How long to keep it alive?

[Buggyman]

Hey folks,

I am hitting a time to make some crucial decisions about my truck. I'v got a 98' ranger, 4x4, 3.0, 5 speed with 205,000 miles. Its been in the family since it was bought, my dad gave it to me when I went to college and it had 130,000 miles on it. It has been fairly well maintained all its life (oil changed every 3k since I owned it). Here's a brief history of it...

Rear driver side axle shaft pulled out one year ago when a C clamp broke and caused the rear DS tire to fall off at 50 MPH in a curve, I was able to keep it on the road and slow it to a stop as I slid into a ditch. I was busy with school and had it towed to a shop that replaced the gears and axle shafts. Had a new clutch dropped in at 150k miles, factory clutch. I bolted in AVM hubs and replaced both front wheel bearings about 2 months ago, also replaced the oil seals in the steering knuckles. Prior to this the vac hubs were completely shot, also had the front PS axle pull out about 40% when the compression clip broke that holds the front axle in place inside of the hubs, this completely destroyed the remains of the front PS hub leading up to the AVM replacement. Had to replace the thermostat housing (a 90 degree bend that the radiator house clips to) when it rusted out and leaked 80% of my coolant out. Also have replaced all the shocks, recent break pad job, and changed all fluids and flushed the coolant, plus new tires put on 6 months ago.

Its needing a few other repairs that I can do, but before I put anymore money into it, I need some opinions if its worth it or not. Right now I keep getting nasty crud that looks like mud in my radiator, it came back after flushing the system very well. Its using a little oil (not allot, I might have to add half a quart between oil changes), has a slight miss when the engine is cold but might be due to old spark plugs. Have some noise coming from the clutch, but its very random and might happen once a month for 3-5 secs. And I am getting some noise from my front lower ball joints which are stock.


So here's the deal, I have about 2-3 years left of college, which I have a 55 mile one way commute three times a week. I also work part time for an ambulance service which gives me a 40 mile commute about 2-3 times a week on-top of the school drive. I also volunteer for two fire departments which can rack up a few miles of rough driving each month. Other then when I have a break from school and work, I really do not have allot of time to work on it, and I need something that is reliable. I also forgot to add that the airbags do not work since I blew the airbag computer up while welding something to the front of the truck, yes I was an idiot and did not disconnect the battery.

Do you think I should keep replacing parts and try to keep this beast running till 350k miles or so? Or could I be doomed for a head gasket job or an engine replacement due to the crud showing up in the radiator and the sudden onset of oil usage? Or should I sell it as is while it still runs decent and get something more reliable? I am also a little concerned with safety issues due to busted airbags, bad ball joints and a history of tires and axles falling off.

That's the question I am debating right now, any pointers would be great!
Thanks for the time put into reading the novel about my truck!

-Buggyman

 

[PaleBlue90]

i would replace the ball joints,the radiator, or do another flush, check for oil leaks change the plugs and dont hot rod it. i think if you did these and kept the oil changes etc. it will last to 350K these little trucks are great and i dont think ill wheel or drive any other. good luck and im shure someone else will chime in aswell.

 

[MAKG]

You're commuting, AND on a budget. It's a bad vehicle for that.

Buy a $500 Honda Civic with a big dent in the door. Keep the truck as a spare.

Better yet, pick up a Prizm. It's identical to a Corolla, but a whole heck of a lot cheaper. In good shape, they get up to 40 MPG highway (mine's down to about 35 MPG, with almost 280K miles). They last until they get ugly....

Breaking C-clips is not something one should EVER see under normal use. Keep your daily driver and your offroad toy separate...

And that oily gunk is possibly the radiator IF you have an automatic transmission. Fix this TODAY because it's wrecking your transmission. Then flush the transmission.

 

[Buggyman]

Thanks for the responses. Its a manual transmission so the crud in the radiator makes me suspicious of a dieing head gasket and would explain the slight oil loss. About the C-clip, that's exactly what I would think, but the truck has always been a DD, rarely taken off road and rarely abused. So, to me its kinda odd that the C-clip would up and break the way it did.

I like the idea of keeping the truck and getting a beat-up prizm; are there any common weaknesses that might be found in a older prizim or smiler car? Such as transmission issues, timing chains, etc?

 

[baadboy11]

Once again have to agree with MAKG, I bought a newer ranger after the parts list started getting big on my old one, and i'm in college...now i'm stuck with a busted ranger in a storage unit thats not worth anything, and a hefty car payment...it sucks being broke.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

First off... it's not worth selling. The problem you run into when they get older and into high mileage is that the value drops off. Don't get me wrong, it doesn't make a bad truck, or else I wouldn't have most of the trucks I do. But I wouldn't lean heavy on an old truck for racking up lots of mileage (old as in older than 5 years, the typical lifespan for a large number of parts).

I'd have to agree with MAKG, get yourself a beater commuter. Or if you can afford it a newer car for general transportation. Use the Ranger when you need to haul something. I would have done that a long time ago if it wasn't that a beater car would do more sitting parked because I needed the use of a truck than it would be worth. If I got anything for cheap transportation it would be a motorcycle.

It doesn't sound like you really need the use of a truck all the time though. I couldn't even get away from using a truck when I was away at college because I was often using it to haul something around. I hauled parts home that I purchased up there, hauled my ever-growing tool collection around so I could make repairs away from home, and I hauled stuff for friends at college (did you know that 45 cases of beer fill a 6' Ranger bed pretty much flush with the top of the bedsides? Were you also aware that 10 tables and 40 chairs can be piled on top of the beer, but cause your mudflaps to drag? lol...)

Buy a commuter, turn the Ranger into a toy/hauler.