From the 1970s through 1982, Ford served the U.S. compact pickup market with an imported truck from Mazda dubbed the Courier. Beginning in 1983, they went the homegrown route with a new design using the resurrected Ranger name (which would be sold across three generations through 2012). The seller has a 1998 edition with a V6 engine that has a blown head gasket. Rather than fix the truck, he replaced it and has made the Ford available here on craigslist as cheap wheels for $700 OBO. You can pick up the pickup in Wilsonville, Oregon, This is “Curvette” territory!
The Ranger’s truck chassis would go on to feed some other Ford products during its era, including the Bronco II and Explorer. Four- and six-cylinder powerplants were employed for the Ranger, which often outsold its Chevrolet counterparts, the S10 and Colorado. Demand for smaller trucks began to wane, so Ford exited the compact pickup market in 2012, but brought the Ranger nameplate back in 2019 as a mid-size (as Chevy had done with the Colorado in 2016).
This 1998 Ranger may have been the seller’s daily work truck for some time. But a blown head gasket on the V6 (3.0-liter “Vulcan” OHV?) led the seller to replace the truck with something else. The mileage accumulated is 255,000, so the pickup was certainly bulletproof for a long time. If you can fix the gasket problems, who knows how many more miles you can get out of the little truck, which also has an automatic transmission.
The yellow/gold truck has a few bumps and bruises, but it is 28 years old, after all. The interior shows some wear but is still quite serviceable, and almost everything except the engine works as it should. It even has air conditioning that will still give you the chills. For $700, the cost of a gasket set, and some time on your part, you could have a cheap work truck for your needs.
My son sold his 2003 Ford Ranger for $400. It understand that it became a parts car.
That’s how you sell a used car. Be honest about the issues, set a realistic price, post a few decent pics commensurate with the asking price, and don’t preemptively insult the buyer.
Had an ’88 Ranger that I sold under the same circumstances. The truck had a V6, auto, 2wd, long bed with 140k, 4 new tires and battery. Fun little truck that got 25 mpg all day long. Advertised it for $2500. Then I noticed it kept losing water, turns out it was leaking between the block and timing cover, tightened everything up which slowed but didn’t stop the leak, bought a can of stopleak but never put it in because we never ran the truck long enough to get it really warmed up. If we were gonna keep it I would have fixed it but we were overloaded with rolling stock so I knocked a grand off the price and re-advertised it. A guy came to look at it who was into Rangers, looked at it, drove it, liked it, not knowing I had cut the price he thought 2500 was a little high, I said I won’t sell for 2500 but will sell for 1500, he looked at me kinda funny, smiled and counted out the cash. His son put a pair of farm use plates on it, I gave him a manual and a gallon of antifreeze. When he stopped at the corner store for gas I’m sure he dumped the stopleak in and that was that. He was happy with the truck I was happy to see it go. Win win.
Everything I see an ad for a Ranger, it makes me miss the two I owned. If Ford started making this exact truck again, I’d be first in line. I sure wish they’d go back to making reasonably sized pickups!!!
The Maverick is the right size but too expensive and doesn’t have a frame under it. I’m with you on Ford making a smaller pick up with a full frame under it instead of a unibody. The Ranger was the right truck for the right time, and that time is now!
Ford makes the Ranger in 2026. $40,000+
Base price for a 2026 Ranger XL is $33,550. These won’t be common, but someone who wants one should be able to get one. The $40,000+ number is for one with higher trim levels and more options.
Steve R
Maverick has too many doors and barely a bed. The new Ranger is not even close to the same size. Its huge!
LS swap it..
Isn’t an LS a GM Engine?
buy it and put a new complete engine in and be done for another 250k. can’t buy a new truck like this.
Put a new headgasket or two, or as hairyolds68 says,”put a new complete engine”. I have two Mazdas, a 99 B4000 and a 2002 B3000 DuoSport. These things will run forever. Wish it was close by me, I’d then own three.
If it were on the East Coast, I’d consider it, but it would cost me more to ship it home from Oregon than I’d pay for the truck! Good luck with the sale in any case.
I’d have bought it already if it weren’t 3000 miles away. Head gasket is an easy job. These are great trucks. My 95 Mazda B2300 (a Ford Ranger with a different badge) has been a great truck, but I wish I had the V6. The 4 is just not muscular enough for the value that the truck has overall.
Interesting that most of the V6s came with automatic, PW, and PL, but the 4s had 5 speeds and no electronic luxuries.
The 4 cyls with 5speeds were mostly built because of gas mileage mandates, and thus a much better price. I remember my brother buying one for his business. The exact same vehicle, new with a V6 and automatic was $16K while the 4 cyl and 5 speed manual was $10K. That was quite a difference back then. He bought the 4 cyl and did not regret it. He didn’t need the six.
