferred mountaintop may be.
The very first time someone slips in the snow and uses that button to engage 4X they will either be convinced, or a true die-hard manual enthusiast

It's no harder to shift a manual transfer case than it is electric, sure on one you push a button or turn a switch but the other is just pulling back on a shifter that's next to your knee about 1.5"... I put a manual transfer case on my '00 V8 Explorer and it's great! Electric is fine, I know where the shifter is, if the position sensor on the shift motor gets mad and doesn't work you're kinda SOL if you need it... but if you shift it every couple months to keep it moving apparently they work for a good long time... I'm not against electric, just a preference... I have enough parts minus a conversion U joint to convert the '98 Explorer to a manual transfer case from AWD...

It looks good to me, the radiators aren't that cheap (like $120ish if they haven't gone up too much in the last couple years) but it's an easy job. Drain coolant (might be tall enough to just put a 5 gallon bucket under the petcock) or get a big hose block clamp thing for the lower hose then drain the radiator, unbolt the fan shroud (2 bolts on top) then unclip from the bottom of the radiator then set it on the fan, then unhook the hoses, then take the two bolts on top that hold the rad to the core support then pull up as the radiator should be loose... there's a couple saddles on the side tanks that hold it on, it is probably cracked around there.

 

[Josh B]

You still have to get out there, in the road, on the side of the road, in the muddy, wet ditch, or wherever you were when you decided you want the 4X4 engaged, and lock those hubs. What has a radiator got to do with it?

 

[scotts90ranger]

That was about his coolant leak

only if you disengage them, if I think I'm going somewhere where I might need 4x4 I lock the hubs before I get in the drivers seat... there were a few years when the Ranger didn't go anywhere but wheeling I just left the hubs locked in I think... The sploders have live axles so no hubs. I unlock the hubs on the F350 because the axle shaft U joints are loose so I try to save some of their life... I've been to '75mph in the '90 with the hubs locked in, it doesn't care with the pair of dual cardan drive shafts and U joints that are fine... You can go in and out of 4 hi just as willy nilly with a manual case as you can an auto case but you can do silly things like push it from low to high range while moving slow without issue (with clutch in or in neutral), probably not the best thing but I have spares for all of my rigs somehow...

 

[sgtsandman]

Cool on the lift I'm going to check into that. Yes probably 31" is about the limit I think they are about the biggest that would look right - I'm saying that sight unseen it just seems at some point they look too big for the truck.

Yes if the CD changer has a wiring issue that could definitely happen. Maybe something worked loose. There were cd's in it so I kind of think at one point it was working - well - for sure when it was new at least. It was used at least afters when "Lumineers" came out assuming it was working then.

My am/fm/cassette has the buttons for the CD's so you can choose the disc so it was set up for it. I just get that "no" and "DJ" so I can't choose disc or songs it has something going on that's disabling it which I think is probably failure to read the discs so could be super dirty head or any number of things and I was hoping the DJ would tell me something but so far I can't find what it's trying to say. Which might or might not help.

The pictures of my 2011 will give an idea what 31” tires look like. It has about 1.5” of “lift” but Rangers past 2007 had different keys and smaller axle blocks than those before 2008. So, while technically a lift, it isn’t if you compare 2008+ trucks to their older brethren. Yours should have the higher height already.

 

[sgtsandman]

It may not be the heater core, but I was just throwing that out there since I didn’t see it in your list of possible places for coolant leaks.

I don’t really think a 2” lift really affects drive ability, as someone once said long ago, it’s a Ford, not a Ferrari. My first Ranger I ran 235/75/15 tires which are the same as 30x9.50x15, which is what I ran on my 92. My green 00 I put 31x10.50x15 on.

It is also is relatively cheap to lift it more, but you would want deeper gears for that.

235/75R15 are closer to 29” than 30”. Something like 29.3 or along those lines. Not a huge difference but there is a difference.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

235/75R15 are closer to 29” than 30”. Something like 29.3 or along those lines. Not a huge difference but there is a difference.

