looking for advice before buying

[gibvel]

Hi, just joined.

I have been looking at small trucks in my area of Colorado and have found quite a few Rangers for sale. I thought I would sign up and ask some advice.

I have a friend that sells cars so I like to stick with his dealership when possible. They have had several trucks that I've missed out on or passed on.

Let me start by saying I'd like to have a truck with 4X4 and an extended cab. I'd rather have a manual tranny but could go either way.

A Truck has come up and I'd like your advice on what to look for when I check it out this Saturday.

It's a Black (not my favorite color by far) 1993 Ranger XLT extended cab with a 4.0 V6, 4X4, Automatic. It has 105,000 miles. My guy says the interior is extremely good shape and the only thing he mentioned that he saw wrong with the exterior was paint fade on about 1/4 of the passenger side hood spilling over to the fender some.

the car fax shows lot of maintenance done in the 77,000 to 90,000 mile range between 2009 and 20011 as follows:

@77,000 miles

Maintenance inspection completed
Power steering fluid flushed/changed
Automatic transmission pan gasket replaced
Transfer case serviced
Oil and filter changed
Engine oil/fluid leak checked
Transmission fluid changed
Differential fluid flushed/changed
Steering gear oil changed
Brakes serviced
Cooling system checked
Fluids checked

@ 86,777
Maintenance inspection completed
Battery serviced
Brake fluid flushed/changed
Lights checked
Drive belt(s) replaced
Brakes checked
Brake system bled
Brake fluid checked
Tires rotated

@87,162
Maintenance inspection completed
Oil and filter changed
Front differential fluid flushed/changed
Rear differential fluid flushed/changed
Rear differential serviced

Then another oil change at 88,357.

Any advice, good or bad, would be appreciated. I'm trading a fairly reliable 2001 Saturn SC2 and this will be a daily work driver and item hauler occasionally.

Any advice on what to look for. I'm concerned that I'm going to an older vehicle and I need something reliable for too and from work.

Sorry this is so long and thanks for reading.

 

[hoosier1104]

Hi, just joined.

I have been looking at small trucks in my area of Colorado and have found quite a few Rangers for sale. I thought I would sign up and ask some advice.

I have a friend that sells cars so I like to stick with his dealership when possible. They have had several trucks that I've missed out on or passed on.

Let me start by saying I'd like to have a truck with 4X4 and an extended cab. I'd rather have a manual tranny but could go either way.

A Truck has come up and I'd like your advice on what to look for when I check it out this Saturday.

It's a Black (not my favorite color by far) 1993 Ranger XLT extended cab with a 4.0 V6, 4X4, Automatic. It has 105,000 miles. My guy says the interior is extremely good shape and the only thing he mentioned that he saw wrong with the exterior was paint fade on about 1/4 of the passenger side hood spilling over to the fender some.

the car fax shows lot of maintenance done in the 77,000 to 90,000 mile range between 2009 and 20011 as follows:

@77,000 miles

Maintenance inspection completed
Power steering fluid flushed/changed
Automatic transmission pan gasket replaced
Transfer case serviced
Oil and filter changed
Engine oil/fluid leak checked
Transmission fluid changed
Differential fluid flushed/changed
Steering gear oil changed
Brakes serviced
Cooling system checked
Fluids checked

@ 86,777
Maintenance inspection completed
Power steering fluid flushed/changed
Automatic transmission pan gasket replaced
Transfer case serviced
Oil and filter changed
Engine oil/fluid leak checked
Transmission fluid changed
Differential fluid flushed/changed
Steering gear oil changed
Brakes serviced
Cooling system checked
Fluids checked

@87,162
Maintenance inspection completed
Oil and filter changed
Front differential fluid flushed/changed
Rear differential fluid flushed/changed
Rear differential serviced

Then another oil change at 88,357.

Any advice, good or bad, would be appreciated. I'm trading a fairly reliable 2001 Saturn SC2 and this will be a daily work driver and item hauler occasionally.

Any advice on what to look for. I'm concerned that I'm going to an older vehicle and I need something reliable for too and from work.

Sorry this is so long and thanks for reading.

The items in red concern me. Why has the transmission and the diffs been service so frequently in 15k miles? The only thing I can think of is that it sat for an extended period of time.

 

[gibvel]

That was my mistake...

