tell me what you guys think of this, i found a 1995 Ford Ranger Custom for $2000 from a friend at school, he just bought a new F-250, so he dosent want the ranger anymore, its a 5 speed, 4x4 with turn dial 4x4, but lock in hubs, extended (super?) cab with the 2 fold down seats in the back and a 4.0 V6 with 150k on the engine, it runs great, he just rebuilt the whole front end, new front axels, tie rods ect, and new T-case and drive shaft in the front. new clutch & Pressure plate, new breaks and was sanded down and repainted blue rather then the orignal green. cloth interror, AM/FM/Tape all sotck, manual locks & Windows. looks very well maintained and clean, no rust as it lived in southern PA untill just this year when he moved up here to upstate NY (land of extreme salt) i like the truck, it needs a tail gate and the lower plastic portion of the bumper with the fog lights is torn up pretty bad, i was thinking of just ripping that part off and hooking up my set of aftermarket 2" oval fog lights under the bumper and hooking them into the dash switch.
truck has a 6" suspension lift and is running 33" super swampers but he is going to take them off and put a set of 31's or smaller on and then ill get a good set of BF goodrich A/T's on insted.

what do y'all think? it it worth the money? it looks very good and started right up after sitting for 5+ months.

 

Why so much work done to the front end and t case?
Is the lift staying on? 6 inch lift on a small truck is a bit much especially a ranger. (driveline angles and stability).
If the lift stays on you should consider leaving wider tires on.
Get an aftermarket front bumper and a tailgate from an auto recycler.
The 150k is high, but the 2k sounds fair.
This could be a good base for a fun build.

 

im not sure if it is a 4 or 6 inch lift come to think of of it, it dosent sit much higher than my F-150, the front bumper is fine, its the chitcy plasic under moding thats junk, T cans is brand new, he had trouble with the old one, and the front diff is the orignal. i want this truck for its better fuel millage, as my 351w is only getting a tops of 15 in OD with the E4OD, and i drive 130 Mi a day plus, i also need a 4x4 becuase of where i live and i refuse to drive a car(besides my 69 mustang) im hoping i can milk 20+ MPG he said he could get about 25 with the stock tires and the lift is probly comming out, going back to more or less stock, it dosent realy look like its a high lift, its not top heavy or anything, and it sits about where my truck does.

 

lift or not, small tires or not, the 4.0 will not get you near 20 MPG. I do not think any 4.0 new or old got that much mileage. My 3.0 tops at about 16.
15 MPG out of a 351 is great and the 4.0 will not be much greater. I could be wrong about the mileage, but this is my experience.
Maybe a newer Ranger with a small engine is a better plan, I do not think driving a car would be a bad idea. I am about to buy a car to save on gas- buying a car will not save money by making the payments, but I will be able to outrun a Ranger - I think .
If you like the truck buy it , I would.

 

I've got the 4.0L and can net a little over 21 MPG on the highway. But I also have highway gears, 2WD, and a smaller and lighter truck (regular cab, short bed).

Khadma is right...the 4.0L ain't going to best the 351 by much. I get about 18 around town. So it's going to take you a good long while to break even on whatever money you do save from gas.

Just something to think about.

 

I get over 20 mpg with 4.0 4x4, but I dout you will with big tires and a 6" lift. I hope he has 4:10 gears since he's been running 33" tires. Never the less, it sounds like a decent buy.

 

Why does it matter? it's good that it's been done. I did my whole front end just cause I thought it was time to do em. Never had trouble with my T-case, or had to reduild it, but but score if he did.

I say it seems like a good buy.

Madmike33

 

the reason it matters is because the lift might be causing extra strain on the bearings in the t case caused by the more angled drive lines. this could happen again.

Matt

 

Right, I meant more for the front end, assuming balljoints, tie rod ends... etc. You're right about the angle change though, most lifts come with an angled shim to correct at the diff? Maybe a one piece drive shaft would help at the T-case. Either way this all can happen on any of our lifted trucks.... we have to assume other problems when we modify. I didn't mean to be rude. I'm just saying it's good that it has been done.

Madmike33

 

Some lift kits are verywell thought out and are made from good quality materials and some aren't so good and some are homemade hack jobs, Thats why I don't like buying a lifted vehicle, cause you really don't know whats under there. I'ld rather have a stock truck and lift it myself so I know what was used and how it was done. It may be an excellent kit, but you don't know, it's sort of a gamble. 2 to 4" isn't to bad, but 6" is getting up there, with stress'es and angles to concider. 2 grand isn't to bad even if he does end up having to do some fixing, modifing or whatever, but hopefully, everything his fine and 2,000 is a decent price.

 

Sounds like a good price for a '95. However, if you are just buying it for the better MPG, then it would not be worth it. Of course, if you are buying it for the low price, the rebuilt front end, and the fun you will have in driving it, then yeah it is a good deal.

 

I'd just be thinking...rebuilt front end...check it over for damage in other places real nice. I'm not doubting your seller, but if I see rebuilt anything (or new paint) I'm expecting something to be up.

Still a good deal.

 

This is what I was getting after, this is a great project truck and a LOOOOOW price, with new parts, I said I would buy the truck too, all because of this.
If I need good gas mileage, I would buy a compact car.

 

I read the post after this one, and it does matter to an extent- 6 inch up and 33s
If it were my own truck, I would wonder what I did to it.
When you hear front end and T case in the same breathe, it should be looked at and not overlooked. It sounds like a fun truck, but I would limit it's daily driver role.

 

Perhaps we should just drop the lift thing...