Has anyone here ever had one?

i'm looking into buying a small, cheap truck and I was wondering if anyone had experience with one.

preferably 3rd gens.

 

I had a 93 ranger 4cyl 2wd. It had power nothing, no air etc, but ran like a champ (the only parts i ever had to replace were the brakes and clutch). It was slow, but that's what 98hp will do for ya. I had no problems with hauling things with it either.

In my opinion, its a good small truck for the money.

 

i'm not big on creature comforts, so no problems there.

i've heard time and time again they're almost indestructible.

 

Had one (ranger) with the 3.0 litre, manual tranny
after 200,000 miles it was still runnin strong. Still had the original clutch even.


They are great trucks, easy to work on, and parts are cheap.
Do not expect much power, even from the 6cyl.
Do not expect a comfy ride
Do not expect any looks from the hotties


Other than that, they are solid little trucks

 

awesome. that is exactly what i want.

how was gas mileage on the 3.0?

 

my gf's dad has one, a stick shift one, and i've driven it. personally, i love'em, especially the mazda ones 'cuz they're wearing mazda badges and they're rare these trucks probably epitomize the small economical durable truck. they've been making 'em for so long, they're reliable, and cheap & easy to work on. and for a while the mazda one in 4x4 off-road trim looked really good. i'd get one

 

i delivered car parts in these trucks as a winter job last year.

solid little trucks. no pretense about them. they are totally utilitarian.

and they arent a gigantic ***** replacement.

 

My grandpa has an 87 ranger (I was born in 87) so it's as old as me basically. I really want it lol. It still runs supposedly and they've had offers left to buy it but they've just kept it. I know I dont have the money it's worth but I still want to ask for it...

 

reputation has it that they are one of the most reliable, tough as nails, trucks.

 

I still drive my 89 Ranger quite often. Has almost 250,000 miles on it and so far never had a major repair except for when I was hit in the rear and the rails were bent straight down. It is a 4WD, 2.9L V6, automatic and I get 20-22 mpg out of it. The 3.0L and 4.0L V6's are probably not able to get as good of fuel economy, but still 18-20 should be possible. Not sure if they ever had this particular engine in them, but don't buy one with a 4.0L overhead cam, came in the Explorers but not sure about Rangers.

 

a little off topic but...

'64 galaxy 500? NICE!

 

Have a buddy with blown Ranger, thing hauls bootie with v6. There is a lot you can do with them, parts are easy to get. This is the truck I chose when the time to get a couch/refrigerator hauler comes along.

 

I used to do pre-delivery inspection on the B series in 94 through end of 96 and repairs on them at the dealer. The build quality was less than stellar and the interior was CHEAP. They drove very un-Mazda like but were OK. I hated putting them on the lift. Most repairs were totally alien to a Mazda tech accustomed to Japanese Mazda. They had a totally different engineering perspective; brakes were weird, clutch was weird, electrical connectors were weird. You can't take the window regulator out of the door without cutting the inner door apart; it's totally riveted in metal vs an opening with plastic like Mazda would do. They used the most archaic approach that many who were accustomed would probably welcome and they (Ford) seemed to change suppliers and revise parts 10 times more often than made sense to me.

On the positives: The engines last forever, taking abuse quite well and they are good overall transport. The newest 4 cylinders use the L3 Mazda all aluminum engine that is a decent piece as well.

Paul.

 

Ive always liked the Fairlane 500!

Back to topic tho, Ive had a Chevy truck, S10 to be exact. it was a 95 4 banger with no cat, AC, EGR had to be replaced and I had to install a new cat. It was jerry rigged to the MAX and I barely passed smog. That is the only disadvantage I can come up with a truck I sold with 250K on it. I seem to think Ford has a better rep with smog emissions?

 

There's always a Toyota Hilux (Tacoma)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lrk6vsb77xk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Uc4Ksz3nHM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YfZDtC9kjVk