At 190,000 miles now, the question comes to me... Should I continue to mod my truck?

All of the mod's i've done are in my profile, and there arent many.

The truck still runs excellent, but i feel that because the milage is so high, and i keep putting milage on it, somethings going to eventually go bad and it would be too pricey to replace. (example: Tranny).

I do plan on buying another Ranger after this one, hopefully an 02 Edge. So i've been thinking about getting mods that can easily be transferred over to the new truck. (whenever that will be).

What do you think?

 

It's hard to say, as some people's vehicle means more to them than others. I've seen people trade cars like they were underware; and I've seen some spend thousands to restore a vehicle that I felt wasn't worth the efort. It's a personal thing, and hard to define.

On the one side, it's an older 4 cylinder light truck, that has probably seen it's share of winters. It's not a high dollar "classic" vehicle, and has lots of mileage.

But, it's also YOUR truck, and it reflects the time and effort you have put into it. It has some of your personality (and probably a decent portion of you income ) in it.
Even with the small amount of mods, it has become unique and there is no other truck like it.

Personally, I don't condone high dollar mods to older vehicles, as I have been burned by this in the past. It's heartbreaking to spend thousands on a mod, only to have something really expensive break a few weeks later. I'd say continue with the small mods, but don't go over the top.

 

Ok personally I would say stop and sell it and get a new truck, but thats looking at hine sight of my truck, to much damn money invested into a truck that really wasnt worth it, wish I had a newer one

 

just start out by doing cosmetic mods maybe...if it aint broke dont fix it, and if it still runs fine, done try adding a turbo or CAI or anything, just slow roll everywhere and be gentle with it and make sure to keep an eye on all the fluids and u'll be fine....i've seen Ford trucks last up to and past 300k miles, all because the owner would check all the fluids every time before he would ever crank it up...kinda obsessive i guess, but heis truck has lasted....

just to things that wont effect the drivability of it....ex: euros, clear corners, tint, rims maybe, paint job...etc....just dont go tryin to crack open the block for a port and polish and etc, and in my opinion, u should be fine. my vote is YES, but with a grain of salt.

 

It all depends on how much you love your truck. Older trucks obviously need parts rebuilt. That transmission will eventually need work, other than just replacing the wearable items. How soon that happens is anyones guess.. I would probably hold off, as if this is your daily driver, you need dependability over anything else.

But like I said, it all depends on how much you love your truck. If you love it as it is now then why not mod the heck out of it. If you're only a few mods away from having the perfect truck, then go do it. A tranny or engine rebuild it gonna be cheaper than a new truck anyday.

 

I'm catching hell about lifting a 2wd but it's my truck and thats your truck.... if you know a new truck is in sight here pertty soon. don't go buy a lift or anything for ur ranger just takie care of it and when u get that new truck mod the **** outta it lol

 

Well i don't see another truck in my future any time soon. Possibly in 5 years, 10 at the most. And i do spend alot of time and effort with my truck and it's even my first.

I don't plan on selling it. I wouldn't get much money for it anyway. I'm going to drive it until it dies, then fix it later down the road when i have extra money. I'd like to keep this thing forever even if i'm not driving it. I always hear people say "I wish i still had my first car". So... i'm gonna end up keeping it in a garage somewhere and use it for winter or something.

But who knows, these are just my idea's at the present time. They may change.

 

Though it has fairly high miles, I don't think it's that old. Yes, there is some risk in modding a high mileage vehicle with a few years under its belt, but as long as you don't go wild right now, I think I would be fine to continue modding. You wouldn't want to slap on a turbo from a Turbo Coupe or anything at this point in time because the engine would not like you for it, but I don't see the harm in cosmetic mods. Save the big mods for one day in the future when the truck is just a secondary vehicle sitting around that needs a fair amount of work. Then you can take your time and do what you want with it.

 

i say mod it within reason but keep some $$ aside for repairs. those 4 pots can run a really long time w/o matience. i would definatly not throw any money into the engine performance wise short of mild bolt ons, nothing internal.

 

i agree, the combination you have is pretty solid, with regular maintenance it shouldnt let you down. if youre too concerned, i wouldnt even do any engine mods at all, with the amount of miles you have on it now, any mods may be detrimental, even just a small amount.

do a few mods if there are some you really want to do, but save some money for repairs. if you want it to stay reliable, stay away from the mechanics of the vehicle, IE engine tranny suspension etc.

 

Yeah, the only plans that come to mind right now are sparks, clear corners, possibly tint, and window (rain) guards.

 

I got 140,000 miles from a 2.3l in a Mustang. Never had the valve cover off once (although the automatic transmission puked at 120,000). That was the day I learned about transmission maintenence. Still got over 20 MPG when I sold it. That's a bit less than you have, but still that lil I-4 is one tough little motor.