New Ranger owner with pics and a few questions about low mileage maintenance

[greylajoie]

Just bought this very well-kept little black-on-black 2010 Ranger XL with the 2.3L and just over 30,000 miles! (see pics) It seems to have been garage-kept by a very old man. Look at all that pristine pleather! In this economy it was truly a deal.

That being said, this is my first "grown-up" vehicle -- prior to this I'd never paid more than $1500 for a car, usually half-dead Toyota trucks that I could bash into things without concern -- so I'd like to baby this one as much as possible.

That brings me to my question. I think I can assume that, aside from regular oil changes, not much scheduled maintenance has been done in its 11-year lifespan. It appears to have the original tires for example (which are a bit scary with cracks, and pretty bald -- high priority).

So then, which fluids (or anything else that has a scheduled replacement) will have degraded overtime, regardless of mileage, just while sitting? The booklet says new coolant every "105,000 miles or 6 years" so I guess I can assume that's due, but most things only provide a mileage guideline. Should I assume that, if they look okay, I can keep running other fluids? And what about things like fuel filter, spark plugs, shocks -- surely things like these don't degrade much while sitting, right? (it does feel pretty bumpy/squeaky though)

Right now, aside from the tires, everything looks fine -- but, see paragraph 2, I have white-trash standards. Like I said, I'd just like to keep this thing running smoothly a long time, so however I can baby it, I'd like to. A list of things to check would be a big help.

Please let me know if I should post these questions in another section. Thanks y'all!

 

[Dirtman]

Really nice truck I have basically the same one in white.

For something with such low miles and probably no major maintenance ever done I suggest the following -

Brake fluid goes bad over time and not mileage so you should flush the system.

Coolant is likely OK but still overdue to be flushed as that also degrades over time. (Stay with the oem motorcraft gold coolant)

Probably good idea to run a few bottles of fuel system cleaner through it, If it's sat for a while water could have gotten into the gas tank. (Seafoam works good)

Check the air filter, when vehicles sit mice and squirrels love to get in the air box and fill them with crap.

Fuel filters are dirt cheap and takes 5 minutes to change so after you run a couple good tanks of gas through it with fuel system cleaner replace the filter. You have to let the fuel system cleaner work first and break up any gunk or varnish from old gasoline before replacing the filter or that gunk will just clog up the new filter.

At 30k it needs the PCV valve replaced (should be done every 12k miles).. It's an absolute nightmare on that engine but needs to be done! Since it's such a pain it's often never changed and your intake and throttle body will get gummed up and nasty if you ignore it.

Check the transmission fluid, it's likely in great shape but these transmissions need to be well cared for so if the fluid is anything less than bright red change it. Also look into getting an auxiliary cooler, best investment you can make for that transmission.

Check the health of the battery, it had to be replaced at some point in the last 11 years lol.

The serpentine belt may or may not be in need of replacement. The belt is rubber obviously and rubber breaks down over time. Check it for signs of cracking.

Rubber is a big thing on vehicles that sit without being driven much, things like engine seals and suspension parts can just fall apart from dry rot so while yea the shocks should be fine, you may notice the bushings on stuff like that are cracked and brittle.

Can't think of much else that I would be concerned about due to age and not miles besides the tires of course. After checking all the above just put some miles on it and see if anything starts leaking or if any rubber parts (hoses, belts, boots, bushings etc) show signs of cracking or falling apart.

 

[greylajoie]

Thank you! That helps a lot!

 

[DILLARD000]

Good looking truck.

 

[Blmpkn]

Nice score. What did you pay?

 

[Ranger850]

Nice Truck. Congrtats on the good find. The interior looks untouched and Chow-dah free, so NOT just like @Dirtman's. Lucky you.

 

[racsan]

looks great, Im still babying along a old 94. they will last, Id definitely replace those tires your wet-weather grip (stopping , not just going) will improve drastically, as tires age they dont grip as well, even if they look ok

 

[RobbieD]

as tires age they dont grip as well, even if they look ok

Tires ain't the only thing that ages. These days I don't grip as well, either, and most days I look like hell, too.

That's a purdy truck, and the low mileage makes it even sweeter.

I think @Dirtman covered everything very well. Great score, and welcome aboard!

 

[Rimjam]

Tires & brakes, tires & brakes, tires & brakes.......fix the stuff that will get you killed first. Watch for leaks - then fluids, hoses, seals as Dirtman said.

And: ROLL TIDE

 

[greylajoie]

Thanks y'all! Yes, my girlfriend said that seeing the Ranger in all black was like "when the girl in the movie lets down her hair and takes off her glasses and you realize she's hot." lol

Nice score. What did you pay?

It was 9k which, if you haven't been watching this inflated used car market, might not seem that impressive, but as someone who's been obsessively shopping for a used Ranger for the past six months, man. Around that year/mileage, a private seller is typically asking 15k right now, and a dealership wants around 20k! It was actually still a little out of my price-range, but I couldn't resist.

(2015-2021 average selling prices for the '10, as per carguru's price trend tracker)

Tires & brakes

Definitely top priority! As soon as I stop being poor from having bought a truck.

Also look into getting an auxiliary cooler, best investment you can make for that transmission.

It will probably take me some time to make my way to this, but does anyone know of a good write-up on this sort of installation?

Thanks again for all the help y'all.

And: ROLL TIDE

rtr!

 

[Dirtman]

It will probably take me some time to make my way to this, but does anyone know of a good write-up on this sort of installation?

I don't see one in the tech section and didn't take any pics during installation of mine but it's a fairly easy install, a universal cooler works fine, you just need adapters for the transmission hard lines that fit a Ford radiator. Mine isn't fancy, I just used the universal "brackets" that came in the kit and with some clever bending it mounted good enough to the rad support.

 

[dvdswan]

Welcome to the site.

 

[scratchboat]

Thanks y'all! Yes, my girlfriend said that seeing the Ranger in all black was like "when the girl in the movie lets down her hair and takes off her glasses and you realize she's hot." lol




It was 9k which, if you haven't been watching this inflated used car market, might not seem that impressive, but as someone who's been obsessively shopping for a used Ranger for the past six months, man. Around that year/mileage, a private seller is typically asking 15k right now, and a dealership wants around 20k! It was actually still a little out of my price-range, but I couldn't resist.
View attachment 63967
(2015-2021 average selling prices for the '10, as per carguru's price trend tracker)




Definitely top priority! As soon as I stop being poor from having bought a truck.




It will probably take me some time to make my way to this, but does anyone know of a good write-up on this sort of installation?

Thanks again for all the help y'all.


rtr!

I too just found a low-mileage Ranger from a private party - the prices dealers were asking was crazy. And they expected me to make an offer and commit to purchase before they even detailed and prepped the truck! In my case I found a 2003 2WD XLT 4dr SuperCab with flareside bed - 36K miles and paid about the same as you.