Been trying to down size from my cummins and as I'm a ford guy get out of dodge! God they make crap!

I have been looking at a ranger and a F150

Ranger is a 4.0L and the F150 is 4.2L both are RwD 5 speed

I do light towing the occasional vehicle to the scrapper so the f150 seems smarter but I like to boot around and the ranger is smaller and seems like in the spec sheet has better Hp

What u guys think of the 4.0L engine and the 4.2L I know nothing about the 4.2L are they good ? Was there common issues ? Would my f150 get decent Milage ?

Thanks in advance

 

Depends on the year to some degree.

4.0 OHV, about 160HP, very reliable.

4.0 SOHC, 205-215HP iirc, later models pretty good, early models have cam chain tensioner issues. The cam chain system is always a worry. Intake o-rings leak, t-stat housings are a question mark, and there are too many hoses and heater valves etc hanging all over it.

Either is capable of well into the 100k mile area, some over 200k.

4.2 is an OHV, 202 or so HP. Derived from the 3.Hate V6. The 3.8 had head gasket issues, some of which transfer to the 4.2 Intake issues are common.

More on that:
4.2 Liter Ford Engine Internal Coolant Leak [Archive] - AERA Community Forum

Plenty of folks over 200k here:

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/6...-4-2-a-10.html

None of these is a gas mileage champ. I have a '98 SOHC, so I'd be inclined to go with the 4.2 as it will be easier to work on in the event of one of these failures. Also, the F150 advantage will come in handy imo.

 

In my opinion, go for the 4.2. My 4.2 short-box reg cab 5 speed gets about the same mileage as my buddy's 4.0 auto ranger. although both trucks are about tied for power, mine works much easier than his for towing since the 4.2 has a longer stroke; therefore, more low-end torque. Premium gas will also add a gob of low end torque and a smidgen of power if you're going to be pulling a lot of hills. I nearly doubled my fuel mileage when I switched to premium halfway through my move from Dawson Creek, BC to the Vancouver area while pulling a fully loaded tandem U-Haul.

As for the intake gaskets, they stand up as long as you don't repeatedly cold start then take off to work right away. I had a habit of waking up with 10 minutes to get to work, so I didn't give the engine much chance to warm up from -36C; the intake gasket stood up to 1 summer and almost 2 winters of that abuse since I bought the truck.

I hate the 3.8 as much as the next guy, but it seems to me that the only thing the 2 engines have in common is the block.