yea, just tryin to help a brotha out, id love to see you in a ranger again

if you ever wanna get up for supper or something some time man, im at ncsu now, just pm if you want

 

Cool deal... I don't have much time off with work and all. But when I get a day off I will definitely let you know. I have tomorrow off, but it's my g/f's sister's b-day so we are cooking steaks! Anyways, I really want to get back into a Ranger. I forgot how sexy my old one was until I was looking at the last pictures I took.

 

It seriously was man, never should have gotten rid of it lol.

 

I would definatly consider the trade. But i wouldnt pay more than a $500 difference. Regardless of what the KBB says, people will pay for a low mileage 4x4 truck.

 

So someone please clarify for me... the differences between the 02 Ranger FX4 Off Road and the 03 Ranger FX4 Level II.

- Seats
- Gauge Cluster
- Sticker on back
- Timing Chain Rattle

Anything else?

Also, are the seats interchangable with the new seats with inserts? And can the gauges be swapped out for another type?

 

Here are two pictures he has sent me so far:

 

I'd do an even up trade if he's willing.. then again Preludes never really appealed to me, and he has the truck I'd love to have.. :)

 

'02 Fx4 = Black or Tan interior(dash, seats, headliner, doors, carpet, etc.)
'03 Fx4L2 = Black interior(dash, seats, headliner, doors, carpet, etc.)



Fx4 seats have extra bolstering on the sides and have manual lumbar.

'02 Fx4 = seat upholstery a funky spirily marker made print stuff...


'03 Fx4L2 = Black w/ either blue or red insert...(seats from '03 Fx4L2 in my truck...)


'02 Fx4 = Black gauges(same as any other '02 and older ranger) and Black radio bezel....



Yea, gauges on '03 and older rangers can be swapped out very easily to even the explorer white faced gauges.

'03 Fx4L2 = Silver gauges(just like any other '03 XLT) and Silver radio bezel(note seats)...



Here's a comparison to '02 and older door panels, and '03 and newer door panels....just imagine them being all black.

Thingy that's above the armrest: '02 and older = pinholed vinyl(on right). '03+ = Black carpeted(on left)...(armrest itself in all fx4's are black.)


Sticker on back:

'02 Fx4...(says "FX4 OFF ROAD") Can't find any pics. lol.

'03 Level 2...(If it's an '03 and says FX4 OFF ROAD, then it's a Base FX4. '03 FX4OR replaces the '02 4x4OR pkg)


Something worth noting....

'02 Fx4 AND '03 Level 2's get BLACK flares, BLACK valence, and BLACK rear bumper cover...comparison of '02 Fx4 vs. '02 XLT...

 

Thanks x 1,000,000!

 

no probs at all. some of them pics were a little difficult to come by, so i just used my own(door panels). lol.

oh yea....seats are direct swaps. heck...throw a 60/40 in if you really wanted to. I don't understand why you would though. lol.

 

I think if he threw you 500 bucks it would be a good trade the truck has low miles and is in great shape. It is an auto and that is sorta the ****s but you cant win em all I say do it

 

ok on the 02 flares, mine werent black, the valance and everything were grey, but i need to find some of those 03 fx4 seats and the cluster bc mine look kinda cruddy compared to those.

and btw that truck looks almost exactly the same as mine when i got it a few months ago

 

 

Everything about the differences between the 02 FX4 and the 03 FX4 L2 described so far is correct. I don't know why My05edge had grey flares and valence because all 02 FX4s were supposed to have black flares and valence. Another couple differences that have not been noted is 02 Rangers have slightly smaller front rotors and thinner (lighter) glass. In 03 they went to larger front rotors and supposedly thicker glass for better sound deadening.

The brakes are not a big deal. I installed better performance pads and shoes to improve stopping power and I tow a lot with no problem. The original pads and shoes did suck for towing.

As noted before, the Torsen recall was early in 2002 and was for manual transmissions only. Mine was in the recall, I bought it in December 01. It would help to the find the build date of the 02 FX4. If it is later in 02, it is likely that it got the updated Torsen. Ford felt the auto trans would not create as much shock to the early differentials and would be OK. There were still several 02 FX4s with auto trans that did fail the Torsen. I think the Torsen is superior to the clutch type LSD. One reason is they don't wear like the clutch type do. I have 246K miles on mine and it works like new. I also think they work better, so much so that I had a Torsen installed in the front too.

As to the timing chain deal, Ford did change something in 02 and was a great improvement over the 01 and earlier 4.0 SOHC engines. There were still some failures in 02 but way less than 01. There were still failures in 03 too. In 04 they seemed to have made another improvement. I changed only the tensioners on mine at around 80K miles and the old ones still seemed good. They are not that difficult to change and probably should be done if you buy the 02 if it has not been done already. I would do it on an 03 also.

I call my seat inserts; cracked ice. They have been very durable, I don't know how they compare to the red or blue ones. Some people don't like the 02 FX4 seats, I do.