I'm looking into a ranger for my first car and found a 94 STX that looks REAL nice, but it has 189k mi for $4k. It only says it's got AC, 4x4 and it's an auto. It looks brand new from the picture(1) of it. Looks like they atleast took care of the exterior of it.. Would it be worth $4k? How long would it last? I was also wondering about the ABS on 94 Rangers. I think it only has two brakes with ABS? Would I have to be pumping brakes or what? I was also wondering about the engine. Was there more than one engine offered for '94 STX 4x4?

 

ive got a 94 xlt if this helps i know they had a 3.0 4.0 and a lil 4 banger but i dunno about the stx, mines an auto with 150k on it and has no sign of failing what so ever no knocks no lifter noise no abnormal noise except a belt squeak when cold like 0 out. so defi check that out i think mines worth about 4k so yours has a lot of miles for 4k but it all depends on area you live in too so i would offer less and def check for weird engine noise or road noise

 

Check it out, test drive it. See what engine it has.

4K is a little pricey, especially with those miles. If it has the 4.0L I'd offer 3K with no problem, little less with the 3.slow or four banger.

 

I also wanted to know about which engine would be best(for this or later on)?
I'm a student, so gas mileage should be thought of. Is there much of a difference between them in gas mileage? I think I'm going to want the 4.0, since it seems I'll need the extra power to even use the 4x4 properly? Wouldnt want to spend the extra on 4x4 with a small engine and still be getting stuck. Or would this not be a problem with the other engines?

 

The 3.0 and 4.0 are both rated to have the same mpg by the EPA. you should probably get about 17-19 mpg. if mileage is the most important, the four banger will get you about 25, but it sounds like you want quite a bit more power than the 4 cyl will get you. as far as dependability, if you take care of it you can easily get over 250,000 miles out of the engine. i would agree that 4k is too much, with that many miles i wouldn't offer more than 3k. i paid $3,500 for a '93 XLT in perfect shape with 89k miles. obviously you would expect to pay more for an STX, but not that much more for an extra hundred thousand miles. i would definitely try to talk them down at least a grand.

 

Welcome to FTE!!

kbb.com will give you a good idea on the price for your area.

 

I dont think there was such an animal as an STX in 94. I think it is a new model designation from 04 for a low cost low trim base model vehicle. I think 90 models were either, ranger, XL or XLT (top line trim model).

I have seen 94 4x4 sell for less than 3K so 4k is too much IMO. I have 94 4.0 SC, 2wd, 5sp and I get 15-17 in town, 20-22 on highway. 4x4 will get less milage in general. I also have almost 200k on mine and it runs great but I have done some mods to it. For one with 189K Id probably offer 2-2500 for it. But check KBB.com.

I also agree with the comment on the 3.0 generally underpowered but they are fairly dependable as far as I know.

 

I thought the STX was the base model back in the day?

The 4.0L gets same gas mileage as the 3.slow unless you're a leadfoot (raises hand slowly) and then it doesn't keep up. I get 15/18.5 with a '94 4.0L 5 speed on a regular cab. That being said I am a leadfoot and the 18.5 was at 75mph, which I consider a more realistic number than the "economical" 55 mph.

The four banger will get you good gas mileage as noted, but it's not good for power and 4x4 will be limited. If you actually plan to 4x4, you'll need a 4 liter or at least a 3 liter.

I'm a high school student and did a little offroading in my 2WD sneaking into the parking lot at a football game, the Ranger's perfectly capable and it'll run for a LONG time if you maintain it properly.

 

There was a STX back then; the pic is nicely shown in the 1994 Ranger dealer brochure I've got. It came in a 3.0 and 4.0; I haven't looked to see if it's a supercab only or a standard cab was available. In my neck of the woods, if what you're looking at has most all of the options (ie, not a stripper truck) as well as supercab, no dents (some rock chips/minor scratches acceptable), runs good with no mechanical problems, the price would range from $3,000 - $4,000. Standard cab would be a huge deduct; you can hardly give them away as evidenced by prices. To determine prices for your area, look in kbb.com (as noted), nada.com, and edmunds.com should have pricing. And of course, look in local papers for your area to fine tune the price. How long it will last will depends on how well it was taken care of up until now. As for the brakes, back in those days they only had RABS. In a panic stop it is possible to lock the front wheels if you have your foot on the brake real hard (been there). My RABS experience on a 94 Ranger was that RABS is flakey in that they sometimes grab when they really shouldn't (and it wasn't damp brake shoes) or they don't function until a wheel has been locking for awhile. They are also sort of flakey on snow and ice. Overall, the RABS performance is somewhat unpredicatable. The newer 4 wheel ABS functions much, much better. The whole point of RABS was to try to prevent the light rear end of a pickup with no load in it from trying to get ahead of the front end on a wet/slippery corner. In normal driving, even on slippery surfaces, you will not notice anything unusual about the RABS.

 

First off there was an STX availible in '94. Secondly the STX was a more "sporty" version of the XLT. STX models came with the monochromatic bumpers some years and gloss black bumpers other years. They also had a stripe package that varied between the years. Most STX versions (read NOT ALL) came with the 4.0L and an auto with larger tires (265/75R15) and bucket seats inside. As for the price, I'd say 4K is a bit steep. I personally wouldn't buy it for that with 189K on it. Three thousand? Probably if it seemed like it was in excellent shape. Next up, 4 cylinders were extremely rare in 4x4s during those years in fact most of the time a 4 cylinder wasn't even offered in the 4x4. The 3.0L is a highly dependable motor but it is gutless with an auto behind it and 3.73 gears. I doubt 4.10s would make a dramatic difference either. I owned a '93 3.0L auto 3.73 gears and 31's and noticed it every time I hit the gas. Fuel economy is so close to the 4.0L it isn't even worth buying the 3.0 in my opinion, I'd never do it again. Anything else you'd like to know just post and I'll do my best to answer it.

Johnny K

 

I had a 94 Ranger STX, had a 4.0 w/ 5 speed manual, bucket seats, console, and was a supercab. Great little truck, would pull a 16 ft trailer w/ 9n Ford tractor and brushhog with no problem. My wife let my son have it and wrecked it. Did 3 360 spins and down an enbankment with a 302 in the bed. Kinda of messed up the frame and back of the cab. It was a great little truck for fuel milage and workhorse.

 

Thanks for all the help! Seems like everyone has manuals here. I think I'd rather have my first car be an auto. Be able to master regular driving before I have to worry about getting the clutch down. I don't mind sacrificing some gas mileage and acceleration. Anyways, what do you all think about the condition of it?
http://images.autotrader.com/images/2005/12/17/193/954/3323979.193954496.IM1.MAIN.565x421_A.562x421.jpg
It looks pretty good to me, though it's only one picture.

EDIT: I also just did the kbb.com for this in 3.0 and 4.0 and it was $2600 - 2900(in 'good' condition)

 

Looks nice, seems like they took care of the exterior. I'd definetly have a look under the hood and make sure the interior was good. If all that lines up 3K is perfectly acceptable, seems as if it has a few options.

 

If it's been repainted, deduct $ from kbb values. The OEM fog lights work great, but if the fog light lenses on the truck you are looking at are missing, deduct again; those cost about $85 at a dealer. There is an aftermarket fog light copy out there; some people resort to putting gaudy looking/cheapo wal mart lights in the OEM locations . I will be placing a fog light lens on ebay someday....happy bidding .

 

Does it look like it was repainted or got different fog lights??