Hello everyone...
Mike from Meridian, MS here.

I had a '96 Ranger years ago. I gave it my son as his first vehicle. Well, long story short, he sold it....Gone!...Oh well.

I have always been a Ford guy. I also have a 1978 F100 I am restoring....
Well, just yesterday, I became the owner of a 1997 Ranger XLT. It has a step side bed. Even though the paint is pretty bad, the body is straight. It runs good and that was what I wanted most.

I have a lot to learn about the nuances of this Ranger. I have seen a couple of videos where people tell about the weak areas and things that break.
I do have a few gremlins to run down, BUT, since I am retired..... well, that gives me a project.

Here she is.....
My new family addition.



Thanks for having me aboard.

 

Welcome to the forum

1997 was last year of the 2nd generation
1st gen 1983-1992(1989-1992 gen 1.5, lol)
2nd gen 1993-1997
3rd gen 1998-2011

2nd and 3rd gen have similar bodies and parts

2nd gen uses 30psi fuel system
3rd gen 60psi

1997 is OBD2 so you can used the $15 Bluetooth OBD2 readers on them

Last year for speedometer gear drive on tail shaft so easy to calibrate speedo to new tire sizes
But it is an electric speedometer/odometer

2WD used TIB(Twin I-Beam) up front, last year for that
1998 got IFS

 

WOW,,,, thanks so much for that insight !!
I am just now learning these things!

I do have taller tires (Which I really like) so I want to calibrate the speedo to match.