Hey guys. I just bought this 98 Ranger from Facebook Marketplace for $2,800 last week. When I looked at the truck in person and gave it a test drive, everything seemed fine for a truck this age being in New England. It wasn’t until yesterday I started to notice the transmission heavily clunking when put in reverse, the highway gears are inaccessible, and “Drive” seems to start in 2nd from 0mph. It’s looking like the guy who sold it to me somehow managed to cover up these tracks and I’m in the pit for repairs now. I’ve been quoted anywhere from $2,000+ for a transmission rebuild/replace from local shops but not sure if it’s even worth my money at this point. The head gaskets will probably be an issue soon as the truck is currently at 184,000 miles. For a bit more context, this was my first car purchase and my total budget for a vehicle was, at most, $4,000 including taxes/insurance/registration. I’m now sitting on $500-600 for whatever I can afford to keep it on the road while I get a job and (hopefully) another vehicle. What do you think? Is it worth investing time and money into this old gal?
You can get the tranny done for way, way less.
Why do you think the head gaskets will be an issue? I’ve got 300Kish miles on my '95 4.0 and I haven’t touched the head gaskets. Also, this is a work/ranch truck so it gets a ton of abuse.
Why do you think the head gaskets will be an issue? I’ve got 300Kish miles on my '95 4.0 and I haven’t touched the head gaskets. Also this is a work/ranch truck so it gets a ton of abuse.
On this, when the gas tank gets below 1/4.
How long can you keep going with that car?
Visit us over at r/fordranger !!!
These gen rangers always got some funky electrical issues going on. Any little electrical issue will shut down the transmission controller. I had this EXACT same issue and it was being caused by an oxygen sensor melting and shorting out on the exhaust manifold. I dont know how well versed you are in mechanics but ive owned two of these so heres what id do. First, check your grounds. You live in a rusty part of the country and corrosion will kill good grounds over time. Second, check your fuses for any burnt ones. Check the ranger station website for a fuse diagram and see if youre missing any while youre at it. Third, id give the truck a good look around. Make sure no wires are melting or cutting into anything. Yes, itll take a while to go through the entire harness but its worth knowing the condition of everything. Im pretty sure your problem is lectrical in nature but if you cant find anything or not experienced enough to figure it out, take it to a mechanic. Used transmissions for these trucks are a dime a dozen but like i said, im sure its electrical. Remember rangers are popular because theyre cheap, not because theyre good but we love em anyway
If your budget is $4k, sell the truck for what you paid for it and go spend the full amount on something nicer.
That’s a rough ride
You got lot good advice here
I’m in a similar spot with my 2007 ranger. It’s piston rings are worn and now I either sell it for 2500 or drop 3000 bucks on putting a ‘new’ engine in
It’s blue booking at 7k (with 200k miles on it)
I hate the idea of selling it to someone with worn rings
It doesn’t show any codes it just has lost 30 percent of its power
I’ll disclose all the issues to wouldbe buyers
But it’s a weird place, it might drive for another 50k miles or another 5
For under 3k you really need to know what your looking at