looking at getting a ranger and i need some info.

[jessb83]

My friend is looking to sell me his 89 ranger. It has an i-4 engine with 101,000 miles on it and its a standard. My questions are these:
1> what are the most common problem with this truck?
2>What are its towing limits?? I need it to beable to tow 2000 pounds with about 250 pounds tounge weight. Will this Truck hold up??
Well i look forward to hearing from you guys

[e_powers]

i think it has the Mitsubishi transmission. heard there was problems with those but forget.

the 2001 towing capacity for 2.5 is around 1500 and the 2001 3.0 is around what you want.

but in my opinion. towing capacity is not only dictated by the engine but braking power and driver.
so i will go on a limb and say if you upgrade the brakes maybe size wise but at leaste vented, and maybe the clutch you wouldnt have any problem because the 2.3 has almost as much hp and tourque as the 3.0. and if you are not carefull towing in the ranger will eat up clutches.

[Big John Hance]

How much does he want for it?

[Psychopete]

Originally Posted by jessb83

1> what are the most common problem with this truck?

My brother has a '91, a friend of mine has a '96, and my boss has an '86, all with the 2.3L. All of them run and they haven't had any serious problems. The engine will probably out live the truck. The 2.3L has been around for a long time. You'll be replacing timing belts every so often. It's normal, they break around 90K or so.

Pete

[DonSor]

I had an '83 with four banger. Had problems making it up the hill. Sold it and got me a '94 with 3.0L. Even that had mediocre power. Finally got me a '99 with 4.0L then I felt happiness. The bottom line is an adequate horsepower to weight ratio - unless decent acceleration is not that important to you.

[4x4grey88]

Four bangers have limits on towing. Depending on the engine, transmission, suspension, rear-end gearing, and braking.

Towing capacity is probably around 1500-2000 lbs. The weak link is not the clutch as people might say, it has a hydraulic clutch just like the ones used on F150. The weak links are lack of power (by some), but the transmission is real problem.

Ford uses a Mazda tranny, which uses a splash type dipper to lubricate and cool the tranny. Regarding 96' Ranger 3.0L V6 5 speed were designed to pull 5000 but is limited to 2200 lbs. You may have 4.10 gearing which makes truck a little snappier compared to 3.73 rear ratio.

The manufacture usually lists in your 'owners manual' what the total towing weight is for your vehicle (if stock). In my opinion, 2000 lbs. (1 ton) is stretchin the limit; especially on hills.

[e_powers]

Originally Posted by 4x4grey88

Four bangers have limits on towing. Depending on the engine, transmission, suspension, rear-end gearing, and braking.

Towing capacity is probably around 1500-2000 lbs. The weak link is not the clutch as people might say, it has a hydraulic clutch just like the ones used on F150. The weak links are lack of power (by some), but the transmission is real problem.

Ford uses a Mazda tranny, which uses a splash type dipper to lubricate and cool the tranny. Regarding 96' Ranger 3.0L V6 5 speed were designed to pull 5000 but is limited to 2200 lbs. You may have 4.10 gearing which makes truck a little snappier compared to 3.73 rear ratio.

The manufacture usually lists in your 'owners manual' what the total towing weight is for your vehicle (if stock). In my opinion, 2000 lbs. (1 ton) is stretchin the limit; especially on hills.

i heard a lot of horror stories of guys replacing their clutches after 300 - 2000 miles pulling their boats out of launch area. but i also heard people not having any issues with their clutches after such a task. so like i said driver finesse has a lot to do with manual transmissions and towing.

[damnthemachines]

I own two Rangers. An '83 and an '89. Those standard transmissions are hardly pieces of machinery. Automatics not so much. Your clutch might wear out, but the gears are probably good to go. Really, my '89 doesn't have many problems besides my transmission. I think the instrument panel might be faulty though, so watch out for that. The '83 is the one with the problems, but also the one with the standard transmission. Carbuerator is in bad shape and it has a few oil leaks.

All I can say is, if you want it for towing, it's probably not a great truck. But for light hauling, and the dependability of a standard and a i4, it'd probably be pretty good for getting around. Just my opinion.

[e_powers]

if it has the mazda transmission you need to get to the shift rail plugs if you see fluid on the tranny.