bought a '93, help?

[AllBlackBimmer]

bought a 1993 Ranger EXT cad, 4x4 with the 4.0 V6 in it.

5 spd manual, manual locking hubs, 126,000 miles on it.


The truck runs OK, it seems to lack some low end power. I bought some MAF cleaner and plan on doing that, and have noted that my plugs and wires look as old as the engine - no way were they repalced anytime lately. I popped open the coolant resovior and the coolant looks like choclate milk - dark brown and "slimy" look. I pull the oil dipstick and the oil is black as night.

The truck runs OK - other than the lack of low end power/torque - no smoke, no check engine light. Doesn't overheat or eat coolant or oil.



I KNOW these trucks can last up towards 300,000 miles.

What do I need to do to make my truck last atleast until 200,000k (thats about another 75k on it)?

I am going to:

clean MAF sensor

change spark plugs and wires - what spark plugs/wires should I get? motorcraft?

change oil. - what oil should I get? High mileage?
coolant flush.

change brakes - I can tell the rotors are warpped.

now, what else should I do? What other fluids should I change in this thing? power steering? tranny?

What other things should I be looking for in order to keep my truck running good?

 

[modelageek]

bought a 1993 Ranger EXT cad, 4x4 with the 4.0 V6 in it.

5 spd manual, manual locking hubs, 126,000 miles on it.


The truck runs OK, it seems to lack some low end power. I bought some MAF cleaner and plan on doing that, and have noted that my plugs and wires look as old as the engine - no way were they repalced anytime lately. I popped open the coolant resovior and the coolant looks like choclate milk - dark brown and "slimy" look. I pull the oil dipstick and the oil is black as night.

The truck runs OK - other than the lack of low end power/torque - no smoke, no check engine light. Doesn't overheat or eat coolant or oil.



I KNOW these trucks can last up towards 300,000 miles.

What do I need to do to make my truck last atleast until 200,000k (thats about another 75k on it)?

I am going to:

clean MAF sensor

change spark plugs and wires - what spark plugs/wires should I get? motorcraft?

change oil. - what oil should I get? High mileage?
coolant flush.

change brakes - I can tell the rotors are warpped.

now, what else should I do? What other fluids should I change in this thing? power steering? tranny?

What other things should I be looking for in order to keep my truck running good?

if that was my truck the first things i would do is change the oil and flush out the cooling system real well......NAPA sells a product by MAC that helps flush the system....I use prestone yellow concentrate and then buy some distilled water and use that.I would swap out the t-stat also...I would use whatever quality oil was on sale........I would change the oil again in 1500 miles....I am sure you know this but you always want to change the oil after the engine is heated up.....I think you want to make sure you don't have a head gasket issue before putting a lot of time and money into it....

if i felt the engine was ok after doing this I would then run some techron though the tank and after that is gone replace the plugs and wires...use only motorcraft or autolite plugs..........the tranny takes about 3 quarts of ATF.......not sure what the transfer case and diff take...flush power steering fluid...change air-filter fuel filter etc.........it sounds like you might have a nice truck there!!!

you also should create a detailed signature of the truck......it helps for DXing........include location also

 

[AllBlackBimmer]

How do I check for a head gasket problem?

I did some reserach on it... and I know looking at the oil, smoke, coolant being burned up are signs, but having or not having those things don't always mean a blown head gasket.

My truck does not overheat and it doesnt eat coolant. I do get white smoke when cold out at first startup and for the first 3-5 mins. My exhaust does smell a little rich but can't say I noticed anything coming out of my tailpipe.

I already dumped a bottle of gumout in my gas which seemed to help a ltitle.

When Idle, the truck slightly shakes and vibrates, but its not the RPM's as the tach doesn't really move off of 800'ish RPMs. Could this be motor mounts?

Head gasket is obviously what I am worried about, I just bought this thing with 126k and don't really know the service history -- cracked heads are from overheating so hopefully that isnt my problem?

 

[infantry grunt]

sounds like he answered your ?s the t-case takes ATF aswell and i run 80-90 wt in my diffs.my front and rear main seals leak so i switched from synthetic to SAE oil and it slowed it down a good bit till i can replace them

 

[AllBlackBimmer]

if that was my truck the first things i would do is change the oil and flush out the cooling system real well......NAPA sells a product by MAC that helps flush the system....I use prestone yellow concentrate and then buy some distilled water and use that.I would swap out the t-stat also...I would use whatever quality oil was on sale........I would change the oil again in 1500 miles....I am sure you know this but you always want to change the oil after the engine is heated up.....I think you want to make sure you don't have a head gasket issue before putting a lot of time and money into it....

if i felt the engine was ok after doing this I would then run some techron though the tank and after that is gone replace the plugs and wires...use only motorcraft or autolite plugs..........the tranny takes about 3 quarts of ATF.......not sure what the transfer case and diff take...flush power steering fluid...change air-filter fuel filter etc.........it sounds like you might have a nice truck there!!!

you also should create a detailed signature of the truck......it helps for DXing........include location also

Do you use high mileage oil or just regular? synthetic or no?

