Hi all,

Just bought a 2000 Ranger XLT 4.0, single cab with step-side bed. It only has 58,000 miles on it and seems to be in amazing shape. I'm guessing it was garaged for the last 18 years as the paint is perfect, and the frame is extremely clean. Any advice on maintenance items I should prioritize right away? I'm intending to do a radiator flush this weekend and a fresh oil change. Should I consider any transmission maintenance?

 

Welcome to the forum

Manual or automatic?

2000 was the last year for the very reliable 4.0l OHV engines in Rangers, 2001 and up Rangers got the more powerful 4.0l SOHC but they had timing chain problems thru 2004

4.0l OHV had only one weak point, there is a flaw in the head castings, a weak spot between valve seats, so you should NEVER overheat them or one or both heads will crack, so at the first sign of temp gauge approaching 3/4, pull over and let it cool off, do NOT try to "make it home", it would be an expensive trip, lol
Heads did NOT crack on their own, must be OVER heated to crack.

2000 Rangers runs 60psi fuel system
In 2000/2001 models there is a connector under the drivers seat to outside wiring harness, these could get water intrusion and cause odd Trouble Codes and odd issues

4.0l in a Regular cab is kind of rare, most were 4cyl, a few with 3.0l, much fewer with 4.0l, it was, as far as I know, a custom order in regular cab
4.0l with 4x4 regular cab were "hens teeth"

When any vehicle sits for long periods seals and gaskets dry out so you will start to get leaks as you drive it more, just keep an eye out for this, one of the curses of low miler vehicles
I would change the fan belt, it may "look" OK but if it breaks you lose water pump and...............read above, NO OVER HEATING ALLOWED, lol

Reverse hoses on heater core at the firewall, you should do this each time you replace coolant or every 2 to 3 years, I would do this before flushing and draining final time
I would use HOAT base coolant, costs a bit more but allows you to "top up" with any coolant available as needed
The original coolant was most likely OAT base, so not cheap but also not universal like HOAT, brand is your choice as long as it says HOAT based, these are usually yellow or gold color but coolant color is not standardized, should be but isn't
"Lifetime" coolant means 5 years, that's the lifetime of a vehicle as far as manufacturers are concerned

 

Thanks Ron, this is all very helpful.

This is an automatic, and yes it does seem rare as I haven't seen much of these in the 4.0 option around. Most of the single cab step sides I've seen have been the 4 cylinder. It also has the 16 inch wheels, which from what I understand was a top option for the model.

I think I got lucky and stumbled on a cherry. It was owned by an older couple and mostly was used for around town trips/dump runs. To your point, leaks are my main concern. Everything seems OK right now, but I will be keeping an eye on it all for sure. That leads me to another question - any concern switching to synthetic oil? I get mixed messages the more I read up on this.

 

Just a note, I thought it ran great, but I just changed the plugs and wires and now it runs awesome

 

The 4.0l OHV "eats" spark plugs, wears them out fast, Motorcraft and Autolite seem to last the longest

Ford does use a Waste Spark system
This means spark plugs on one bank spark normally, center to tip, spark plugs on the other bank spark in reverse, tip to center
This means you should never use single platinum spark plugs, waste of money since 3 will wear out the same as regular copper
So use regular copper or Double platinum
This is often why you will see TWO spark plugs listed as OEM, installed at the factory
When buying millions of spark plugs, like Ford does every year, installing 3 single platinum centers and 3 single platinum tips save ALOT of money, so two separate numbers in one engine

 

yeah I went with the aAtolite double platinum