Yes, but most tire manufacturers use the same molds for 235/75 and for 30x9.50 and just change the sidewall stamp, or at least that’s the way they used to do it

 

[James Morse]

What do you think of these tires Cooper Discoverer RTX 235/75R15 105T | NTB
That is the same as what's on there now, that would have been the OEM size if not the OEM type.
Could also probably go to 245 or 255 in the same tire, but my gut feel is narrower tire will have more pressure on the road per sq in (less surface area) so they would be marginally better in rain/snow. So I'm not sure what going wider and outside of stock/oem size does except, wider tires can look a little better, but not if they stick out past the fenders. I guess my feeling is unless there's a compelling reason I'm inclined to use the tire Ford built it with.
Plus to remember that let's say there's a 1" diameter diff, that's only raising the truck half of that. Same with width I suppose half of difference goes inside, half out. So these contemplated changes make some difference, but not lots.
Interestingly those tires are in fact closer to the 600 dealer said than 1000... not sure if NTB is including mount/balance. I think there are other Discover types, I'm not stuck on the RTX, just was cool to see they had them. It's not a crucial thing but like I said I got 4-5mm on them so I'm planning. Might be a good idea to at least check alignment (they'll do that) as left front seems more worn on the outside, which would say to me probably bad alignment, of course I don't know if that particular tire was always on that spot. If both fronts were worn inside or outside I'd suspect toe in but I don't see that. I think common sense would say, if you're spending a chunk of change on new tires and putting them on a 25 yr old truck, it might be smart to check alignment and spring 100 to adjust it if it's off.

Roll bars - I suspect these are more for looks and for mounting lights than function (correct me if I'm wrong). I've rolled a few cars, and in my experience you end up with basically every single body panel trashed.
Realizing they can have other functions like these overlander setups, or can carry extra baggage etc. The OEM bars on the Ranger were a specific shape to come down kind of even to the cab then they have to take a jog in to come inside the bed. I've seen old for-sale ads for them. I assume they bolt in. I don't plan on rolling mine... but the bars with Ford light on them would look pretty cool. OK, so it probably wasn't an option on the XLT, but still would be sort-of OEM.

I have to think tube rear bumper and roll bar/lights must have been special order, they don't list them as options but they show and STX (I think it is) with them (brochure) so that sure implies to me, you could get them.
--
As to the radiator, thanks. There's more back story - this was when I was talking to the gm, he says, they wouldn't have passed it for inspection if it had a radiator leak. I said, I seen plenty of vehicles at used car dealers that shouldn't have passed inspection and I think they just tell their buddy "put a sticker on it". He says, true, that happens, but as a dealership if we do that and get caught it's a huge problem.
For what that's worth, guy seemed pretty straight though.
It wasn't an unnoticed potential issue, and finally I said to myself, let's say the radiator is trash; would I reject the truck overall for that alone, no, it's fixable.
I'm going to try to chase where exactly (like, near side tank) it's leaking. When I saw it at the dealer it seemed to be dripping right at the lower corner so that would be consistent with what you said as to places they can leak.
It doesn't drip when cold of course then it's not under pressure and it's not like a steady stream. I'll have to chase it because if it started leaking bad and I'm away from home that could disable you. Sure you can carry some coolant or water and keep dumping it in I suppose to try to get home, but I did enough of that when I was a kid.
Probably new radiator vs soldering fix if that's even possible, 120 isn't horrible for something critical. I assume that I get an old truck there will be things to fix and at least it's not like I'm just seeing this now. If it's a nice clean truck like this one it's worth putting the money into it, it's still peanuts compared to making a huge loan payment every month.
Nice thing is it sounds like not a huge terrible job and a lot of new cars you have to practically take the whole front apart to get the radiator out if you know what I mean.

I'm going to chase the cargo cover non-retracting, should be obvious when I get it apart and probably just needs to have the mechanism worked/lubed. I don't think they ever used it.

Truck has nice Ranger-logo ribbed mats and Ranger logo on sill plate. I loved my '99 and still do, but I have to say, when I go from one to the other, they may look the same, but they're totally different.

One other question here, oil drips. Every old vehicle I've ever had probably had a few drops of oil come out when you park it. How much is too much? If I see the oil level change substantially? And I suppose where it comes from, which is usually hard to tell. Am I correct to assume a few drops here/there, though I don't like it on the driveway, is nothing to worry about, or should I be concerned?

