After buying a high mileage ranger you should...
 

Lots of trucks are bought/sold with limited service history.If this is the case it's important to "catch up" on service and make the truck a little fresher. These are some of the things I've done, are planning, or am thinking I might do. Let me know of anything to add or not to bother with.

Engine

Top off all fluids, new air filter, pcv valve, spark plugs and oil change(full synthetic), Plug wires

Maybe- Fuel filter and injectors.


Transmission

Adjust the bands

Maybe- Change the fluid, filter, and ECP.


Misc

Rotate the tires, tire pressure, check for abnormal or excessive wear. Check brake pads too.

Bleed brakes.

I need an alignment so i'm going to crank the t bars

Check all light bulbs.

Throttle cable "mod" (did it and like it)

I ran a fuel system cleaner through the tank don't know if this helps any

Keep a log of service so if/when you sell the truck, they know it's been taken care of and you know when things are due.

Don't waste your time with changing Fuel Injectors, Definitely change filter and fluid in the Tranny. I wouldn't worry about bleeding your brakes, unless your pedal is super soft, or hard and changing your pads, rotors etc. doesn't help.

Yea some stuff doesnt apply to me but figure could to someone else. Any thoughts on the ECP? I was told it's a good idea to do it at the same time as the filter.

I don't think anymore, hurts my brain too much. I don't have much to say about it, i try and avoid transmission work.

Take a look at the coolant too. If it is clear and green then you should be fine, if not then I would flush the system. Flushing it wouldnt be a bad idea anyways. I would also eyeball some of the suspension parts, and lube the suspension parts you can. I just bought a 2000 ranger with 69k miles great maintenance record but the first thing I noticed were the sway bar bushings were completely shot, huge amount of play in the bar, also check for any play in the tie-rods.

i'd also look at the ignition coil, TPS and would think about cleaning the Throttle body, IACV and MAF. Also might be worth checking the rear diff fluid to see if it needs changing.

I would change...not top off...every fluid in the vehicle, right down to the washer fluid before I did anything else. Coolant, Transmission, Oil, Brake Fluid, Differential, Transfer Case (if applicable), and any other fluid that can be changed. If you don't know when they were last changed, this is the only way to get yourself back on schedule definitively and know you've got the right fluid in there. The only alternative is testing the fluid or just eyeballing it. I don't trust anything unless I had it done myself.

If it's a 4.0 liter, you can bank on replacing your harmonic balancer about every 120,000 miles...that's the longest I've gone in any 4.0 without replacing it (and I've had 5 now...they go bad 100% of the time).

If it's an earlier automatic, you can bet on the transmission being toast by 200,000, no matter how well you maintain it.

I would put a transmission cooler on your truck if it didn't already come with one, especially if it's a manual

How early is ealier?

yes because manual trans are known for there heat caused by the torque converter as manuals use hydraulics and bands and multiple clutch disc not gears to drive the vehicle.

in most trucks this would be epic fail as most trans use gear oil, and gear oil wouldnt make it through a trans cooler since they're designed for atf which is liquid like water at most ambient temperatures. rangers do use atf oddly though in the manuals but can be switched to gear oil. not sure how you would circulate the oil in and out of a manual trans short of an electric pump.

if you truck is a 3.0 and nearing 100k replace the cam syncro before it even has a chance to make rattling sounds and destroys your engine with out mercy.

there is no need for a trans cooler in a manual because they run so much cooler than an automatic...and besides all rangers with autos and all auto cars come with a trans cooler

Dj is correct. Manuals are gearbox with a dry clutch.

How difficult is it to replace the cam syncro?

NVM just looked it up on alldata, not too bad but I'll probably wait till mine starts chirping to change it out.

None of the automatics in the Ranger are particularly great. The manual is actually a better box, aside from replacing clutches. The automatics are all from the same transmission family and none are outstanding as far as trannies go. They don't age well without a lot of TLC and certainly don't stand up to abuse...if you want to abuse something, that manual is very tough.

I currently change my transmission fluid every 30,000 miles, far before the interval called out by Ford. I've found regular fluid/filter changes to be great at increasing longevity.

Basically, watch out for an older transmission, particularly the old 4-speeds and when you have no idea how often the fluid has been changed. A4LD were absolute garbage...those were used only until 1994, I think. Ford replaced thousands of those on Explorers and Rangers from 1991-1994...just total garbage. 4R44E and 4R55E were later versions that were significantly better but still not great.

The 5R44E and 5R55E are the latest versions (the 5-speeds) and are probably the best ones, but still aren't great. I've had better luck with the 5 speeds. All of my 5-speeds have been 4.0 liter so I had the 5R55E.

It's subjective and I only speak from my experience. I'm sure some people have different points of view. I've had 5 of these cars from 1991 and 4 of them were automatic.

You guys knew I meant to say "automatic" in there... I think I must have been on crack when I posted that. I own a damn manual! :pat:

Im gonna add inspect ball joints and wheel bearings because mine gotta go!

I have an A4LD in my truck, it used to bump and grind like crazy. but nothing like a can of sea foam and a filter change couldn't shut up for a little bit

Ah thanks for the info.. I dont plan on running mine hard. I know my fluid has been changed before by looking at my old service records but I think I am going to change it again. I just bought my truck with 69k miles and haven't had a problem with it, I did find a service receipt where they changed the fluid and changed some sensor on it (forgot which one) and also saw a note saying they "could not repeat customer complaint". Not sure what problems he was having.

Noob here, mine's a 2003 Ranger XLT (2.3L Duratec) w/ 235K. Besides the other stuff mentioned what about O2 sensors and EGR just on principle. If they're original they gotta be on the way out.