first notes;
hi, my girlfriend and i just bought a truck . my first and i've never did any mechanic repairs or other restoration on trucks before, and this truck sure needs some work!!!
Anyways im making a thread to document the full restoration project from start to finish and to ask a few questions that need answers and hopefully get some good help, thanks.

truck details;
-1991 ranger
-v6
-automatic
- approx 130 miles on motor

current repairs needed;
- filler neck (TAPED UP!!!! )
- rear window wont close
- temp sensor for coolant
- stereo
- interior roof fabric (crap)
- interior plastic door armrest things (if someone has the name for these please share)
- transmission shifts hard sometimes
- compression seems low (need to do a test)
- bald front tires
-power steering (plans to remove , making noise)
- a little more in the interior.




anyways the body is straight, no frame damage, suspension is great, and the thing is alot of fun to drive! we have plans to paint it and but some bigger wheels on it.

questions/suggestions
-if anyone has suggestions about making some more power / compression or rebuilding motor or transmission please send feedback! , two of my friends have already suggested i should swap the tranny !
-also if anyone might know what the interior door armrest part is called please send me some info.
-is a broken rear window lock a common issue ? can just buy the two pieces or would i have to buy the whole thing ?

 

3.0l Vulcan engine is a reliable engine, your '91 was the first Ranger year that came with 3.0l, it replaced the 2.9l, it has a distributor, in '95 Ford changed over this engine to distributorless.
Ford used the 3.0l Vulcan engine in cars, vans and trucks since 1986, so there are a whole lot of them out there, but there are not alot of upgrades for these engines.
Just keeping them running correctly is about the best you can do.
General power upgrade for Rangers is to install an Explorer V8(5.0l) engine/trans, wiring and computer, explorer and ranger had similar dimensions, but still a tight squeeze.

'91 Ranger 3.0l would have A4LD 4-speed automatic, it is a good transmission but like any and all good parts they do wear out, so people complain.
"Hey my 20 year old transmission broke, what kind of POS is this", lol.
Good read here on the A4LD: Ford Ranger A4LD Automatic Transmission

Switching to a different model trans would be..............well harder than just putting in a different transmission, automatics are computer controlled since the mid-80's, same computer that runs the engine, so you have to change that, and then alot of the engine controls and the speed controls to what the new computer needs.

You have a TFI ignition system and at 24 years old it will have had some problems, parts have probably been replaced already, but as time marches on...........
Good read here on the TFI system: Ford EEC-IV/TFI-IV Electronic Engine Control Troubleshooting


This is for the head liner: Re-covering your Ford Ranger headliner

They are just called Armrests, and you can buy aftermarket replacements for most models.

Is the rear window lock the slider window, or is the the pop open rear window on a extended cab?
Either should be replaceable without removing window.

 

hey thanks a lot for this information very helpful!