Otherwise still chasing CD problem, scraping old labels off inside glass, cleaning, wiping, crap like that. Really eager to try 4x4 but want to make pretty sure I'll be good to go for that (radiator).

Probably I am going to keep it pretty much stock. I think they were set up good from the factory. Those old 97 had all the stuff that was add-on for later FX4 and all that - skid plates etc. Leaving aside the tow hooks which we covered. Seems like 97 is the right balance of a truck was still a truck, but you could get some nifty creature comforts on it. Not to be critical of anything not-this, but I think it's really tough to find one with these features and in this shape so I'd plan to hold on to it for a good while. And I'm sure I wouldn't have trouble getting rid of it.

What is "payload package" and how do I know if I have it?

Can factory reprint the original invoice?

Thanks for add'l info in lift, sounds like you are saying, it's already lifted. It does set a bit higher than my '99.

I need to make a list and prioritze mechanical-needed stuff vs fussing and cleaning and washing and polishing. I think overall it's a good example of a truck the 2 owners liked and took care of it. I'm being a bit self-congratulatory on the other hand I was scanning the ads every day, and I knew what I was looking for because I did a lot of research on here about them, and I was talking to the guy on Sunday when he was home, and I chased it like a hound dog after a coon because I'm pretty sure it wouldn't have lasted long. So I'm good with the purchase, and if I have some things I need to work on, I expected that.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

My personal opinion on tires is to error on the aggressive side. When I started driving I was doing concrete construction and most of that was on new houses. My truck was alway in dirt or gravel and highway tread or all-seasons just didn’t cut it. I went from that to more general construction and my trucks still ended up off the pavement a fair bit. Aside from college and more recently, I never did a ton of road driving other than local and I don’t mind road noise if I know the tires are going to do anything I need them for. So my F-150 and green Ranger have Mastercraft Courser CXT in 31x10.50x15, but I may do something different when I get the green Ranger back on the road, we shall see. My 92 and choptop both have mud tires. My 88 has mud tires in the back and an aggressive AT in the front.

I will say to stay away from Nexen and Hankook tires. I had both in AT form and neither was worth a hoot. The Nexen didn’t grip for nothing and were gone in 10k, the Hankooks lasted awhile but didn’t grip for anything on or off road. I’m also not a fan of BF Goodrich AT tires, they have a tendency to become chocolate doughnuts in mud. I don’t like playing in mud much anymore but I also don’t want something that’s going to do that if I have to venture into mud. Mud tires tend to be particularly noisy and wear fast on the road, so for things that see a mix of pavement and not, I try to get something just below a mud tire for aggressive. But that’s what I’ve found works best for me and how my junk gets used.

The TTB fronts have a bad habit of wearing tires even if in alignment, so you really should rotate the tires regularly.

 

[sgtsandman]

Those Coopers look like a decent all around tire. It really depends on where you drive.

The only tires good at shedding mud are mud tires. Some All Terrains can get you pretty far but will still turn into slicks if there is too much mud. As far as ice and snow, not many all season or all terrain tires are all that great it it. There are some but if you drive a lot on uncleared roads, you might want to consider a separate set of dedicated winter tires on some junk yard wheels.

My BF Goodrich All Terrain tires have been fantastic in the snow and on the trail but you pay a lot of money for them. Winter tires are still a bit better in the snow but my current set is worn and some rims need replaced.

As far as the tire wear, I’ll defer to lil_blue_ford. Tire rotation is a big thing too. Because of the angles the tires take when turned for corning, the outside edges of the front tires wear faster. The only way to slow that down and get more use out of the tires is to rotate them every so often from front to back.

A lot of people never bother and they end up replacing the front tires sooner than the back tires as a result.

