***UPDATED REVIEW***

Approaching 270,000 miles on completely untouched 4.0L engine. Still runs like it's showroom fresh, burns ZERO oil and gets mileage approaching the EPA rating on the sticker (when, if ever, I'm kind to it). Think I have any complaints about the motor?

None

As I mentioned above, I have 270,000 miles on an engine that has had NO internal/external work performed on it. In fact, I am still running EVERYTHING original, with the exception of the following:

Mass Air Flow Sensor
Plugs & Wires (changed twice)
Air Filter (running a K&N)
Upper Heater Hose
Clutch (approx. 200,000 out of the original)
Battery (replaced twice)
Thermostat
Serpentine Belt
Brake Pads/Shoes (fronts every 30K or so, rears lasted over 200K)

Compare that to my '89 Toyota that, with 1/3 the mileage, had most of the above replaced and also lost a water pump, fan AND fan clutch, and some $300 half-assed bracket that the fan clutch bolted to.

Words do not exist in the English language to adequately describe the flawlessness of this powerplant. Ford ought to make a commercial out of me (remember those ads Toyota ran some time back?).

Transmission has been replaced once, as noted in the earlier review. Still stands as the only weakness of the vehicle, IMHO.

All of the above should be considered within the context of how I drive the vehicle. Imagine, if you will, a rough mixture of Mario Andretti, Ivan Stewart, Kenny Bernstein, and any random sprint-car driver. The truck has never seen a day of non-abuse in its life (except for the rare day that I don't go anywhere).

Personally, anyone who considers any compact truck other than a Ranger gets what they deserve (most likely, an S10).

www.rangerforum.com (not my site, but one I visit regularly and find to be extremely useful)

Similar Products Used:

Have driven some of the so-called competition, and looked at all of them extensively. Serves as a nice reminder of why the Ranger is the best-selling compact truck for TWELVE YEARS RUNNING.

the 4.0 engine is a powerhouse in it self, even after having 98000 miles on it, there is still alot of punch in that engine.great handling around corners, truck just loves to operate smoothly at high speeds, very reliable

the automatic hubs, i only had the truck 4 months, and the hubs stripped out, and the automatic hubs are not cheap to fix, so this spring i am installing manual hubs

i first bought a 87 4x2 ranger, it was only a 4 banger, but it got me around well, but now it sits in my driveway with a blown tansmission that is very hard to find, but now i own my 95 4x4 and i just cannot get enough of it, i hate putting miles on it, but that is what it is for.i feel as if i will never buy anything but rangers for the rest of my life, i just love em.

Similar Products Used:

after driving around some s-10's and a toyota, they do not stand a chance against it.

Handles alright, its got some power but what can you exspect from a 4 cylander. But has a killer sound system with two kove `12's with a kicker 600 what amp, also a 120 what boss amp tha that powers 2 Rockford fosgate 6x9s and 2 61/2 and a audiovox eq and a pionner deck. it Jams and keep in mind this is all in a single cab and the sea must go all the way back becaus i am almost 6 foot tall.

GAS, gas tank or the floater has been broke for onlry god know how long.

Good Truck Bad gas sound system kicks but

Similar Products Used:

Well this isn'[t a fair comparison but it dosen't stand next to my dads 95' f-350 dually desil powerstroke but they both drive awlsome

You cannot kill the 2.3litre engine. Very comfortable seats. Very good stereo system. A very good looking truck. Very good fuel mileage.

Heat shield keeps rattling....arghhhhhh.... May rip it off pretty soon!!!!

You cannot kill the 2.3litre engine!!! I drive to the city from the country every day and I drive to the mountains all the time to fish for trout all the time. I put a lot of miles on it, sometimes very hard miles.
This truck never stops. I am very pleased with this little devil!!!
It may rattle now and then, but you gotta ignore that stuff.
I had my truck for alomst four years. The only thing to go on my truck was the starter. Not bad for a truck that has 253,000kms on it. I have four years of university left and I have no doubt that my little Ranger will last!!!!!!! GOD BLESS MY LITTLE RORD RANGER!!!!! I LOVE IT !!!!!!!

Similar Products Used:

My first truck. Let's just say for a small compact truck, you still know that you are in a truck.

2.9 has power
4X4
5 Speed
16-17 MPG
super cab
power seats/with lumbar
road clearence
factory sun roof
nice looks
cab lights
fly windows
The A/C is bone chilling

only 200 miles to a tank.
With a toolbox installed the bed is now 4ft long.
problems with the passenger power window.

I'm am very pleased with my 88 Ranger. It came with a $3,000 rebuilt engine with 9500 miles on it and 97,000 miles on a clean body. Underside has some surface rust around the sparetire rack. I like the way it handles but does list to the outside of a turn. The gas tank could be bigger and if I were buying a new Ranger, I would get the optional tank. Overall, I will run this one as I did my 83 into the ground and buy another as they are a pleasure to drive with a well engineered four wheel drive system.

Similar Products Used:

1983, 2.3, 4X4 Ranger dual gas tanks, 7 1/2 ft bed

has power for a 150hp 3.0L v6 realy good exceleration decent amount of room in the cab seats 3 comfortably runs great for having about 119,000 miles handles great takes 10mph and 25mph curves at 35-45mph it also look great has a sporty look to it.

trany going out but will be fixed soon, has a plastic radeator that leaks that will be replaced soon also and that is it preveous owner must of did alot of reverse drops

from mine and my familys experience i would recommend to by a ford or even a chevy they are reliable if you take good care of them and not do reverse drops like the previous owner did in this truck.

