Should I or shouldn't I

[R***A**N**G**E***R]

I have been babying a seeping/leaking head gasket for about a year and a half now, I have kept it under control SO FAR by using additives, anyways coincidentally I also have had a thermostat stuck OPEN for about the same time my question is if I replace the thermostat will I be pushing my luck with the bad head gasket because of more pressure???? the reason I want to put in a new thermostat is because in the winter the heat is not very good since it is stuck OPEN it never really gets a chance to heat up and I can't utilize my heater to my comfort level.

The reason I have not FIXED the head gasket is because the engine has 253,000 miles on it and it doesn't make good money sense to have it fixed when who knows when my engine is finally going to go I mean 253,000 miles is a shit load of miles.

I can get a new engine from ford for I think 2,200 plus labor and a warranty I refuse to take my chances with a so called low mileage engine from some junk yard NOOOOOOOOOOOOO THANKSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!

 

[02RangerXLT]

Do a V8 swap.

 

[R***A**N**G**E***R]

Do a V8 swap.

I would love to BUT it's not in my budget!! any opinion on the thermostat??

 

[killacal]

What engine is in the truck? If it's a 2.3 I would do a head gasket/timing belt & water pump while I was in there, and run it another 200k.

 

[Hopman]

What engine is in the truck? If it's a 2.3 I would do a head gasket/timing belt & water pump while I was in there, and run it another 200k.

I second that.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Just fix the headgasket if you are worried about it.

I had been putting of doing anything to my Ranger because I thought it was going to blow at any time and it wasn't worth the effort. The stupid thing is still going, and I have no doubt it would be in better shape than it is now if I had went ahead and fixed it to start with.

 

[88_Eddie]

i agree, fix the head/t-stat and drive it til it breaks for good

 

[press 1 for english]

I have been babying a seeping/leaking head gasket for about a year and a half now, I have kept it under control SO FAR by using additives, anyways coincidentally I also have had a thermostat stuck OPEN for about the same time my question is if I replace the thermostat will I be pushing my luck with the bad head gasket because of more pressure???? the reason I want to put in a new thermostat is because in the winter the heat is not very good since it is stuck OPEN it never really gets a chance to heat up and I can't utilize my heater to my comfort level.

The reason I have not FIXED the head gasket is because the engine has 253,000 miles on it and it doesn't make good money sense to have it fixed when who knows when my engine is finally going to go I mean 253,000 miles is a shit load of miles.

I can get a new engine from ford for I think 2,200 plus labor and a warranty I refuse to take my chances with a so called low mileage engine from some junk yard NOOOOOOOOOOOOO THANKSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!

$2200 for a new engine from Ford? That doesn't sound right, a 2.3L crate engine from Ford is well over $3000. Even a Jasper reman engine is over $3000.
Sounds really silly to dump that kind of money in a 15 year old Ranger worth about $3000 at the most.
If you look at it from a cost effective standpoint it makes no sense because the whole truck has wicked high mileage.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

$2200 for a new engine from Ford? That doesn't sound right, a 2.3L crate engine from Ford is well over $3000.
Sounds really silly to dump that kind of money in a 15 year old Ranger worth about $3000 at the most.

Most decent junkyards offer something for a warrentee on used engines, which is the route I would go.

 

[mentalbreakdown00]

All the j/y I use offer a 1 yr or 15K warranty on everything used.

 

[Hopman]

i agree, fix the head/t-stat and drive it til it breaks for good

Then he'll be driving it for a loooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooong time. Those 4-bangers are damn friggen tough to kill.

 

[R***A**N**G**E***R]

the truck is a 1996 ford ranger 4x4 STX with the 4.0

When I bought the truck it had all the minor rust and door dings fixed an a 100% re-paint and stx factory stripes put back on, the truck has no rust and looks NEW therefore I am not getting rid of the truck when I can put a new engine in it. There is no way in hell im dumping money in an engine pushing 300,000 miles!!!!

A new engine from ford does not mean you get a complete new engine ( usually just the lower half)and yes it is $2,200 PLUS labor at 90 bucks an hour.but I will double check on monday and edit my post if needed.

Anyways getting back to my initial question, does anybody know if putting a new thermo in will be to much pressure and finally blow my gaskets beyond driving conditions?

 

[xkotyx]

my 2.3l sat for 3yrs not running in a field. only ran on 2 cylinders for about half a year. was wrecked. thermo went out for a while. timing belt broke. etc etc etc.....
now the valves are ticking.

but all in all, she still runs pretty damn good as far as the engine goes!!!!!

 

[killacal]

the truck is a 1996 ford ranger 4x4 STX with the 4.0

When I bought the truck it had all the minor rust and door dings fixed an a 100% re-paint and stx factory stripes put back on, the truck has no rust and looks NEW therefore I am not getting rid of the truck when I can put a new engine in it. There is no way in hell im dumping money in an engine pushing 300,000 miles!!!!

A new engine from ford does not mean you get a complete new engine ( usually just the lower half)and yes it is $2,200 PLUS labor at 90 bucks an hour.but I will double check on monday and edit my post if needed.

Anyways getting back to my initial question, does anybody know if putting a new thermo in will be to much pressure and finally blow my gaskets beyond driving conditions?

Are you located in the northeast? I have a 4.0 out of an explorer (i think 96 or 97)... it has just over 100k on it. $100 it's yours.