Hello All, I just bought my first Ranger. It is a 2005 XLT 4x4 manual transmission within 80k miles and I love the way it drives. After getting the truck home and going over it a little more in-depth than when I initially purchased and test drove it, I am finding signs that lead me to believe it may have been involved in a flood or some type of water incident. Everything seems to work but there is a substantial amount of dust/dirt inside the dash and in the door panels. I did not see this until I began removing things to clean it. Also, when I drive it I seem to have an allergic reaction to the truck which could lead me to believe there could be mold spores present, though no visible signs of mold on the outside that I can see(or my allergies to pollen are just hyperactive this year...?). I know it is the time of the year and I am going to continue driving the truck for a month or so and if I do not get better with the allergic symptoms I am going to go and source new seats/used from the junk yard and buy new carpet and padding, completely remove the interior and dash and try to deep clean everything with bleach or some product known to kill mold. Would you guys know anything that I might do to keep the truck from experiencing mechanical issues down the road, or even a sure fire way to verify if the vehicle has been water damaged? also to purify the interior of any mold spores that may be floating around or inside the seat? The truck had no reports of incident in the carfax which I pulled prior to the purchase. Your help is much appreciated!

 

Something to note is that I live in a desert climate and I think that *should* prevent some of the rust issues that I would otherwise experience. I am going to take the grommets out of the bottom of the door and try to rinse that dust and dirt out of there as best I can to keep it from fostering a rusty environment. The frame has some slight surface rust on it but nothing that really concerns me right now. Also the body doesn't show signs of rust or anything like that. I'm more concerned about the possible mechanical issues. I look forward to your guys' advice!

 

Carfax or other similar service may have had some info on flood damage based on VIN

 

Hi Pete, I did pull a carfax report which did not show that it had ever been involved in any type of water incident, or even any collisions which I mentioned in the original post... I think I may need to move this to the general section. Sorry Moderators, if you want to lock this thread or move it for me that would be excellent.

 

You can try spraying Lysol in the vents and carpets. That should kill some.

 

I assume the truck has A/C.
Under the A/C unit in the cab is a drip tray, and then a hose that runs from the tray's drain down thru the floor in the passenger foot well.
If you look under the truck at that area, after using the A/C, you will see water dripping out the hose.
or maybe not............that tray and drain can get clogged and water stays in the tray and that can cause mold, water also slops out on to the carpet so it is damp, another mold starter

 

I think your truck was used for off-roading by the previous owner. I think its more convenient to bring it to a car wash. They offer premier interior detailing services. You can request for them to use disinfectants when cleaning your car.

 

Thanks guys. I will check all of these things and I appreciate your input. mindtechno, I think you could be onto something because the truck does need struts, and there is mud and dirt around some of the suspension parts. There was a chunk of grass on top of the frame rail though which was right between the bed and the cab and that also alarmed me a bit, but I guess an animal could have put it there if the truck sat any amount of time. To be 10 years old and only 80k miles I would imagine it sat some. I'll clean it up nicely and keep it for a few months and see how it holds up. I think I was just immediately jumping to conclusions since I didn't discover this stuff until I got the truck home. Maybe it disconcerted me a bit. I've driven it about 200 miles and I couldn't be happier with the way it drives and stuff. I am going to put brakes on it this weekend. It needs a pinion seal so I'll probably do that too.

 

No prob man. Hope you fix problem soon. :)