Its a 1996 Reg Cab with 103k on it I payed $3100...Its a nice truck. But how long do these engines last. Anything speical I need to know about them? Its a northwoods edition...whats that mean?....Well now you will be seeing me alot on the board..


Ryan

 

Hey Ryan,

Welcome to the Ranger fraternity! You're gonna really enjoy your new truck. Maybe one of the other guys/gals around here knows something about the northwoods edition, I'm not familiar with it myself.

As for the 3.0L "vulcan" motor, it is a durable and reliable engine. Ford has been putting them in Rangers and Taurus/Sables for over a decade so there are a lot of them out on the road right now doing solid duty. Your Ranger won't tear up the streets, but it will do fine around town and on the higwhay. BTW, is it a 4x4?

IMHO, if you don't know the prior maintenance history of the vehicle, you should start with a tuneup ....new spark plugs, wires, air and fuel filters, clean MAF and throttle body, new oil and oil filter, things of that nature.

I encourage you to read through the other threads in this forum to get some more ideas on what kind maintenance you can do for your new truck.

 

I second Rock's recommendation of doing a full tune up. The MAF and Throttlebody are the biggey's. If you have an auto tranny, please take the time to replace the fluid and filter. That Tranny will go another 100K if you take care of it. If you have a manual, drain it and refill it, it needs to be done by now for sure. Use ATF by the way. I would also recommend you check the diff fluid and the Serpentine belt. These items are often overlooked for some odd reason until they break.

Good luck and welcome to the FTE forums.

 

Hello Ryan, I am a fairly new Ford truck owner as well. I bought my 2000 Ford Ranger 3.0L 2X4 (55,000 miles) about 5 months ago and love it! Since I bought it used, I went through the whole truck and as recommended above I replaced plugs, air filter, fuel filter, transmission fluid, diff. fluid, and perhaps most importantly the engine oil and filter. Oh yes, I almost forgot that I changed the serpentine belt (which had many cracks in it) as well. Before my next oil change I will also be cleaning the throttle body and MAF sensor.

It sounds to me like we can both get a lot of miles out of our trucks if maintained appropriately. You will find a lot of helpful tips in these forums!

Good luck and welcome!