What will replacing my thermostat do? Sorry, I am just ignorant to this.

With plugs - do you go platinum or double plat? something else?

My truck is the 4.0 ohc engine which takes different plugs than the 4.0 sohc.

 

[modelageek]

How do I check for a head gasket problem?

I did some reserach on it... and I know looking at the oil, smoke, coolant being burned up are signs, but having or not having those things don't always mean a blown head gasket.

My truck does not overheat and it doesnt eat coolant. I do get white smoke when cold out at first startup and for the first 3-5 mins. My exhaust does smell a little rich but can't say I noticed anything coming out of my tailpipe.

I already dumped a bottle of gumout in my gas which seemed to help a ltitle.

When Idle, the truck slightly shakes and vibrates, but its not the RPM's as the tach doesn't really move off of 800'ish RPMs. Could this be motor mounts?

Head gasket is obviously what I am worried about, I just bought this thing with 126k and don't really know the service history -- cracked heads are from overheating so hopefully that isnt my problem?

Do you use high mileage oil or just regular? synthetic or no?

What will replacing my thermostat do? Sorry, I am just ignorant to this.

With plugs - do you go platinum or double plat? something else?

My truck is the 4.0 ohc engine which takes different plugs than the 4.0 sohc.

trust me I am not like the others !! spend the 10 minutes to create a detailed signature of your truck including location........

A haynes Manual is always nice to have.....

you want to change the fuel filter asap also....$10

there are a few way to test for a blown headgasket....., block-chek, combustion gas test, compression test.....your "milk chocolate" comment concerned me a little...........I did buy a Saab once that had a brown, rust crap in the cooling system.........I flushed it all out and it ended up being fine............you could just spend the $25 on coolant and flush it out and hope for the best........I would remove the t-stat if you can and run the truck and keep flushing it out.....

I think you use single P plugs but not sure?

any quality oil will do 5w30 or 10w30..should say the weight on the oil-cap .I would just use dino oil to start off with and then change it in 1500.and then again in 2000.....it sounds like it was not maintained great and the quick oil changes might help clean it out a little....location would help determining the weight.?

a t-stat is a maintenance item and cost $10........the idea is to do maintenance that would keep you from breaking down and causing bigger issue........if the truck seems to be ok after a few months I would even swap out all the cooling and heating hoses..........You know about rockauto.com?

 

[AllBlackBimmer]

trust me I am not like the others !! spend the 10 minutes to create a detailed signature of your truck including location........

A haynes Manual is always nice to have.....

you want to change the fuel filter asap also....$10

there are a few way to test for a blown headgasket....., block-chek, combustion gas test, compression test.....your "milk chocolate" comment concerned me a little...........I did buy a Saab once that had a brown, rust crap in the cooling system.........I flushed it all out and it ended up being fine............you could just spend the $25 on coolant and flush it out and hope for the best........I would remove the t-stat if you can and run the truck and keep flushing it out.....

I think you use single P plugs but not sure?

any quality oil will do 5w30 or 10w30..should say the weight on the oil-cap .I would just use dino oil to start off with and then change it in 1500.and then again in 2000.....it sounds like it was not maintained great and the quick oil changes might help clean it out a little....location would help determining the weight.?

a t-stat is a maintenance item and cost $10........the idea is to do maintenance that would keep you from breaking down and causing bigger issue........if the truck seems to be ok after a few months I would even swap out all the cooling and heating hoses..........You know about rockauto.com?

Yea I can't say the coolant in the resovior looks good, it is very dark colored and dirty. Very dirty.

I did check my engine oil and no white or milky-ness in there.

I want to believe the truck wasn't maintain that great and that the coolant is just like my spark plugs - VERY old, and not changed for a loooong time.

I swear the plugs + wires almost look factory OEM.

If I do the coolant flush first before other things, and the coolant stays "clean" would it be OK to assume I have no headgasket cracks? If it gets dirty again does that mean I do have a head gasket crack?

Thanks for all the help man!

 

[modelageek]

I am not a "blownheadgasket" expert but I think the only way to really know is by doing something like a combustion gas test.........I have read on here a few times buy people that appear like they know what they are talking about that if you had a blown head-gasket you would be getting coolant spewing out of the radiator cap....I am sure some others will jump in....check your rear leaf-spring hangers and shackles for rust

good signature........you should add .......tranny? Cab?........

 

[infantry grunt]

about the white smoke you see when you first crank your truck,in your previous post, is probably due to worn valve stem seal.if they need replacing they will allow oil to bypass into your combuction chamber,so when you crank it up after sitting a while,its just burning the oil creating white smoke.its not a major mechanical problem that could cause alot of damage but you will have to pull the heads to replace them,unless you have an air compressor,and the seals dont cost much,but if you have to pull the heads you can purchase a head gasket kit that comes with seals