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Ford Ranger III
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Any suggestions for improving handling w/o getting radical? My '84 Mitsu pickup handles much better, so it's not simply a matter of being a truck.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item- =2431397251&category=33641&rd=1
Take a look, they add a sweet look to your 4.0L.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item- =2431397251&category=33641&rd=1
Take a look, they add a sweet look to your 4.0L.
Several years ago I owned a 2000 SuperCab 3.0 automatic and enjoyed it greatly. Sold it for financial reasons in late '01. Now I've got "the fever" again. I'm looking at an '04 regular cab this time, with the base four-cylinder and a five-speed. Haven't driven it yet, because I didn't want to spend too much time wrangling with a dealer at this stage.
My question: Do any of y'all have the (new) 2.3 with 5-speed manual? What's your impression of the power? Any reliability issues? If I buy this one, it'll be used as a commuter vehicle with occasional trips to the flea market, not regular heavy hauling, and it'll be replacing both a '90 Nissan 240sx and an '83 Mercedes turbodiesel. The daily round trip is about 80 miles, so reliability and economy are both important.
TIA,
Stephen
somewhere in central Georgia
hate the turn signal cancel
Sincerely,
Paul
On another forum subject, I have the Ford drop-in over the rail bedliner. My brother-in-law mechanic prefers this to a spray in liner, says it protects the bed better when carrying heavy items and that drainage is not a problem. Time will tell on this one.
Are you in the mountains? I believe the octane requirements are lower in higher altitudes.
Goldranger
I decided not to take it in for now, since the weather turned colder there is no more pinging, I guess it likes the cooler more dense air. Will take it in in the spring when the warmer weather comes and starts pinging again.
Good Luck
I have a 95 ranger 2300 and it has a missfire in cyclinder#2. I scanned the computer & the code it pulled up was missfire cyclinder#2 like if I didn't know that allready. I have new plugs, wires & all the electrics checked out good. I replaced the injector thinking that it might be hanging open. Still the same results missfiring in cyclinder#2. Any suggestions?
Thanks
Speaking of Dome lights, I just replaced my 2003 Edge's dome light with one off a 96 Mustang. Why? Because my regular cab edge had a basic dome/cabin light and no map lights. Good thing was Ford did run the wiring for the map lights, but I had to fabricate the connection to my new dome light fixture. Works awesome, and was a fun thing to do.
Next up, I'll be taking apart my third brake light. You see, the Rangers with a solid brake light (all red) for the third brake light only have one bulb installed, but the actual lense has mounts for three bulbs. Presumably, the lens comes off the same mold of the lenses with Cargo or reverse lights build into them.
Ford also pre-ran the wiring for the cargo lights, but since my lense is completely red, I'll be adding the two outside bulbs, and making them supplemental brake lights AND turn signal lights. Should be another fun weekend project, that'll take little more than some wires, and a little dismantling.
I've never been real happy with wet weather traction (not hydroplaning - low speed grip). I think the LSD and all that torque from the 4.0 engine makes this problem worse, because it is ridiculously easy to break both rear tires loose and fishtail on wet pavement.
I'd like to replace them with something that will last longer, grip better on the wet, handle well on dry pavement and that is good off road and not cost a fortune. Any suggestions?
I think the tires are 245/75 R16s. Has anyone with a 4x4 tried to go to something bigger without changing the wheels?
Sorry I can't recommend any right now, My truck only has 6,000 miles currently...
I woiuld suggest BF Goodrich AT KO's. Best all round tire out there. I got 52K off my set, look sharp, perform well.
I currently run Goodyear MTR's but they are not for everone. I might go back to the BFG's next go around.
BFG AT KO's are sharp and good allround. Goodyear MTR's are very agressive off-road tires, kind of a rough ride on daily driver...but they are by far the best off-road tire, IMHO based on a weekend at Tuttle Creek, KS off-road vehicle park...walked out of mud that would have killed the truck with BFG's.
I get no rubbing on 31X10.5X15, a guy I know with 265X16 tires rubs a bit.
.
If you go bigger, remember, lower air pressure for bigger tires.
I run around 29-30 lb of air on 31X10.5X15 tires.
I would strongly recommend the 4.0 litre engine and 4wd. 3.0 is weak and it pings. 4.0 with the auto is a nice drivetrain with decent power. My truck is rated to tow 5,500 pounds, which means that realistically I can comfortably tow up to 3,000. If you regularly tow much more, I think you should be looking at bigger truck. Also, my new truck has the lsd. While I think it helps somewhat, it is not a true locking differential (only a limited amount of power is transferred to the tire with better traction) and I do not think that it is a replacement for 4wd. It is still relatively easy to spin the tires in low traction situations in 2wd.
Having said all that, if you do not need heavy duty towing, I think the Ranger / Mazdas are great trucks and if you can give up the macho he-man image of a big truck, they should work great for 99% of personal use needs, while being much easier to park and live with on a day to day basis.
But the 4.0l definitely will be home in any 4x4 or extended cab. I think Ford should make them available in all Rangers, extended or not. Definitely a nice engine, but not as reliable as the Vulcan 3.0l in the long term.
My experience with the 3.0 was poor mpg and not a lot of power. At least with the 4.0 I can live with the fuel economy considering the power and considering the relative advantages of 4wd and the extended cab, which add weight and increase fuel consumption.
I can't comment on the relative reliability between the two engines because I have not had problems with either truck. I sold the B3000 after two years and 26,000 miles. My B4000 is now about two years old with 35,000 miles. It's much more useful with the extended cab so I drive it a lot more, keeping miles off of our other car.
BTW, both times I got stuck in the B3000 I had significant remaining tread with well under 20,000 miles on the original Firestone Wilderness HT tires.
My suggestions: You either need to look at a compact/crew cab with a bed extender, a full size extended cab, or keep something more suited to family hauling and just have a regular cab long bed compact for hauling stuff. The extended cabs are really only good for interior storage space for stuff you dont want in the bed. For hauling people, they're at best tolerable for short periods.
My newest minor complaint with my '02 Ranger XLT FX4......no "lock" button for the power windows.....my 3 year old has discovered the up/down button and there isn't much I can do but continue to throw idle threats his way as the window goes up and down, up and down...
jkidd
However, it does work great for a dog and for interior storage, especially with the clam shell doors.
I personally don't know the procedure or how to wire it up, but there are guys at the www.generation-edge.com website that know, and there is a forum full of electrical modifications and other tid bits. Just tell them 2k3Edge sent ya.