In my 40+ yrs. of driving, I have owned 2 Fords. 1st was a '68 Cougar, 302 auto. Traded it for a '76 Land Cruiser, ( wished I had both of them back... ). 2nd is the '97 stepside Ranger Ext. cab I picked up this month. 2wd, auto, 3.0L, tow package, a little under 70K miles in gr8 shape.

I could not pass it up for 2K.. .. Anyways, I am member on a T4R, Toyota 4Runner site with this same format and it has helped so much with the one I have and I am sure this site will help me keep my new toy running smooth and safe.

Needless to type, but I know near to nothing of this truck. The good/bad.. recalls, issuses to look out for, nothing.. Any and all input will be great..

 

Welcome to the forum

1997 Ranger was last year of the 2nd Generation, 1993 to 1997
3rd generation was 1998 to 2012, end of this model, most 2nd and 3rd generation parts are interchangeable, "most" being the key word
1st generation was 1983 to 1992

3.0l Vulcan engine was used in Rangers from 1991 to 2008, 1991 to 1994 used a distributor, in 1995 all Rangers got newer Computer(PCM) and all were using coil packs, no distributors.
3.0l has Cam sensor/syncronizer in place of distributor from 1995 and up, the bushings in this syncronizer did wear out, 80-100k miles, it will make a high pitch squeal when this starts to happen, not hard to replace, but DO replace it as the synchro also drives the oil pump.

1997 has electric speedometer but still used speedo Gear in transmission, gear drives a VSS(vehicle speed sensor) instead of cable.
If you change tire sizes you can change speedo gears, just like in the old days, lol, 1997 was last year you could do that.

The 3.0l Vulcan was also used in Ford cars, transverse mounted, Taurus and Sables
It is a high RPM engine making best power ABOVE 3,200rpm, so you must keep RPMs up to get power, it is what is was designed for.
If you drive it like an engine that has best power at 2,500rpm(most engines) then it will seem slow/sluggish.
But it is not a power house, even at higher RPMs, nickname is 3.slow

You will have the 4R44E automatic trans, 4-speed, in a 1997 Ranger, for the millions of them out there they didn't have alot of problems, but there are some "known issues", Google: 4R44E.
All vehicles with automatics need 2nd trans cooler, heat is what kills automatics, $60 trans cooler will be best money you ever spend on a vehicle with an automatic.
If it has a Tow Package then it may already have it.

70k miles is barely broke in, reads like a very very good buy

 

Awesome info.. Huge thumbs up RonD, Thank you..