Looking to buy ranger

[d2freak82]

I’ve been considering picking up a ranger, have always been fond of the 80-2000.
Could be interesting to mod one. I was curious which motor had the most potential?
any tips or suggestions would be appreciated

 

[bobbywalter]

2wd or 4x4?



2002 or newer...2wd 2.3 mazda with a hand shaker. great system.

4x4....i prefer the ttb....so 90-97 4.0.....with a hand shaker....

 

[MaicoDoug]

My solid lifter 2.8 (1895 5 speed manual) was one very fast truck. In creditable power from that motor. Towed a 6,600 lb 1952 3/4 ton chevy truck over the hill (hwy 17) to Santa Cruz. Did have to get down to 2nd gear a couple of times. What a truck! Fast 2wd with the 4wd camber blocks & 15" x 8 wheels & tacky tires. Crazy fast in the hills.

You can find good deals on the years that had the timing chain failures lately, the ones that grandson blew up that was well kept by grandpaw. Just coming up for sale now. Will require a new motor. I'd love to retro-fit an aluminum block V8. You can pick up a land rover aluminum V8 block for the price of the metal. Will need a new module & remap. That iron V6 sucks so bad, and the 5sp auto too. But they do keep running with some love. Enjoy. - Doug

 

[Chapap]

Extended cab Rangers and Explorers have more leg room than single cab Rangers if that's a concern.

 

[d2freak82]

My preference would be extended cab, but I would entertain short cab - as I have ideas for both. I was thinking at first 2wd would be my preference for better handling but I've been wanting a 4wd/awd vehicle for a hot minute. Absolutely no desire to tow with this, I have a full size diesel truck for that. V8's are nice but I want to make power with something smaller.

What is hand shaker?

TTB axle - yet you mention 4.10 dana 60 in your signature? lol

 

[sgtsandman]

TTB axle - yet you mention 4.10 dana 60 in your signature? lol

You haven’t seen what he does to and with his vehicles. A TTB wouldn’t live long.

 

[bobbywalter]

My preference would be extended cab, but I would entertain short cab - as I have ideas for both. I was thinking at first 2wd would be my preference for better handling but I've been wanting a 4wd/awd vehicle for a hot minute. Absolutely no desire to tow with this, I have a full size diesel truck for that. V8's are nice but I want to make power with something smaller.

What is hand shaker?

TTB axle - yet you mention 4.10 dana 60 in your signature? lol

hand shaker is a manual transmission.....or rather manual anything....windows...lockouts....t case ect....





sandman is not necessarily wrong....but my truck is the result of incrementalism.

i was unable to keep an hd built 31 spline arb 8.8 alive....so i ended up with full floater 60s front and rear.

that decision was pushed due to the waning supply of ttb dana 35 parts in my area of the rust belt.... it was the most cost effective long term solution at the time.


i like the ttb platform to a certain level...and prefer it over the other oem offerings.


I ASS U MED....you were looking to start with a good base and work your way forward from that point... in which case for sane use....i made the suggestions i did.

 

[d2freak82]

honestly not sure what I want to do at this point, which is why I posted on here.... just some ideas rattling around. I have an OBS with 7.3 so I know exactly what you're saying with the axles, just funny.
Have a 95 corolla that I put around in when I'm working on my truck - it's a turd, and it takes a lot of work and money to get nothing out of it.... so I'm chomping at the bit to do something, as I'm on hold with my truck at the moment waiting on compression tester and leakdown gauge to arrive. (EGT issue when there shouldn't be)

 

[Manscout]

I've got to say the 4.0 ohv isn't a monster, but it is reliable with a manual tranny. Great for off-roading torque. As mentioned above, it really depends on where and how you plan to drive it.

 

[d2freak82]

I've got to say the 4.0 ohv isn't a monster, but it is reliable with a manual tranny. Great for off-roading torque. As mentioned above, it really depends on where and how you plan to drive it.

off-roading definitely not in the cards.... easy way to break things =) but I suppose maybe that's the fun?

I live in Kansas as well - not sure how much of that you see around here? Maybe in Western Kansas?

