'97 XLT 4x4 125k miles

[James Morse]

I'm going to see one tomorrow. I read up on them from the TRS brochures etc. so if I'm right XLT should have power package etc as part of XLT pkg. The brochures really help because between them and the VIN and the door sticker you can tell a lot about it and you can see is it straight XLT or has options.
The type is R15 so that might be extended cab but no rear doors... not sure.
I'm wondering if there is anything particular I should look for. I guess there's a potential issue as to whether the front differential is Dana Hybrid 28 or Dana 35 but the info tells me how to determine.
97 is really a lot older than I was really looking for, I was more into 06-11, but, if it's in good shape and it drives nice etc I might make an offer on it. Truck doesn't know how old it is, but, older means stuff like stuck bolts, plastic / hoses dry out and crack, etc. Some parts might be hard to get. But they are way easier to work on that's for sure.
I don't have any pics or anything they just got it in at a dealer so you know it'll be overpriced but just depends if it has what I want.
And I'd like to hear from anyone who has that particular truck.
What I've heard so far is that '97 is maybe a little better off-road than later maybe not quite as good on highway. That would be ok as main reason I want to upgrade from my B3000 is for the 4x4. I might still keep the B3000 because it drives really nice but I want something that will go more places.
Market is nuts and I'd be afraid to ask what it's "worth".

Edit: Besides looking at what options are on it, is there any place absent the original invoice, to tell if an XLT has the pkg 864A or 867A, it looks like those were the two configs of the XLT in 97. I'm getting that from the brochure.

 

[RonD]

Yes, R15 is 4x4 2 door supercab, I don't think R19(4 door) was offered in 1997

What's the engine model, 3.0l or 4.0l?
8th digit of VIN

Manual or Automatic?

 

[James Morse]

X so it should be 4.0L

Auto

bummer about no rear doors still have the space though

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

So rear doors weren’t an option until 98, and there’s a lot of hit or miss with getting them from 98 and up. I like the rear doors a lot, but I have one with rear doors and two Rangers without. Dad’s all have the doors except his frame donor.

XLT usually had power, cruise, tilt wheel, carpet, A/C, etc. My first Ranger, a 2000 XLT had A/C and carpet and nothing else for options though.

4.0 would have a D-35 front unless someone changed something. The only Rangers I know that got the hybrid were the 3.0 powered ones, but I think by 97 they all had the D-35.

I don’t own a 3rd gen (93-97) yet, but they’re good trucks.

I would still recommend doing a shift kit to the transmission…

 

[superj]

All of my dad's company trucks were 94-97 ranger extended cabs and were great trucks. None were 4x4 though but not having back doors didnt cause problems since the seats slide forward.

The one 98 was a mazda single cab. Good truck too

 

[scotts90ranger]

'97 has two piston calipers up front so that's a good thing, and a 4.0L should have a real D35 and a 28 spline 8.8 out back.

I daily drive a '97 4 cylinder Ranger extended cab manual trans with 185k miles on it, it's fine, if in good shape for the right price I wouldn't be afraid of it... anything is going to have some things go wrong, I've had to put an alternator on mine and that's about it other than regular stuff... but I'm in Oregon so no rust...

 

[97RangerXLT]

X so it should be 4.0L

Auto

bummer about no rear doors still have the space though

lol I have your truck.

mine has 196k miles on it, extended cab 4.0 with Automatic and 3.73 gears. I changed out the crapola auto hubs to manual about 7 years ago, best decision I have made.
My XLT package came with AM/FM Cassette, power Windows/ Locks, anti theft system, chrome bumpers and dual airbags with a switch to turn off the passenger airbag. Mine was also a bit of a rarity as it came withe 31" tires from the factory, also had Billstein shocks from the factory. I have not done any mods or changes to it in the 17.5 years that I have owned it other than the Warn Manual Hub conversion. it is very capable off road in stock form, and it does decent on the highway. Never had any big complaints on it.

Some things to look for:

Rusty spring hangers/ shackles. fairly easy to replace but can also be a talking point on the seller lowering the price if they are bad.
The 4.0 had a TSB on the gasket between the lower intake and the upper intake. it would break internally and throw a lean code. P0171 I think...
While we are on the subject of gaskets, I had to replace the valve cover gaskets and all of the engine gaskets in 2010. might not hurt especially if it is dripping oil onto the exhaust manifold...

How To: Replace Valve Cover Gaskets, Fuel Rail Gaskets & Lower Intake Gaskets - The Ranger Station

Application: Ford 4.0 OHV (Valve Cover, Intake, and Fuel Rail Gaskets. Also includes Injector O-Ring Replacement) Submitted By: 97RangerXLT Tools needed: 7mm, 8mm, 10mm, 13mm sockets, flat blade 1/4” screwdriver, 3” and 6” extension, torque wrench, large flat blade screwdriver … Continued

www.therangerstation.com

(my how to that I wrote when I did it.
Check the blend door behind the glove box. these have a tendency to break. I have not had to mess with mine (knock on wood...) but there is an article in the tech library on it if you need to do it.
Fuel filler neck tends to get brittle and rot out. if you fill it up and pees gasoline at the end of the fill up, you likely need a new filler neck. 40 bucks and fairly easy to replace, again another talking point for price.

Body wise my truck has held up fantastic for being outside all of its life. the frame and undercarriage have quite a bit of surface rust, some of the cross memebers are a bit weak. check those for sure.

