Did i get ripped off?

[Xrundan]

I recently purchased a 2001 Ranger with the 3.0 engine. The truck has just under 85k on the clock, and seems to run alright. I did notice that at idle it runs a bit rough.

After getting it home, I noted terrible squeaking when I would turn. That prompted me to check the balljoints. All 4 balljoints have severely torn boots, and are trashed.

While I was looking at the truck, I could tell that the oil had recently been changed. So I asked the guy (seemed like a trustworthy guy)how long ago it had been changed. About a month ago, he said. Well, after running a Carfax report, I found out he had it serviced the day I bought it. Was this guy hiding something? What should I be looking for as far as potential problems?

Thanks in advance, everyone. This is my first Ranger, so I'm am definitely green here, and hope I didn't just buy a paperweight.

 

[superj]

I would check for oil in the radiator and coolant over flow jug. Also look for moisture on the bottom of the oil filler cap. He might have sold you a truck with a head gasket issue and was covering it by changing the oil right before you got there.

Also, if you have a vacuum gage, you can pull vacuum and see what it reads to tell issues, too. Vacuum gages are cheap at your local parts store. Maybe 15 or 18 bucks

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

Carfax, well, I learned not to put much faith in that. The only things that come up with one of those are things that get reported. I couldn’t tell you how many “clean” carfax vehicles I have seen that had replaced body panels and previous repairs. Also, the only time you might get a service report in there is if it was serviced at a dealer. The local Jiffy lube or the like never goes through the trouble to report it, nor the person who changes the oil in their driveway. So I wouldn’t worry too much one way or the other about that.

The squealing when turning could be balljoint, tie rod end, or power steering related, depending on what it’s doing. Pops and squeaks are often the joints. Squealing and growling is more the power steering pump. Check the fluid level. Of course, Ford power steering pumps are notoriously noisy, it usually helps if you’re moving at least very slowly and turning the wheel rather than being at a dead stop and cranking the wheel around

 

[Xrundan]

I would check for oil in the radiator and coolant over flow jug. Also look for moisture on the bottom of the oil filler cap. He might have sold you a truck with a head gasket issue and was covering it by changing the oil right before you got there.

Also, if you have a vacuum gage, you can pull vacuum and see what it reads to tell issues, too. Vacuum gages are cheap at your local parts store. Maybe 15 or 18 bucks

Good call on checking under the filler cap. I'll check that today.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Good call on checking under the filler cap. I'll check that today.

In cold weather they can look funky on a good engine from condensation.

 

[mikkelstuff]

Is your new 2001 truck 2 or 4 wheel drive?

A new Motorcraft coil pack fixed the rough idle when I got my Dad's 2002 3.0L Ranger.

Also anticipate the need for a camshaft synchronizer. Again spend more for a Motorcraft synchronizer. It will be worth it.

If you are changing out the ball joints yourself, you might consider swapping over to 2004 front disc brakes which use a larger diameter rotor. This requires steering knuckles from a 2004 and 16" wheels.

If the rear drum brakes are trashed, consider the Mustang rear disc brake upgrade shown on this website.

 

[RonD]

You bought a 20 year old vehicle..........................................

Lower miles means the interior is probably in good condition, and body

Lower miles ALSO means it sat alot without being used, so seals dry out, and when it was used all the lube/grease was at lower points because of gravity so dry above, and that causes high wear on parts until the lubrication gets spread out again

That's just the trade off with lower miles on older vehicle

So expect leaks and noises, and fix issues as they come up

Average yearly miles for a vehicle in the US is 13,000, so a 2013 model with average use would have 85k miles

85k on a 2001 vehicle means it was driven about 4,250 miles a year, 350 miles a month, but you don't know that, could have sat for months or years at a time
If you are turning it into a Daily Driver, i.e. 1,000 miles a month, then expect to do some extra repair work fixing leaks and dried out joints, like ball joints and u-joints, these are "time" things(20 years), not mile things(85k)


As for the money part, the "good deal" part, that's up to you and ONLY you

It has been my experience that some people think they got ripped off it they paid $1 for something
Another person will think they got a good deal paying $2 for the same thing, lol

But the first person will ALWAYS think they got ripped off regardless of what they paid, the money is the ONLY thing
While the second person is only concerned about the "thing" they wanted
Human nature

 

[Xrundan]

Is your new 2001 truck 2 or 4 wheel drive?

A new Motorcraft coil pack fixed the rough idle when I got my Dad's 2002 3.0L Ranger.

Also anticipate the need for a camshaft synchronizer. Again spend more for a Motorcraft synchronizer. It will be worth it.

If you are changing out the ball joints yourself, you might consider swapping over to 2004 front disc brakes which use a larger diameter rotor. This requires steering knuckles from a 2004 and 16" wheels.

If the rear drum brakes are trashed, consider the Mustang rear disc brake upgrade shown on this website.

The truck is 2wd. I am just doing upper and lower oem replacement control arms at this point. I bought this as a work truck, so no plans for upgrades at this point.

Thanks for the tips!

You bought a 20 year old vehicle..........................................

Lower miles means the interior is probably in good condition, and body

Lower miles ALSO means it sat alot without being used, so seals dry out, and when it was used all the lube/grease was at lower points because of gravity so dry above, and that causes high wear on parts until the lubrication gets spread out again

That's just the trade off with lower miles on older vehicle

So expect leaks and noises, and fix issues as they come up

Average yearly miles for a vehicle in the US is 13,000, so a 2013 model with average use would have 85k miles

85k on a 2001 vehicle means it was driven about 4,250 miles a year, 350 miles a month, but you don't know that, could have sat for months or years at a time
If you are turning it into a Daily Driver, i.e. 1,000 miles a month, then expect to do some extra repair work fixing leaks and dried out joints, like ball joints and u-joints, these are "time" things(20 years), not mile things(85k)


As for the money part, the "good deal" part, that's up to you and ONLY you

It has been my experience that some people think they got ripped off it they paid $1 for something
Another person will think they got a good deal paying $2 for the same thing, lol

But the first person will ALWAYS think they got ripped off regardless of what they paid, the money is the ONLY thing
While the second person is only concerned about the "thing" they wanted
Human nature

It is the fleet interior, and it's in good shape. Just needs a cleaning. The body though is actually a little rough. Looks like it has been repainted, and the clear coat on the bed is terrible! Almost looks sun baked and cracked.