 

[James Morse]

OK this is helping me a lot about the tires.
As to snow this is the story. We don't get much snow here. It might snow two or three times a year. We are in the valley and often get rain when it snows in the mountains. But when it does snow, you can get a little or you can get 12" or more and that's a problem because they aren't really set up for plowing here and you can wait days for the side streets to get plowed and I live up a short but significantly steep hill. When it snows the 4x4's pack it down to ice of course but other guys just a little further up have Ranger-size 4x4 trucks like the older Tacomas etc and they have no problems. Last winter I was backing my B3000 (2wd) out of the driveway and didn't even make as far as getting straightened out and was stuck sideways across the road blocking a guy (4x4) further up. He stops and says "where did you think you were going?". I agree that if I had a bunch of weight in the back and something even a little aggressive for tire (or snow tires) I might have been ok. Anyway that was the point where I started thinking 4x4. The off road thing came later when we were going up dirt roads and I couldn't go up where 4x4 were going.
So snow isn't a huge deal but when it happens I want some traction, but I don't think I need another set of tires like being up north or in the mountains, specifically for snow. I could be wrong, but I think a reasonably aggressive tread with 4x4 should do me ok for snow. The problem is the B3k is so light in back. When you get all that weight on the front drive wheels I have to think the thing pulls like no get out. But I haven't gotten to experience this yet. And of course we're talking traction not how much power it has because all the power in the world isn't worth anything if you can't connect to the road.

As to mud, I was going to say I didn't think I'd see it, but that's not true. Take for instance I went up this dirt road that becomes fire trail and met head on another truck. So in my B3 I'm maneuvering to the side and it was all mucky there so I couldn't really get much to the side. Now obviously there are situations where you could sink in up to your hubcaps, but, where it's just soft and squishy, yes I'd want some traction. But I don't think I need exactly a mud tire and I guess time would tell about that. Mostly the roads I'm thinking about run up the sides of mountains so while you could encounter mud anywhere I think it'd be the exception but I don't know for sure because I could never go these places in the 2wd.

That Courser does look quite a bit more aggressive than the Coopers.

Don't know if my rambling helps but that's kind of how I see it right now as to the intended use.

 

[sgtsandman]

Based on what you are saying, a quality AT would be the way to go.

Get on Tire Rack and 1010 tire and scrub through the reviews.

From what I saw when I got the BFG KO2s, they were the best over all rated with General Grabbers(?) being a close second. Research the heck out of it before you spend the money and don’t go cheap. I haven’t regretted my purchase.

As far as the ice, unless you have chains or studded tires, there isn’t much you can do.

Weight in the bed definitely helps but it can be over done. My fiberglass cap and the gear in the back has me covered. Probably 150 to 200 pounds.

 

[James Morse]

Thanks. Yeah ice is bad but usually you can drive off-lane and find packed/slush and get some grip. I think. I'm just going over in my mind what does the street look like then and how do guys come up it and I think that's the drill. Glare ice all over, there's nothing you can do the w/out chains. Studs are cool but unless you're somewhere it's always bad not practical. Some places they're not legal isn't that true? Other places you have to have chains, out west.
Yes that's what I've heard around 200 lbs helps a lot.

 

[sgtsandman]

Thanks. Yeah ice is bad but usually you can drive off-lane and find packed/slush and get some grip. I think. I'm just going over in my mind what does the street look like then and how do guys come up it and I think that's the drill. Glare ice all over, there's nothing you can do the w/out chains. Studs are cool but unless you're somewhere it's always bad not practical. Some places they're not legal isn't that true? Other places you have to have chains, out west.
Yes that's what I've heard around 200 lbs helps a lot.

Studded tires are legal here from sometime in November to sometime in April. We normally don’t get enough snow that stays on the roads for them to make sense. I had a set one time for a rear wheel drive car. The studs were worn flat after one season. So, I never bothered again.

Chains, if you can get real chains, not only help with snow and ice but mud as well. The 2011 and 2019 only allow S class chains (cables), so I never pursued it. And again, it rarely gets or stays bad enough to really have a need.

By the time I leave work for home, the roads are usually clear or at least clear enough. Getting into work, before the snow plows are out, has been an adventure a few times.

 

[James Morse]

Back on the tow hooks... I have 2 threaded holes that look like they would be where tow hooks would go probably on an STX. That's got to be the place, right? I'd say it's all set up for them, I just need to get them and screw them in. Unless I'm missing something.