Hi folks, obviously I'm new here so just checking in to get started and get to know some of you.

Wish I could say I'm a lifetime Ford owner/lover but it actually quite the opposite. Actually grew up in a mostly GM family with aunts and uncles driving Buicks and us driving Chevys.

Used to have a close friend who only drove Fords and worked at the Ford plant in Hapeville Ga. and we'd tease each other a lot but fact is I mostly drove Chevys because I just didn't have any history or knowledge of Fords.

Last Chevy I owned was a '97 S-10 which was the absolute worst vehicle I ever owned, thing broke down at least once a month. Probably could have made payments on a brand new truck for what I had invested in that thing.

Long story short it just turned out when the S-10 died I went to the closest car lot and the only thing they had that fit the bill for what I could afford and what I needed was a 1990 Ranger XLT super cab with 2.9 liter 6 cyl automatic.

So I've had the Ranger now for 3 years and though I've had to do some work on it it's been nothing out of what you'd expect for a truck this old. It was a one owner and well taken care of. Only had 136,000 mi on it when I got it. There's a pic of it in my avatar. I've really come to love this truck.

I've pretty much worked on cars all my life so I have a good basic knowledge of how they work and how to fix stuff until it gets into the computer stuff. So I still do minor work myself but being semi retired I no longer have the patience to do a lot of things that I used to do to my cars so I have local shops to the major work but I change the oil and do all the regular maintenance stuff I can and I'm here to learn more about my truck and fords in general

Hope I didn't make this too long, gotta go now but I look forward to posting more here and seeing what you all have to say.

 

Welcome to the forum

I am older now, 60+ years, and I only get GM cars and Ford trucks.

GM makes great cars, lousy trucks
Ford makes great trucks, lousy cars

Just my opinion, from owning, driving and working on both.

Your basic knowledge will serve you well, don't let the electronics throw you.

A vacuum gauge, test light and volt/ohm meter is pretty much all the test equipment needed, beside common sense, lol.
Outside of the common sense you can buy the other stuff as needed for under $40 usually, total.

All gasoline engines are self powered air pumps which is why the vacuum gauge has been an important mechanics tool for 100 years.
Doesn't matter how much electronics they add to an engine, it is still an air pump.
Test light for simple electrics, also used for 100 years
volt/ohm meter for the newer stuff, electronics, but also needed for testing batteries and charging systems

1990 was a good year for Rangers, well there were no bad years but 1990 is 1st generation, 1983-1992, so no major changes in 1990 model year that would cause unforeseen issues
2nd gen is 1993-1997
3rd gen 1998-2012(last model year)

2.9l engines did have weak spot in head castings, so DO NOT overheat them, 4.0l OHV had same issue(1990-2000 Rangers).
So at the first sign of climbing temp gauge pull over, do not try to "make it home" or anywhere else, let engine cool off and then move it until warm again, then cool off and ect.........
If replacing the heads cost you $500 parts/gaskets, and it takes you 5 hours to "get home" then you would be making $100 an HOUR for that 5 hours, minus the $10 hose or $40 water pump that caused the overheating.

2.9l also used distributor and TFI spark system, good system when new, but after 25years wires and parts can cause issues.
After warm up failing TFI modules can cause no start or poor running until they cool down, common issue.

Anyway, rely on common sense and don't sweat the electronics, they actually make vehicles better, more reliable

 

Well I probably have a couple years on you, turned 68 in December but it 's only a number. When I look a others around me who are my age I definitely feel younger

Interesting perspective there, the S-10 was the only chevy truck I ever owned, before it I had an ISUZU '92 and an '84 Nissan pickup, both were good reliable trucks. Before that I had an assortment of various vehicles mostly of GM design, couple station wagons and a Monte Carlo.

But I never owned any vehicle that was so poorly designed, under powered and unreliable as that S-10.

Pretty much have all that testing equipment. Just ordered an OBD1 tester so I can hook up to the eecu and get info without having to count flashes of the CE light or watch a VOM needle bounce around. Not having any issues right now but just want to see what's going on there. Chevy had the OBD2 hookup under the dash which I like but no biggie there.


I pretty much learned a long time ago to not let and engine run hot. Could be someone already had that problem with this truck though because it's obviously had the heads off for sure, you can see the new gaskets and looks like one of the heads is newer. Also looks like the timing chain and water pump have been replaced.

First thing to go wrong after I got the truck was the IM. Guy replaced it with and aftermarket and it went bad in couple months. After that had both the IM and Distributer changed out along with the coil and got all Motorcraft ford parts this go round. Haven't had any trouble with the primary ignition system since.

A/C system has been changed over to 134 instead of R12 and works pretty good still. All guages and pretty much every thing works on it except the Cruise control which I don't use anyway but it appears to only be disconnected. Not really concerned about that. Truck had new exhaust system when I got it along with new tires and brakes. Just got through though putting all new brakes, rotors, and calipers on the front and about to do the rear ones.

Tranny (automatic) had to be rebuilt last november but now it runs like new and shifts better than ever, engine runs like a top.


Yeah I don't sweat them, just never learned how to work on them much. Two things I usually leave to the experts is electronics and transmissions.

Thanks for the response and the good advice.