New here, 1st time posting, 3rd time ranger owner
#1
07-25-2009, 07:56 PM
Join Date: May 2007
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New here, 1st time posting, 3rd time ranger owner
Hey everyone. My name is Justin, I am 23 and just bought my 3rd ranger. I am a sucker for these machines.
1st ranger was my first car. She was a 91 silver xlt reg cab, 2wd, 4 cyl 5 speed. I got it with 190,000 miles for 500 bucks. My aunt bought it brand new in 91 and all 5 of her sons owned it at one point. When it finally came to me it was pretty beat but would not break down. My cousins called it the truck-o-sourous. I called it the Anger Ranger. Only because the R broke off the emblem and it just seemed mad. Our favorite thing to do together was to go to walmart at 3 am and play bumper cars with shopping carts. (I was 17). I beat the crap out of it for a year and sold it for 75 bucks with 215,000 miles and she still ran great. Well she ran good. Good memories with her. The durability of that truck got me hooked for life.
2nd ranger was a lemon. She was a 94 green ext cab, 4wd, 4L v6 5 speed with 130k when I bought it for 3800 bucks. Pretty much the opposite of my first truck. Overheated the second day I had it. I should have known to just sell it right there. After a month, my leaf spring brackets, shackles, and the leaf springs themselves all collapsed. everything completely rusted through. 1200 bucks later (went to stealership, wont make that mistake again) she was back. about 8 months later the tranny went and I sold it for 1300. I loved the truck, but she was a money pit.
And because of my disasterous experience with my second ranger, I went back to my roots. I just bought a newer version of my first car, down to the color. My new truck is a 2003 silver reg cab, 2wd 4cyl 5 speed with 66k miles. I paid 6k cash. I just got it and already love it. She is nimble, quick enough, cozy, and in almost mint condition. The previous owner claims 27mpg mixed and I believe it. I own a 08 focus and it almost rides as well. I plan to drive this one till the wheels fall off. Which will probably not be for another couple decades. I have some minor plans for the vehicle and I am sure I can use everyones help. I am very mechanically inclined, but would love to pick all your brains.
Here are my immediate plans for the truck.
1. Replace the solid back glass with a slider. I already bought the window out of a 2000 ext cab that is wrecked. I paid 30 bucks.
2. She has the xl base steel wheels. I think they would look great painted black. If anyone has pics of these wheels painted, I would love to see them. Any advice would be great too as I have never painted rims.
3. I want to replace the vinyl seats with some nice seats with an armrest out of a newer ranger. If anyone has some for sale, let me know.
4. I would also like to replace the door panels with some ones from an xlt. They are nicer and have the door pockets for storage. If anyone has any for sale, let me know.
5. And finally, I want to tint the windows and get a nice diamond plate tool box. I am a carpenter and need the storage for my tools.
Sorry for the novel I just typed, but I am so excited to be back in a ranger. If there are any tech tips or write ups on the projects I am looking to do, please steer me in the right direction.
Here is a link to some full sized pics of my rangers
http://img24.imageshack.us/gal.php?g=sidefrb.jpg
And here they are for you all to enjoy.
My new fresh baby
The lemon 94
And old faithful, the Anger Ranger
And last, but not least, the powerplants
The fresh low mileage new 2.3L
The beastly 4.0
And the lil engine that woulnt die, the old 2.3L
1st ranger was my first car. She was a 91 silver xlt reg cab, 2wd, 4 cyl 5 speed. I got it with 190,000 miles for 500 bucks. My aunt bought it brand new in 91 and all 5 of her sons owned it at one point. When it finally came to me it was pretty beat but would not break down. My cousins called it the truck-o-sourous. I called it the Anger Ranger. Only because the R broke off the emblem and it just seemed mad. Our favorite thing to do together was to go to walmart at 3 am and play bumper cars with shopping carts. (I was 17). I beat the crap out of it for a year and sold it for 75 bucks with 215,000 miles and she still ran great. Well she ran good. Good memories with her. The durability of that truck got me hooked for life.
2nd ranger was a lemon. She was a 94 green ext cab, 4wd, 4L v6 5 speed with 130k when I bought it for 3800 bucks. Pretty much the opposite of my first truck. Overheated the second day I had it. I should have known to just sell it right there. After a month, my leaf spring brackets, shackles, and the leaf springs themselves all collapsed. everything completely rusted through. 1200 bucks later (went to stealership, wont make that mistake again) she was back. about 8 months later the tranny went and I sold it for 1300. I loved the truck, but she was a money pit.
And because of my disasterous experience with my second ranger, I went back to my roots. I just bought a newer version of my first car, down to the color. My new truck is a 2003 silver reg cab, 2wd 4cyl 5 speed with 66k miles. I paid 6k cash. I just got it and already love it. She is nimble, quick enough, cozy, and in almost mint condition. The previous owner claims 27mpg mixed and I believe it. I own a 08 focus and it almost rides as well. I plan to drive this one till the wheels fall off. Which will probably not be for another couple decades. I have some minor plans for the vehicle and I am sure I can use everyones help. I am very mechanically inclined, but would love to pick all your brains.
Here are my immediate plans for the truck.
1. Replace the solid back glass with a slider. I already bought the window out of a 2000 ext cab that is wrecked. I paid 30 bucks.
2. She has the xl base steel wheels. I think they would look great painted black. If anyone has pics of these wheels painted, I would love to see them. Any advice would be great too as I have never painted rims.
3. I want to replace the vinyl seats with some nice seats with an armrest out of a newer ranger. If anyone has some for sale, let me know.
4. I would also like to replace the door panels with some ones from an xlt. They are nicer and have the door pockets for storage. If anyone has any for sale, let me know.
5. And finally, I want to tint the windows and get a nice diamond plate tool box. I am a carpenter and need the storage for my tools.
Sorry for the novel I just typed, but I am so excited to be back in a ranger. If there are any tech tips or write ups on the projects I am looking to do, please steer me in the right direction.
Here is a link to some full sized pics of my rangers
http://img24.imageshack.us/gal.php?g=sidefrb.jpg
And here they are for you all to enjoy.
My new fresh baby
The lemon 94
And old faithful, the Anger Ranger
And last, but not least, the powerplants
The fresh low mileage new 2.3L
The beastly 4.0
And the lil engine that woulnt die, the old 2.3L
#2
07-26-2009, 07:50 AM
Nice truck. Some thoughts maintenance wise. If you haven't replaced the antifreeze and flushed out cooling system it would be a good thing to do. Mine came with the long life yellow kind and I did a refill with same. Yours could be different. Also keep an eye on the power steering hoses where they attach to rack and pinion housing. Had issues with mine where it started leaking in that area and rack had to be replaced due to corrosion. There is a cover plate around hoses that lets road salt get in and corrode and I siliconed up the area to keep it from reoccuring. Also keep an eye on bottoms of doors/tailgate for rust issues. I hit mine with rustoleum as they already had rust issues.
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