I have a 1997 ranger with a 4.0 ohv engine that i bought about 3 weeks ago. The odometer doesnt work, and it stopped at about 160,000. Theres no engine noise, but when i bought it, it had a terrible miss. I replaced plugs and wires and it went away. Being that i dont know the actual mileage of the vehicle, or how long the owner drove it with a miss that made the shifter near impossible to hold on to, i want to replace the rod bearings. Can that be done on this engine without removing the engine? If so, what brand of bearing and bolts do you recommend?

 

Welcome to the forum

No, you will need to remove transmission then lift up engine about 6" - 8" just to get the oil pan off, so...........plan on pulling the engine.....when its time

And in any case I would leave it alone unless you have a rod knock, bottom end of the 4.0l OHV is good for 400k+ miles
1997 is 24 years old, average miles per year is 12k, so approx. miles is 290k, so you have another 8-10 years left to get to 400k