The Rangers are good solid fairly cheap to work on truck but unless its from the south or southwest you need to look for rust. They are prone to rust around the front core support, the rear fender area but all fords do this, cab corners also check the gastank under the plastic shield on the front since dirt builds up there and causes pin hole leaks and the floor boards.Also check the body mounts to make sure they are not rusted out. The 2.9s are a good engine as long as you do not overheat it. Install a good aftermarket water temp gauge keep the cooling system in good shape and consider a 180* stat in the summer, these engines will crack heads pretty easy if they are overheated the castings were not very thick around the valves where they are most prone to crack. The Mistu 5 speed are allright but they start to head south around 130,000 miles.I have a 155,000 on mine in a 87 Ext Cab no problems so far. The Mazda 5 speed is better ford switched to the Mazda in 88 or 89 I think? The biggest problem is the mitsu will just break without any warning unlike the Mazda which will start to shift hard grind etc. Hope this helps....SC 4x4