well im having a bit of trouble here, but I need a vehicle asap.

Im looking at getting a truck because I will be buying and fixing and/or reselling cars and I need something to tow them. and I want a cheap reliable daily driver.

I ran into a 1989 ranger 4x4 supercab with the 2.9 v6 in it. its $1500 (id rather not spend over 1000 but I will for the right one) and it only has 104k miles on it. pretty sure its an auto.

What kind of gas mileage do these get? from what I can find on this site ill guess 18. is the head cracking on the 2.9 very common? is there anything that tends to do wrong with this year truck?

it looks in decent shape but I dont want to spend $1500 and then another 1000 on making it run.

Have any of you towed a car with one? odds are i'll just be using tow straps and pulling for 30-45 minutes. occasionaly might get my hands on a trailor to put the car on....can it handle this?

and i know the 4x4 downs gas mileage a bit and isnt good for towing or ride quality, but I live in michigan so its a nice option to have.

So what do you guys think about this truck? I havent looked at any other brands really because when I think of good old trucks a ford generally comes to mind. I wanted a older (1990ish) f150 but from what im reading they get about 10mpg and my pocket wont appreciate that to much lol.

 

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can anyone give me their opinion?

 

I'll stick my neck out - I don't know anything specifically about the '89, but I've owned one '83 Ranger and currently have an '87. Both of them gave me (and are giving me) quite a bit of trouble. But having said that, they are old and I guess I shouldn't expect them to run perfectly. This might not be the place to say this, but if I were in your shoes looking for a truck that old, I'd be looking at Toyotas. I've had two, both very reliable. Get a stripped-down manual-shift model (no power locks, windows, etc.) and you should be in decent shape. Just my opinion. Best of luck.

 

my son has the 89. Heads will crack easily if any overheating. Electrical problems included altenator and grounds. Not major problems for nearly 150000 plus miles.

 

Ol yeller, you say there are ground problems. My '89 is giving me fuel gauge problems (it always reads full or at lowest 90% full). I suspect a ground problem but can't find where the fuel sender is grounded. Can you point me to some of the ground problems you have found please.

 

Sender ground on my mom's Silverado was right next to the tank on the frame, check there, it'd be pretty obvious.

Heads will crack if it overheats the slightest bit, so be easy on it, you might wanna get a bigger radiator in time. Towing cars is a bit for this truck, especially with an auto and the 2.9L. I honestly don't reccomend that, it's too much weight for too little truck.

That being said, it's a great low-mileage truck for that price. It'll do your job, but don't overstress it. I would suggest looking for something bigger and heavier with a stick and a HD tranny.

 

ohwdy man.
im old yellers son. the nearest i can tell on the gas gauge issue( mine did this too occasionally, until i got the fuel pump replaced) is a stuck float. before you buy the truck go ahead and check the valve cover gaskets, as they are prone to leaking. actually that is really the only major problem ive ever had with my baby. it drives great, as long as i dont try to street race in it, which is possibly the reason why the gaskets give me so much grief. like ive said before. ill drive my ranger till the day i die..... and then they can bury me in it.



louis
ps. i have perfect and complete faith in my truck to pull anything i ask it to. ive pulled numerous cars, but ive also been pulled a couple times my own self.

 

Saw a post on here where somebody pulled a Caterpillar with a Ranger, I believe it was an 89 no less. Dunno what it was called, if I stumble across it I'll post the link. Impressive to say the least.

Remember it's a "light duty truck" for a reason.

 

I have an "87" with 80,000 original miles that is still super clean and runs real good. That being said; I am getting a job that is going to be a much farther commute and I really don't trust it for that. My valve covers leak constantly. I just started having wheel bearing issues after we had a flood up here in New England. My hub seals were cooked. I always think in the back of my mind that my oil or transmission pans will have a blowout. It's one of the problem areas with these trucks. Just try to find a new pan for the mitsubishi trannie. It's pretty much impossible. I had to epoxy mine. And you better keep a close eye on your coolant too if you can get the coolant gauge to work. As a matter of fact, don't believe anything your gauges tell you with these trucks. After all that, I still love this truck. It's just not what I would consider a long hauler

 

I had an 89 with a 5spd, and it was a good truck. Took almost everything I threw at it. Only problems I had were blown engine (my very expensive fault) and a snapped axle (once again, my fault). Fuel pump died on me too. So it essentially cost me the fuel pump for maintenance. As far as pullin, it would move almost anything I neede moved with a rope (pulled a Grand Marquis through the mud with the wheels locked up in 2wd no prob), and go anywhere I wanted as well. As you may have gathered, I beat this truck, and it took a lickin and kept on tickin. I don't know what the auto's are like in Rangers. I heard once that the 2.9 doesn't have enough power for the auto, and the 4L has too much. Anyway, sounds like a good truck, I'd see what it needs to be drivable, then consider it.

Trevor

 

With anything that old, its a complete crapshoot. Could be fine, trans could blow up next week. No way to really know, but then again that why its only 1500$ right?

 

I say go for it. You need something to drive and it's a reasonable price. It's a reliable truck, parts are easy to find for the most part. The 2.9L is not exactly a powering machine, but it'll get 'er done.