Similar Products Used:

first vehicle of my own but parents have a 2001 ranger 1998 mustang brother has 1999&1987 ranger 1995 camaro all have no problems

Engine is strong. 4 bangers are weak but its held up (103,000 and still going) Fuel economy is great in my opinion. Fun Driving. Cheap and reliable. Although I've put many things on it ( some not needed, just into rebuilding it) these are: alternator, starter, shocks, normal stuff.

Body is worthless, I've got that silver paint job which is infamous for this year Ranger (chipping, rusting out) not bad all in all for being 12 years old. Transmissions about reaching the breaking point, whines once in a while but not much slipping (auto). Coolant sensors gone, rust buildup and doesnt read anymore, not worth fixing, runs at the right temp

Great truck. Next truck I'm gonna buy is another Ranger, this time 4x4 and a 4.0 L for sure. Besides what Ive mentioned its a great truck, dependable and fun to drive. Bodys seen better days but I'm in Michigan and I cant box it up in the winter.

Similar Products Used:

None

56,000 mi.+ and solid,no more rattling than expected(minimal) Easy hop-ups exelent ride quality, handles as good as or better than moast cars, good off road manners even for a 2wd truck, plenty of room for my 6'3" 330Lb frame

Slightly under-dampened front suspension, front anti role bar tends to squeak(have to get under the truck and spray the shackels with lube every few months or so) Side mirrors are LOUD at hi-way speeds, still kinda dogs out on steep hills, even with mods. sometimes 4th gear needed

The 2.3L 4cyl was a little sluggish at first but, I made some mods.(flowmaster cat-back, power chip, intake system, over-sized throttle body) and now it runs with the 4.0L v6 (Ford) & the 4.3L Vortec v6 (Chevrolet) as far as Toyota or any import compact pick-up....SEE YA!!! I had some minor electrical dificultys but they were resolved with a visit to my local Ford dealership and a call to ford corporate headquarters.(because they knew about it but were reluctant to solve it)They ended up replaceing the G.E.N. module & the door sencors, free of charge, no prob. since. Also the black belt molding on the bottom of the driver & pass window was rusting undernith the rubber, moast people don't know it but rangers have a 5yr unlimmited milege corrosion protection warenty, they will fix it for free. Remember, the squeaky wheel gets the grease.

Similar Products Used:

S-10:too small for X-cab, Mazda:same truck, bigger price-tag, Toyota:when I sat in it I felt like I had one butt-cheak on the center console, plenty of leg room tho, Nissan: roomy, physically bigger, but died on the test drive, had to get a cab back to the dealer. Isuzu: that thing couldn't get out fo it's own way!

its amazing

there are none, its a ford its perfect

there are none, its a ford its perfectthere are none, its a ford its perfectthere are none, its a ford its perfectthere are none, its a ford its perfectthere are none, its a ford its perfectthere are none, its a ford its perfectthere are none, its a ford its perfectthere are none, its a ford its perfectthere are none, its a ford its perfectthere are none, its a ford its perfectthere are none, its a ford its perfectthere are none, its a ford its perfectthere are none, its a ford its perfectthere are none, its a ford its perfectthere are none, its a ford its perfectthere are none, its a ford its perfectthere are none, its a ford its perfectthere are none, its a ford its perfectthere are none, its a ford its perfectthere are none, its a ford its perfectthere are none, its a ford its perfectthere are none, its a ford its perfectthere are none, its a ford its perfectthere are none, its a ford its perfectthere are none, its a ford its perfectthere are none, its a ford its perfectthere are none, its a ford its perfectthere are none, its a ford its perfectthere are none, its a ford its perfectthere are none, its a ford its perfectthere are none, its a ford its perfectthere are none, its a ford its perfectthere are none, its a ford its perfectthere are none, its a ford its perfectthere are none, its a ford its perfectthere are none, its a ford its perfectthere are none, its a ford its perfectthere are none, its a ford its perfectthere are none, its a ford its perfectthere are none, its a ford its perfectthere are none, its a ford its perfectthere are none, its a ford its perfectthere are none, its a ford its perfectthere are none, its a ford its perfectthere are none, its a ford its perfect

Similar Products Used:

None

It's cheap to buy and cheap to operate. It put up with a whole lot of very hard use. Nearly no trouble with it, except for a broken shifter and ordinary things like a clutch replacement, brakes, a u-joint and not much else.

Not very comfortable or roomy. But what do you expect for the price...

I wanted a cheap, no-frills utility vehicle to runs around in a roofing business, so I bought the 2.3 L, 5-speed with nothing else (I suppose the "S" stands for stripped).....even had to buy a rear bumper and radio for it later. We really used it! I thought it might hold up for 50,000 miles the way we overloaded it and drove it, but it was still smiling at 100,000 when it retired from active duty and became a teenager truck and got beat even more.
Now I want to buy a new one but this time I will opt for at least the XLT package.
I still wonder how long the old one will go. I think it's got around 175,000 miles on it and still runs fine. That's either a testament to the truck or a good advertisement for oil and filter change every 3000 miles...

Similar Products Used:

Have had lots of other work trucks, all full-sized, and mostly Fords. The bigger trucks are more stout feeling and roomy, but they cost a lot more to buy and operate. I would give the little Ranger high marks in comparison to full size trucks because it was used like one and it is still going to this day.