New member here, 91 2wd

[kevm14]

As a new homeowner I had been thinking about getting something with a bed but wasn't seriously looking. When a co-worker mentioned he was thinking about selling his 91 Ranger, the stars aligned, and we made the transaction.

It's a 91 XLT 2wd long bed with the A4LD. It has 71k (yes, 71k) and the body seems to be in pretty good shape. I haven't seen any rust and the clearcoat is also in decent shape. Even has a cap on it, which is handy sometimes. I've never owned a truck before so this is something new and different.

I was disappointed to find out the EPA ratings of the automatic are only 21/23 while the 5-speed received 24/29. That is a HUGE difference. The only time I've seen a difference that big was when the automatic was a 3-speed without overdrive. That said, I was expecting to get basically at least 20mpg in just about any condition except short trips. Well I made a drive on the highway to pick up some furniture and that returned a calculated 17.5mpg. There are definitely some hills on this drive but I still expected 3mpg better at the least. I will gather some more data points but so far I am disappointed.

The engine actually seems to run pretty well. No pinging. I'm not really sure what to do (I want to take it easy with throwing parts at it as this is technically a beater). I have already replaced the air filter but I was considering cleaning the MAF (need to pick up some tamper proof torx sockets first) and replacing the O2 sensor. I do own a scantool but I only have the GM cable (my other cars are GMs). From my experience with GMs, the best O2 sensor to run is the OEM one. Is this the case with Fords?

Is there anything else I should look at? It needs a cat-back exhaust which I will actually be doing today. While I have the I-pipe off, I will examine the cat and try to see if it's clogged. But the truck runs well enough that I doubt it is.

Also, there is a coolant leak. It is either the lower hose or the water pump. Are the water pumps trouble spots on these or should I just throw a hose on it and hope for the best?

The gas gauge is stuck on E and at some point I'll drop the tank and replace the flooded float if I can locate a new one somewhere.

The coolant temp gauge also barely comes up to the first line in the NORMAL zone. Is this normal? Should I replace the sender? The heat works really well. Perhaps the computer sensor for ECT as well?

It has A/C but it doesn't work. I have some experience with that so I might convert to 134a in the summer. Then again, I'm not sure it has enough power to run the A/C and drive at the same time.

I've already replaced the floppy driver's side mirror with a Dorman chinese replacement. That cost $9.50 plus $7 shipping via Rockauto.com (955225). I was about to fix it myself but I had to hack the old one to pieces to get it off the truck (stuck torx bolt). Besides, why mess around for $16.50?

The dome light was missing and I found out why. It wouldn't go out. I replaced the passenger side switch and it works great now. That was easy.

Since I have finished complaining I thought I'd mention what has impressed me so far. I was expecting a very junky, clunky feeling truck. Maybe it's the low mileage but I am really quite impressed with how tight and solid overall this truck feels to drive. The turning radius is great. Hell, even the factory audio surprised me. I think I am going to like this truck but that mileage needs to improve a bit. 100hp isn't a lot.

Here are a few pictures.

What is this all about?

What the hell is this thing?

 

[Ratpackr]

I had an '88 w/ the A4LD ,& a '89 w/ 5spd man. .
Both had the 2.9L V-6..
They both averaged the same mpg. 18-20.
I now have a 2000 w/ A4LD & 3.0 V-6, It been getting Close to 18mpg @ town..
I haven't been on any trips, yet , to know the Hwy mpg.

 

[jarz21]

Welcome to the group! That's a great looking truck you have there! I too had been toying with the idea of getting a truck for some time (so as to haul my vintage motorcycles and whatnot), and a '92 Ranger happened to present itself. I am very pleased with the truck, even with the plethora of small repairs that have been made since I bought it. My truck has just over 101k and came from Nevada, so I almost feel guilty driving it around in this crummy PA winter weather.

I agree, though, that the gas mileage is a bit less than I expected. Granted, I have a 5-speed and drive a little more aggressively than I probably need to, and I also have about 350lbs in the bed so I can get better traction in slipper conditions. Still, I've been averaging about 18mpg city and 22mpg highway.

 

[kevm14]

Thanks. According to the previous owner, it hasn't been washed in at least 4 years. I imagine it will clean up nicely.

I replaced the exhaust this morning. That was actually about as easy as I could have hoped for. Hopefully it will pass inspection now. The cat seemed fine, at least the end of it that I could see. It's pretty long so I don't know if the condition of the rear necessarily speaks for the condition of the front. I think it's probably fine.

Also dropped the tranny pan and replaced the fluid/filter. The original filter said Ford on it and I suspect it was original.

Replaced the fuel filter. That was also pretty easy once I figured out the horseshoe quick connect setup.

Ran some Seafoam through the engine. I sucked it in with a vacuum line I pulled off of the air filter box. I don't think that really did anything except smoke. I've never really had a car that was helped out by Seafoam and I think that's due to a combination of relatively good maintenance and good hard flogging.

Didn't get to the water pump because the stupid phillips head bolt that holds the timing shield on wouldn't come loose and I stripped the head. I'll have to get a screw extractor and work on that. Everything else so far has been relatively easy to work on, as I would expect. Still can't find the ECT sensor or the one that goes to the gauge cluster.

There is a noticable humming/thrumming that seems worst around 35mph and seems to go away when I turn right. I am thinking right front wheel bearing. Hopefully it's not the axle. Does anyone have any good advice on R&R'ing the calipers so I can repack or replace the wheel bearings? I understand the pins are basically disposable and it's generally a strange design, coming from GMs.

 

[jarz21]

By the way, the last picture that you posted, assuming it is attached under the hood, is a bulb holder for the little service light. It takes the same sort of bulb as the interior dome light. I can't remember the bulb number off hand.

 

[kevm14]

Oh wow, I didn't even consider that. I assumed there was no way I'd get a hood light on this thing. I'll get another one from Napa today. Hopefully the mercury switch still works. Don't want any dead batteries.

EDIT: I got the light but it was NOT the same as the dome light. It was much smaller. The switch does seem to work so I guess I'm in business.

 

[jarz21]

Hmmm, my bad. I thought it was the same. It's been several months since I replaced mine, so I guess I recalled incorrectly. Glad to hear it's working now though!

 

[kevm14]

Apparently this is my Ranger repair blog so...

Did the water pump, lower hose, flushed rad and cleaned MAF sensor today. I think I need to replace the thermostat now, or at least work an air bubble out of the heater core. I'm also going to replace the ECT sensor and temp gauge sender. Can anybody tell me where each of these are located on the engine? I may have located the ECT (is it above the oil filter?) but I have no idea where the temp gauge sender is.

The MAF turned out to be almost perfectly clean so I just Q-tipped it to perfect. I'm sure that will make no difference but I wanted to be sure since I know they can get dirty.

Still need to check out the right front wheel bearing...

 

[Big Red Ranger]

nice ranger dude