Hi.
I just bought 2000 4WD ranger with 3.0L V6 engine and 205,000 miles.

When I bought the pick-up truck, it was raining all day so I bought the truck without looking under the truck and also without test drive. A big mistake.

After taking the truck home, I took a look and found multiple issues. Most of them, I know how to fix. But when I tested 4WD, it does not seem working right.

When I switch to 4WD High, tires binds right from the start even when going straight. I know it will bind when turning, but it is not supposed to bind when going straight. Is it?


I learned that the previous owner had a mechanic cut entire rear half of the frame and weld new one on with new axle.
Only reason for binding I can think of is that the axle they installed has may have wrong differential gear ratio.
What is the correct 4WD ranger differential supposed say on the tag? (which I can barely make out)




In case you are curious what a junk I bought, following are issues I found.

• Radiator has a small crack and leaking. Knew coolant was low, but did not find leak before I bought it.
• Frame was cut and welded. Doesn't look very professional and looks out of alignment. Would not have bought it if I knew this.
• Had check engine light on for EVAP vent solenoid. P1451. I knew this issue before buying, which I thought was easy fix. It kinda was. The mechanic plugged connector that was on the donner frame (yes they left old wiring on the frame) not the truck's original connector. But! I found EVAP hose disconnected from the canister and the hose being too short. Why? The mechanic did not route the hose along the frame through the holes. Instead, they just pushed it up against fuel tank. Gotta drop the fuel tank to fix it.
• Brake lines were improperly fixed using compression unions and one of them has a slow leak.
• ABS kicking in when stopping on dry pavement. I think it is one (or more?) of the ABS sensors. Plan on trying to clean them first.
• Catalytic converter has holes and leaking exhaust. I knew it was leaking somewhere, but didn't realized it was the CAT itself. Joints are rusted so bad, looks like I will have to replace all CATs to fix the leak.
• Muffler the mechanic had replaced is mounted backward. One side is clearly marked "OUTPUT" What is wrong with this mechanic?
• Left turn signal doesn't blink when the head light is on. Brake lights also doesn't work. Why? turn signal wire was cut on rear left brake/turn signal lamp and somehow this mechanic managed to splice it onto tail light wire. Connecting wires with same color is that difficult?
• Bottom of the engine is all wet with engine oil. Found oil pan badly rusted, but not sure if it is leaking from the pan or above. It is wet above the pan, but it could be oil blown up there by radiator fan. If it was just oil pan, it would be a easy fix.
• Parking brake cable is very loose and the pedal doesn't even come up all the way because the cable has no tension. Parking brake does work when pressed all the way down to the floor. It appears ranger does not have any adjustment for it. Is there? It could be the mechanics didn't connect brake shoes correctly, but haven't pulled drum out yet. Began raining again.

I paid $1800 for the truck and I'd still think it is acceptable price if it wasn't for welding on the frame and 4WD issue.

 

No the driveline should not bind when rolling straight forwards. What is the axle code on the drivers door? And what does the tag on the rear axle say? You may have to remove the bolt to see all the numbers.

 

Label on the driver's door is wiped with some sort of solvent and most are erased. Can only make out part of VIN#.

I will try to take a closer look at the tag on the rear axle tomorrow. Those bolts did not look like they were ever removed. I wonder if how much of gear oil is inside cause vent hose was just hanging below the differential and the end of it was wet is oil.
Was planning on changing all the fluid until I found all those other problems that will cost me more $$... I have to take care of emissions related parts first for me to even register the vehicle.

It is front and rear differential that needs to be matched. Right?

 

If you just bought it, take it back if you can and retrieve your money. Many states have "lemon laws" or 3 day policies or somesuch, it's worth doing. $1800 will buy a nice truck if you shop carefully. Maybe not a 4WD, but.

 

Yes front and rear diff need to be matched.......but ........I think I would just cut my losses and trade it off on something else......sounds like a money pit.....

 

In addition, the front & rear tire diameters must be the same...

 

Good point!!!!

 

Here is what I can make out of the tag from rear differential.

S330A
10 88 0628

This is 4.10 Ratio from what I found.

There were no tag that I can find from front differential.
Label on driver side door is wiped off.

Are there some standard 4WD setup or is it just all random?
Any possibility to find it from the VIN?

Does it apply to a private party purchase as well? I bought it as is, so I doubt that will apply to me anyway.

I'm planning on selling it as soon as I can, but I have to get it to pass emissions and safety inspection first for me to even register in my state.
I wilil probably loose about $800 and some headaches.

They are the same. 6+ year old tire though. Was gonna replace with a good tire, but after finding out all the issues, probably gonna go for used tires.

 

I just managed to pick up the original axle from the shop that worked on the truck. However, it looked like it is in very poor condition. It does not turn smooth and I hear noise. Vent tube is also plugged with rust. So, inside may be very rusty.
It was also missing tag on differential cover.

Does anyone know how to find correct gear ratio without certification tag and without tag on the axle?

What are standard gear ratios for 2000 Rnager 4WD?

I could find out rough ratio by counting turns, but I don't think I can get down to decimal points.

 

You don't need to figure it that accurately, actually you just need to determine if it's 4:1 or not, if it's anything in the 3.xx range it doesn't match the rear and has to be changed anyway.

Stock ratios are 3.08, 3.31, 3.55, 3.73, and 4.10.

 

What I'm trying to do is figure out which one to change it to.

I will probably end up using the truck as rear wheel drive only unless I find rear axle pretty cheap. But, still good to know.
If I choose to go for rear wheel drive only, guess I should change odometer gear to get correct speed too.

Maybe I can open up the original differential and count number of teeth.

 

I don't know about state laws where you are but if you bought the truck "as is" from a private party then you most likely have no recourse. Considering the frame and 4wd issues I'd say you're better off just cutting your losses and running.

 

It just occurred to me that since the rear of the frame has been swapped, you don't know how close to stock the wheelbase is anymore. It might be a good idea to check the rear driveshaft splines to be sure that it's not binding from an unseen length problem. I doubt it could be off enough to cause a problem, but it's an easy check.