Advice on purchase of a 2001 Ford Ranger

[frieed]

Looking at a 2001 extended cab Ranger 4x4 long bed 4.0l

It has 204000 miles
Auto tranny was rebuilt last April. He claims service records for the life of the truck and the tranny re-build.

Anything in particular to look for or just opinions on the truck in general?

Thanks,

frieed

 

[smartass_kid]

depends on what you want to use it for. that's a lot of miles.

price?

 

[frieed]

Starter vehicle for my daughter, not so much for wheeling
He's asking $3500/obo
I can't afford a Taco, so this seemed better than most.
If the documentation is in order then that's a plus

 

[lewis]

my dad loves his. it gets decent mileage. he has had a few repairs, little things that cost more then what they should. he is always looking for another one so if you don't pick it up pass along the info to me.

 

[skiboarder]

personally I think it is a little high for the miles. But if he has taken care of it, service records and all, could be a nice truck. Parts are plentiful and relatively cheap.
They do have problem with the auto trans. But if rebuilt that shouldn't be a problem.

 

[Kevin B.]

Have you heard it run yet? The Ford 4.0s are supposed to have the same timing chain issues that the 22RE has, with broken guides and such. I sold my '00 Explorer at about 180k last year, and it had a slipping transmission and a slapping timing chain but was still running and driving. I'd gone from 40k to 180k with no major services, so I'd definitely buy another if the price was right.

I really loved that motor. Lots of scoot for a little V6.

 

[frieed]

Thanks for the info guys.
He's out of town for the holidays so I haven't seen it yet.
How much pain to replace the timing chain?

 

[rockreligious]

One of my work trucks is an 05 Ranger, Ive put 100,000 miles on mine and havent touched it other than a new battery and regular oil changes, my only dissapointment is it only gets 19 mpg, and I assumed it would do better than that, otherwise great truck.

 

[Kiel]

We have a lot of ford explorer 4.0's. Only have had to do one set of timing chains on a sohc one. We had to pull the engine to get to the rear one. I wouldn't sweat it, if its not clattering on startup

 

[glockman]

x2 on the timing chains for the SOHC. Just an FYI, the 4.0 SOHC on the 05 and newer mustangs is the same long block. I blew a head gasket in my 98 explorer. Bought an almost new 4.0 from an 06 mustang for $500 and dropped it in pretty slick. It cost less than new timing chains and the OTC tool to lock the cams down. Just an option if you do have problems.

 

[jeep-N-montero]

The Rangers are great trucks, my brother had one in high school and another after college, he has had 2 or 3 F150's since then but only because he outgrew the Ranger due to work needs. And I would buy one in a heartbeat as a comparable budget alternative to the Tacoma.

 

[frieed]

Thanks for all the input. I'm feeling a little better about this