I recently purchased a 1999 Ranger XLT 4X4 Extended cab, 3.0 164,000 miles. Purchased it knowing that it had a cracked radiator. Purchased the radiator, started into the job and read some of the forums on here. Read about the timing cover leak, and decided that I would tackle the entire cooling system: radiator, water pump, belts, hoses, the whole shebang. Got into it and saw that the oil pan gasket was leaking too... great. So, now the transmission is out on the jack, engine is out on the stand, and one of my "old school" mentors says to "throw a set of rings and bearings" in it. At that point., why not complete rebuild? Thoughts?

 

Why not buy a new truck at that point? Same philosophy...

 

Mike, it depends on what condition the body is in and how long you want to keep the truck.
You can expect 300 to 400k on the bottom end and by now it probably could do with a valve job.
If you're going to rebuild it, don't skimp, get new pistons and over bore.
Honing and adding new rings with original pistons causes piston slap from honing.

If it was my truck, I would leave the bottom end and just do the valves.
You can inspect the bores, but I'm pretty sure you'll still find the factory cross hatch pattern.
At this point you can decarbonize the combustion chamber _ the 3 litres were a "pingy" engine because of carbon build up in the combustion chamber.