So. I'm new-jack-city here, pleased to meet you all. I've lurked on and off for a few years now.
I have a stock 2000 Ranger (forest green, extended cab, 4x2 3.0) that I'm looking to do some work on.
Right now she has the bigger tires that Sam's Club fits for her (Rugged A/Ts) and that's about it except for 110,000 miles and a lot of good memories. I change the oil like a good little boy and for the most part she runs like a champ. Any issues that I have had have been user error related. After a lot of thought and looking at craigslist for months I've said goodbye to ideas of getting a new truck and instead decided to "hook-up" the old green Danger Ranger.
Being in Louisville, KY there is snow (or at least ice) pretty regular and the roads are a little more unforgiving than those in ATL area.
Enough small talk.
I tentatively want to do some on-a-budget performance work (IE no super chargers, stuff of that nature) but maybe a good sounding exhaust, cold air, transmission cooler, etc. I'm more concerned about mileage and handling at the moment, she's making about 250 miles to the tank. Yes, I know it's a truck, before the bashing starts. Yet, there has to be something I can do. When she was in her younger days (below 100k) she was averaging almost 400 to a tank, so I'm kind of suspicious that something is amiss.
Aside from under the hood I'd like to black out/murder her out (on the cheap, once again) and get the suspension and handling a little smoother and a touch lower.
I have noticed a lot of salt/snow chemicals/green stuff I can't readily identify, and I'm curious as to how to best tackle this (washing her every day is not an option, as much as I love her and well as she has done by me.
It's cold as the devil's heart here some mornings, so getting some kind of remote start going (yes, that's right, on the cheap) is pretty important to me also.
Last but not least I have heard for every 50 pounds you strip off you gain roughly one MPG. This may be exaggerated, I haven't a clue.
End state I'd like to spend no more than $2k over a year or so on this whole venture. Wish me luck.
So there's my starting point, and most of my ideas. I'll get some pictures going this weekend, wife/life/weather permitting.

 

Plugs and wires will help ford redesigned the plug to make better spark i noticed a nice little bump after my tuneup at 120000 and it only cost me about $40 for plugs and wires. Also a tuner might help they do have programs to maximize fuel economy.

 

Thank you for the feedback.
I'll definitely look into new ignition components. Come to think of it, I bet she's do for them anyway. No telling when they were looked at/changed. I see wires from $29.99 through the triple digits, are there any wires that are truly worth that?

 

That's a little below my average of about 270 miles per tank,but your still within owner averages;Stop & go traffic or a heavy right foot can make for lower averages.....Check this link out: My MPG Estimates &browser=true&details=on
If you mean 400 'miles' per fill-up w/3.0L V6 (ATX or MTX),I'm gonna call 'Bravo-Sierra' on that.....You must have be measuring in 'kilometers'(400k = 248.5484769 miles),and that's about right,little low but still somewhat normal depending on several factors.

 

If your Ranger is one with the rear doors that open(suicide style),the can have problems with the cables sometimes.
https://www.ranger-forums.com/interi...broken-130414/


Ford Ranger Rear Suicide Door Door Lock Cable Repair Kit 1997 2004 | eBay

 

My door cables are actually working fine, I was not really aware that this was a problem. I'll surely keep an eye out for it.
Thanks for all the feedback. Right now I'm kind of at a standstill because of expenses.
Here in Louisville it's snowed a couple times and today it iced over. The Ranger handled it fine. On some of the empty back roads I even had a little fun, not 2-fast-2-furious type stuff but breaking traction a bit and throwing the tail out.
My neighbor has an F-150 4x4 and slid off the road into the yard of the family across the street, I backed the Ranger down the driveway in the snow, hooked up a cable and had the neighborhood kids stand in the back, pulled the bigger truck out with relative ease. :D Just cause the Ranger is smaller doesn't always mean it's less capable if you use your noggin.
As far as the doors goes I'm currently having a problem with both side external door locks (may have mentioned that) and I'm probably going to get some graphite powder to them pretty soon, see if that frees them up some. The passenger side swing door does not close all the way about half the time, so going around a left hand turn causes the door ajar light to come on. It's a time/money issue, I'm sure folks can relate.
I've been looking online (and naturally, here on the forums) at bull bars/wenches/etc. I'm kind of leaning toward a pre-runner style kit that will give me a wench and some room to mount a few lights. Given how winter is going I'd like to get into a wench soon, but for now a come-along and a chain are more my speed. A tube rear bumper also makes me grin.
Last but not least I've been thinking about paint and how to do it on the cheap. Like I said I'll probably leave the scars (AKA dents), but getting some paint over before the road salt speeds up corrosion is pretty high on my list. That being said I've been looking at technicals (gun trucks) that were used out in Afghan and Iraq kind of as a model. Any thoughts on rattle canning a Ranger in a desert tan + black? There has to be a sweet spot as far as making it look decent and having it last and keeping the price minimal. I'm all ears.
Right now a lot of this is hypothetical, I'm using this post as a sounding board. Once again, I appreciate all the input.