Just inherieted (i.e free) 1998 4x2 B2500 manual. It runs but defintely has not been taken care of. Would love to get some tips and items I should look into right away. Thanks!

 

Welcome to the forum

Mazda B-series were built by Ford starting in late 1994 so Mazda could avoid the import taxes that were going up on light duty trucks
Ford used Ranger frame and drive train but body panels and interiors were a little different

1998 Mazda B2500 has a 2.5l Lima SOHC engine
The Lima engine is also called "the Pinto engine" because it was first used in a 1974 Pinto as a 2.3l
It was used in several Ford models including the Mustangs over the years, even Turbo Charged for a few years in the late 1980's
Good solid engine design
In 1998 it was "stroked" to make it a 2.5l SOHC and was used in the Rangers and B2500 until 2001.5, in mid-2001 Ford changed to the 2.3l DOHC Duratec engine in Ranger and B-series as the 4cyl engine

2.5l does use a Timing Belt, needs to be changed every 80-100k miles, hot dry climates would be 70-90k
Its a non-interference engine so broken belt will NOT hurt the engine, but you will be stuck where it broke, lol, no limping home

2.5l SOHC has 8 spark plugs, 2 per cylinder, this generates extra power, both spark plugs fire at the same time, no alternating, or there would be no point in dual spark plugs
One issue that occurs with dual spark plugs is that if one spark plug is not working engine still runs smooth, so you can't tell, lol, but there will be slightly less power
New plugs and wires are never a bad idea when you get a new vehicle

You have an M5OD-R1 manual transmission, aka M5R1
Used in Rangers since 1988 and thru 2011 so good solid manual trans, B-series 1994 thru 2010
This transmission used ATF...............yes automatic transmission fluid in a manual trans, Ford Mercon V is specified, only holds 2.8 Quarts bone dry so not expensive to change the fluid