First off, a little about me:

Im 16 years old, and live in Iowa. For the past 8 months I drove around my dads 86 ranger(he owed me money so i got the truck) but just recently, I bought a 96 Ranger(all the days busting tables finaly paid off!) Anyway, I LOVE this truck. BUT, like most people out there, I dont know that much about vehicles in general. I know how to change the oil, and know what a transmission is, thats about it So I have about a million questions, but because Im sure this gets repetetive(Im a paintball fanatic, and frequent several paintball forums, and it gets SOO anyoying heearing the same questions "which barrel is best", blah blah blah) So right now Im just going to limit my questions, and hopefully find answers on other threads.

BUT, I have a few to ask anyway.

First off, my ranger is a 4 cylinder, manual, short bed, no extended cab, rear wheel drive XLT. Like I said I dont know very much about engines, but what are some cheap add ons that will increase HP, torque, or fuel economy? What upgrades do you guys recomend first(Im guessing, like paintball, many are personal preference) But can ya throw out some ideas?

Also, Ive heard SOO many times people saying "fords rule chevys suck", and vice versa. Can someone give me some info on these seemingly ignorant comments? is there truth behind the spamming? Why do some people hate some car companies and praise others?(Ive always thought it was the model, not the company, that was good or bad)

 

A cheap way to get more power is add a K&N Air filter. $34. It fits in the same exact place the old one did. You could get your exaust done, this costs more ($80-300), but adds a "cool 4cyl sound" and you usualy get better gas milage.

 

Hi Danny, greetings from Kentucky. Congrats on your truck. Rangers are very good vehicles, if properly maintained (like any other vehicle). You did not state haw many miles your truck has, but I'm guessing around 75,000. If you are at or above this figure, one of the first things you will want to do is change the timing belt. This is basically like a fan belt, except it is mostly hidden from view and it turns the valves atop the motor. If it breaks before it is replaced you will be stranded and may have engine damage. Also, if the truck has not had a complete tune-up, including spark plugs, plug wires and PCV valve, you will want to do this to improve power and economy. Go to a parts store and buy a good repair manual, it will help with some of the more basic things. As to why people dump on certain makes of vehicle, its usually due to a bad experience they or a friend had. Sometimes its not even the car's fault, but due to abuse or lack of maintenence by the owner.

 

thanks for the info. Yeah mine has 93,000 miles. How much do these parts cost? Like 10 bucks or something?

Also, I have a little bit of rust on the inside of the door(at the bottom) And I was figuring on sanding it off, and buying some touch up paint to cover it(and a few other scratches on it) But how do I know which color to get? Do they have the perfect color ready to buy? Also, will I need to put any kind of primer on before or after I put the touch up paint after I sand the rust off?

 

Don't forget to change the fuel filter. The color code should be on the door sticker and they will have a color that is close. I like to apply some of that rust converter stuff before I put the paint on just to make it won't rust again. For chips I don't use primer, larger areas I would.