I have a wrecked Ranger that will be good for parts and I'm looking for a new one. The one I see is a Mazda B2300 which should be interchangeable with the Ranger shouldn't it? I know it's just a rebadging but not all parts are interchangeable, especially some of the trim stuff. WIll this be an issue?

 

If it's the same engine, trans and 2x4 vs 4x4, then everything is interchangeable.
If you want to change the trans, then it has to be automatic or manual, but that problem isn't specific to one or the other.

I have a B3000 and I'm at the Ford dealer all the time.

What kind of 2.3 is in the Ranger, is it the Mazda L engine (which is the same as the Ford Duratec) or the Pinto (Lima) engine ?

And yeah, the trim stuff is different, but I've even come across a Ranger with a Mazda box on it.
I think you can even change the front grill assembly, but it requires that the header bar be changed between the two.

 

Old ones a 04 4 cylinder and the Mazda is a 2010 4 cylinder so they should be the same engine. It's only really some of the trim huh? I think I'm good to go for this B2300.

 

Engine will be the same, trim will be different.
The hood on the Mazda may even be aluminum.
My B3000 has an aluminum hood where all the Rangers I've checked out that have the 3 litre are steel.

Note about that engine, if you ever do any major work on it like on the valve train, you need special tools to lock up the crank and the twin cams before loosening the crank shaft nut.
There are no keys on the sprocket cam gears or the gear on the crank.

 

I'm surprised about the Ranger hoods being steel. The one on my '99 compared to the '99 Explorer V8 donor is well under half the weight. I'd assumed the difference was aluminum vs steel.