 

[Josh B]

Hey D2, welcome to TRS
I have driven my 93 4x4 4.0 since 2006 and am still finding things to like about it.
The sway bar is one of my favorite gadjits. Growing up with a motorbike and a lake road, got me to liking the curves, and this truck will take them well.
Also that 4.0 is no wimp either, and still going strong pushing 400,000 miles
My 93 is also a 3/4 T, and I have maxed that out more than once also

 

[scotts90ranger]

None of the engines offered in Rangers have super potential for power, they're all reliable and can handle power if you throw enough money at them, manual transmissions are better reliability than autos if driven reasonably but everything has it's downfall... The best power offered was the OHC 4.0L, somewhere over 200hp stock, the OHC 4.0L was rated at like 155hp but the rev limiter was like 4500rpm (if you don't know, rpm is important in the HP equation, you have a 7.3L so I'm sure you know...), I had a '91 Explorer with that and it was nice to drive...

For a daily driver I was tired of reliability issues with my Geo Tracker (after I'd put 50k miles on my 5.0L explorer that I bought 7 years ago to build into an offroader... still hasn't gotten there) so I bought a '97 Ranger with a 2.3L and 5 speed extended cab, in the last 60k miles I've put on the thing I might have $2k in it including all tires I've put on it and totaling it once in a fender bender then fixing it myself... gets like 24mpg... can't argue...

Ok, maybe I got ahead of myself there and what Bobby was hinting at, a mid '01-11 2.3L Duratec manual, that has some potential, it's the base of the current ecoboost engines... now there's some potential...

 

[bobbywalter]

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[gaz]

@d2freak82 ,
From reading your posts you do not need a pickup truck but do want something fun to drive, here are my suggestions:
1) extracab 1st gen Ranger with 2.9l
2) BroncoII with 2.9l
3) 93-94 Mazdo Navajo with OHV 4.0l
4) 93-94 Explorer Sport with OHV 4.0l
5) 93-94 extracab 2nd gen Ranger with OHV 4.0l

Here is how I would select from my list:
A, If I want the best possible fuel economy, I would find a 2.9l powered selection.
B, If I wanted the highest selection of used and aftermarket parts, I would choose one of the OHV 4.0l
C, If I wanted a hot rod, I would either make a new list or BREAK the proverbial piggy bank to slip a purpose BUILT carbed 305 or EFi 5.0l in one of the aforementioned chassis.

SUMMARY
A 1st or 2nd gen Ranger, BII, 2 door Explorer or Navajo chasis with the suspension dialed in and the correct gear ratio for the tire size in use can be very fun in a variety of environments.
-The 2.9l will ALWAYS make better fuel economy but at the end of the day, it's still a truck.
-The 4.0l, even more of a truck engine, so if you want a race car it will need a different powerplant, a thick stack of checks and a box of ink pens; anyone of those 5 chasis with a purpose built V8 will always be fun, the lighter chasis of course, being the most fun of the 5

 

[Chapap]

@d2freak82 ,
From reading your posts you do not need a pickup truck but do want something fun to drive, here are my suggestions:
1) extracab 1st gen Ranger with 2.9l
2) BroncoII with 2.9l
3) 93-94 Mazdo Navajo with OHV 4.0l
4) 93-94 Explorer Sport with OHV 4.0l
5) 93-94 extracab 2nd gen Ranger with OHV 4.0l

Here is how I would select from my list:
A, If I want the best possible fuel economy, I would find a 2.9l powered selection.
B, If I wanted the highest selection of used and aftermarket parts, I would choose one of the OHV 4.0l
C, If I wanted a hot rod, I would either make a new list or BREAK the proverbial piggy bank to slip a purpose BUILT carbed 305 or EFi 5.0l in one of the aforementioned chassis.

SUMMARY
A 1st or 2nd gen Ranger, BII, 2 door Explorer or Navajo chasis with the suspension dialed in and the correct gear ratio for the tire size in use can be very fun in a variety of environments.
-The 2.9l will ALWAYS make better fuel economy but at the end of the day, it's still a truck.
-The 4.0l, even more of a truck engine, so if you want a race car it will need a different powerplant, a thick stack of checks and a box of ink pens; anyone of those 5 chasis with a purpose built V8 will always be fun, the lighter chasis of course, being the most fun of the 5

You can use 100% of the 2.3 Lima in pretty much any situation, which is its own type of fun. Certainly it can be modded to make over 100 hp. Not saying it fits on the list, but I’ve found mine to be very satisfying.