It is a 25 year old truck so make sure that the coolant has been flushed within the last few years, if not that would be one of the first things to do.

Enjoy the truck, I hope you can get it for a good price.

AJ

 

[James Morse]

Thanks for the info and things to look for. I don't know what a good price is these days. They're asking $10k and I think that's pretty high, but I'll run over and see if it's even worth going into it more, if it is, I'll get some pics.
I figure new it was probably just under $20k so it kind of bothers me to pay more than half what it cost new. On the other hand translating 1997 dollars to 2022 dollars it was about $36k new so I figure maybe it's 'worth' $7k or 20% of its original value (dollars translated to current). That's if everything works, little/no rust etc. One thing is Carfax tells me it spent its entire life in this town and had 2 owners, one kept it 20 yrs and the other 5 years, so they must have liked it ok.
It isn't the best time to buy, plus, one place I looked at a truck they wanted to give me 1500 as trade on mine which is crazy, 1500 buys you what normally, something that doesn't even run so obviously trading mine to a dealer is probably not happening.
Edmunds says it's worth about 3,600 clean/excellent and JD Power says it's worth tops maybe 6,500. Who knows where they get their numbers as they don't seem to match reality and sellers whether dealer or personal sale are all trying to get that big price. Plus dealers want to tack on 600 or something for "delivery" then you have car sales tax so you are talking more than the sales price. When I got the '99 I got an ok deal, at least I think so, I just told them, this is the money I have, to include tax, license, all that stuff.
I bet they didn't give the previous owner crap for it and are trying to make a bunch on it. Plus it's new on the market so they aren't likely to take a low ball. But this is all premature, let me see if it's anything interesting and I'll report back.

 

[97RangerXLT]

My truck was over 25k new, but yeah.... right now if i caught the right person i could probably get 8k for it and that is with almost 209k miles on it and peeling clearcoat on the hood and passenger fender.

So if it is in exceptional condition, 19k might not be too far off, but if it needs tires, a lot of deferred maintenance i would go down in my offer considerably. Tires alone will set you back over $1000

AJ

 

[James Morse]

It looks pretty clean. When I got there they were replacing heater valve, heat works, a/c works. Drove it, got CEL, "High Intake Air Sensor" so they are looking to fix that. I don't really see a lot of rust underneath, some typical surface rust but didn't see anything bad. I'm trying to get hold of TRS friend here in town to look at it. They won't hold it for me.
Has power windows, locks, remote key, body pretty nice, one quarter-size dent probably could be pulled out otherwise not really any bad scraches or dents.
Here are some pics.
Tires shouldn't run me 1000 DIscover 255's are what's on it now. Has those nice alloys.
I like that it doesn't have jump seats, more room in back. I could live with no back doors. Has the tilt-out rear windows, not really a plus.
Engine seemed a bit rough running, but I don't know. Drove ok, maybe steering a bit loose, not horrible, suspect that is wear... I dunno.
Has somewhat more pep than my 3.0.
I don't think it will last long. Has the tool box which is a small plus I guess, I like it.
Cruise buttons shot per usual, but that's an easy fix, did it on the '99.

 

[James Morse]

It has 255's on it now, yeah, looks like if I went w/ same thing it would in fact be close to 1000 eh. Bummer on that. Tires are "ok" but probably would have to do that in not too long but I don't drive many miles.
I don't think 255's were stock but that's a stock wheel I'm pretty sure and I do like the wider tires cosmetically.

 

[James Morse]

Insurance is saying it would add $37 per 6 mos to add the '97, does that sound right? Seems low.
Edit: truck doesn't have jump seats which seems like it was part of option group but that's actually good for me I don't want them.
Pretty sure it has the preferred luxury option pkg as it has remote key power everything etc.
Waiting to hear from them, looks like air sensor should be a $20 part and simple to swap (they are doing it). If it was bad that could explain maybe running a bit rough.
Really want someone to look at it for me too though.
Getting a little serious since it really has everything I wanted that mine doesn't have, and looks sharp, and I'd said I wanted to spend under 10k, so I guess at this point I'm looking for reasons why I wouldn't want it and the only reason I can think of is it's so old but if it's not rusty/beat (doesn't look it) then maybe year isn't a big deal and in fact in some ways 97 might even be preferred. Lord I hate buying vehicles.

 

[RonD]

Insurance will Total it in any accident not repair it
So depends on your deductible and their book value of 1997 Ranger
If value is $3,000
Less $1,000 deductible
Their risk is $2,000

And if adding to a multi-vehicle policy the average miles driven monthly would be split between all vehicles on the policy

In the case of Liability, you are already paying for that on the other vehicles on the policy, so doesn't matter what vehicle you were driving when you "caused" the accident

But yes that is a good deal for insurance coverage

 

[James Morse]

Well I'm not putting collision on it that's for sure. Just basically minimum legal for liability and add road service which has limited benefits but helps a lot if you are dead on the highway and hopefully not far from home.
Yeah I can't drive them both at once can I.
I don't know how to quote what it would be to have just the '97, should be about the same as the '99.
Credit scrore has a lot to do with it and mine is neither bad/good, I simply don't have one. Working on that.

 

[Shran]

10k is a huge down payment on a much newer truck...sounds like it's got some issues too. Are you financing this...? You are not going to get a good interest rate on something that old if they will finance it at all. And if you're paying cash... well... that's a huge down payment on something a lot newer.