Hi Forum,

First post here. Active on forums for other vehicles I own and am looking at a 1992 Ranger.

Would you kindly share some tips of what to look for and check out on these things?

Looking around, the price for this specimen seems fair.

The truck near to me is:
1992
176k
Manual
4WD
Regular Cab
Short Bed
Blue
Sliding rear window
2.9L V6
Alloy Wheels
Blue Int.
Split Bench
2 Owner

Lived in Southern CA its whole life.
Underside looks pretty clean and rust free.
Body has light surface rust on scrapes in bed and a couple other places.
Rubber and glass seem good.
Some old oil around the rear diff.
Some more oil whetting the pass. front beam.

If I pick it up, I'm sure I'll become active here.

Thanks!
.jonah

 

I was going to say rust but that's not a problem for you.

IMO... I'd go 98 and higher. But at those ages its not easy to just find what you want.

 

Pull the rad cap and see if the inside of the radiator looks clean or is covered in rust. If it isn't clean, walk away, you don't need somebody else's cooling problems.

Also, the front suspension setup in that truck is known as a "Twin Traction Beam" setup. Because each side is independent of the other, there are extra U-joints and bushings that standard solid axles do not have. Make sure you check these for wear. Worn out suspension bushings can wreak havoc on any front suspension setup, but especially a TTB setup. Check the ones that mount the radius arms to the brackets on the frame, as well as the pivot bushings at the inner end of each axle "arm" (where the axle mounts to the engine crossmember).

 

You really should take the time and trouble to do a compression test on it.That will tell you a lot about the condition of the engine.