At 86,777 it should have been this list of things

Maintenance inspection completed
Battery serviced
Brake fluid flushed/changed
Lights checked
Drive belt(s) replaced
Brakes checked
Brake system bled
Brake fluid checked
Tires rotated

sorry for the confusion

 

[pjtoledo]

R U S T,,, on any old vehicle that's an issue. I will have to admit I'm in northern Ohio where the roads are salted heavily. here rust is mandatory, it can kill a vehicle faster than mechanical wear.
when we "rusties" see old cars from the southwest areas, then turn around and look at our stuff it's a real bummer.
anyway, around here we take a hammer to the rear frame areas looking for soft spots.


Perry

 

[hoosier1104]

Like pjtoledo mentioned, what part of the country you are from makes a huge difference.

 

[Mightyfordranger]

What part of northern Ohio pjtoledo and yes I have a ratchet strap holding the bumper up on my ranger now and I'm missing a cab corner ha ha

Edit: we do have a how to buy article here on TRS that may be of some help

 

[gibvel]

Edit: we do have a how to buy article here on TRS that may be of some help

Do you have a link?

Thanks

 

[Kirby N.]

The auto trannies on our ranger suck. Especially behind a 4.0. I would be Cautious of anything that looks like the tranny was giving issues. I would drive it and make sure it shifts correctly, quickly and firmly. Nah, I take all that back- I wouldn't buy another ranger with an auto.


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[straycat]

If the tranny is not slipping of shifting hard I would not worry about it. I have never had any problems with any of my automatic transmissions on any Ranger or BII I have owned and none of my friends with an auto has had in issues either. If the vehicle has been well maintained then there is nothing to worry about. The 4.0 is a great motor and I really loved my 99 Ranger with the auto trans and the 33 inch tires I ran. Never had any issues with it and now my buddy bought it from me for his son. He wanted a great truck and it has been a great truck for the past 15 years I had owned it. I bought it new July 99. Never had any issues with it. Just test drive that truck and make sure you have a good buddy that knows mechanics along for that ride.

Best of luck, Bro!!!!

 

[pjtoledo]

What part of northern Ohio pjtoledo and yes I have a ratchet strap holding the bumper up on my ranger now and I'm missing a cab corner ha ha

Edit: we do have a how to buy article here on TRS that may be of some help

the "toledo" in my user name should give you a hint

I used to get around a lot for work, both Ohio & Michigan. Had customers in many small towns.

Perry


a machinist eh? I have an older JET in the basement, mostly use it for scattering shavings all over the place.

 

[gibvel]

Thanks for the heads up on the Trannies!!

Now the news from my car guy is that when they pulled it into the shop to inspect it they found leaking head gaskets. So that's a big pass.

Thanks for the advice!

 

[Slammin Sam]

Gibvel, where in CO are you located? Rust is normally not a problem for Colorado vehicles. The climate here is dry! In western Colorado single digit humidity in the summer is not unusual. Combine that with lack of road salt during the winter. When you see a rusty car, it probably came here from the rust belt. Paint is the victim of the harsh sun, destroying the clear coat. Since the OP ran a car fax, he should be able to see where the truck is from. Although Straycat has had good luck with a4ld automatics, during my 8 month search for my current B2, at least half the automatic B2s advertised had bad trannys.

 

[gibvel]

Hi Sam,

I'm North of Denver. I figured that the rust wouldn't be as bad out here, like you said. The one I was looking at spent it's "childhood" in Michigan so maybe a possibility of some rust.

Like I said, however, leaky head gaskets put the kibosh on that vehicle. I was very close to calling my car guy and turning it down, sight unseen, when he called and told me that news. So I wasn't too devastated.

I know I'll come up with the vehicle I'm supposed to get. I am known to wait months and months to end up with the cream of the crop vehicle.

 

[Mightyfordranger]

http://www.therangerstation.com/resources/index.shtml
Look on the left side under shopping for a used ranger there a nice little group of articles that could help

QUOTE=pjtoledo;1547544]the "toledo" in my user name should give you a hint

I used to get around a lot for work, both Ohio & Michigan. Had customers in many small towns.

Perry


a machinist eh? I have an older JET in the basement, mostly use it for scattering shavings all over the place.[/QUOTE]


Yeah should have noticed that but yeah I make a nice mess everyday at the shop and jets aren't bad machines I ran a few I'm from akronish area (that's the closes big city many people know)