Mechanic’s special.
After driving my stick shift 93′ for 5 years I went to the Ford dealership for a new 98′ but this time a automatic. The salesman said why would we order a 4cyl, automatic with air ? Well another dealer did and I bought it.
Ok, this truck’s optional V6s were the 4.0 and the 3.0 (Taurus derived) engine. As far as I can see (coul packs on the rear of the intake manifold instead of along side the intake) ot is a 3.0. Nice smooth engine with not alot of torque. (Great flat land engine) but in mountainous Nevada a little lacking. The only 3.0 that I ever saw blow a head gasket ( and most of the 4.0 engines also) have partially plugged radiators. And I have seen plenty from my Ford service manager days and current recycling of Rangers to support retired persons race car habit. (About 25 redone so far) So when you see a Ranger with a blown head gasket and there is no coolant in the oil. Then besides a head gasket kit, figure a new radiator at the same time. Funny the gauge says everything ok, but a hand on the radiator will tell you all is not ok. And you start working the truck hard and the temp climbs quickly. The 3.0 woth an automatic transmission is about equal to the 2.3 4 cylinder with a 5 speed as far as usable horsepower goes. You find 3.0s with fewer automatic transmission failures than the 4.0 only because the 3.0 does not stress the transmission as much.(as long as it’s a 2wd.) One little tidbit of info if you are a Ranger fan and own a ’93 to 1999. Most of the 2 wd Rangers with manual transmission have a 3.45 rear gear. (verifiable by the tag on the rear differential or the code on the door sticker) I recently swapped in a 3.73 rear differential from a 4×4 (got larger rear brakes too) on my little 2.3 5 speed run around Ranger. And swapped in an 18 tooth drive gear to get the odo correct. Not only did it have more spunk of our many hills. But the mileage increased by 2 mpg. So here is the spec on rear differential ratios. This is not cast in stone, as there are variations when ordered. But these statements are the average. First of all ’93 through ’99 Rangers, Mazda, Pickups AND Explorers have the same rear differentials and leaf springs pad measurements. However, the Explorers have their leaf spring pads on the bottom of the tubes for over the spring mounts, where the Rangers all mount under the springs. Typically the 4wd Rangers and Mazda trucks with a 4.0 engine have 3 73 rear gears. As do the Explorers (which also come with rear disc brakes) and many are limited slip. The 3.0 and 4 cylinder 4x4s come with 4.10 rear gears. Again ,most are limited slip. (Tag reads 4L10 on the bottom line) Please note that my comments are 1999 and older as I have found that Trucks newer than 1999 are not in the same category for quality.So I don’t play with those anymore.
For those not in the Ranger family, I apologize for the ramble.
Wayne, your information ramble is fascinating to me. Thank you. I have a couple of questions, since what you suggest has me very interested. You swapped in a 3.73 whole diff from a 4×4 or just the internals of the pineapple?
Also, to be clear, the 4wd Rangers and Mazdas WITH the 4.0 engine, have the 3.73 gears (the Explorer too and disk brakes on it). The 4wd Rangers and Mazdas with the 3.0 and 4 cylinder engines have 4.10 gears.
If I understand correctly, and I want to upgrade my 4 cylinder B2300, I need to find 93-99 4wd Rangers or Mazdas or Explorers with the 4.0 engines to get the 3.73 gears?
Will the tags read 3L73 similar to the 4L10?
Thanks for this valuable info.
Hi Eric. Yes, the tags read the same way. 3L73 for a 3.73 L for locker. And 4L10 for 4.10 L for locker. (Limited slip) if no letter between the first and second number it is not a posi/locker/limited slip rear diff. And yes I just swapped the whole differential. Please remember to check the tag before removing the differential. It could have been ordered with a different gear ratio. Or have already been swapped. Also, all ’93 and up Rangers and Explorers use the 8.8 rear differential (like a V8 ’86 and later Mustang. The earlier Rangers use the 7.5 ring gear differential like the V6 and 4 cylinder Mustangs. ) And swapping out the carrier assembly gets you into possible shimming to get the right red lead tracking for bearing clearance issues. As the cast differential housings are not perfectly machined to be the same. And sometimes (as the shop manual says) you need the “special tool” to actually spread the case wide enough to remove and reinstall the carrier with the correct shims. I’ve done it without the tool and it took me all day (possibly more) to get the ring gear set with side to side clearance. On top of that you need the special fixture to set the pinion depth. Again without the proper fixture it can take for ever. I’ve done it and will never attempt again. With the proper tools and fixtures and everything goes right. It’s still a couple of hour job. It’s not like a 9″ where you have the carrier assembly out on your work bench and have adjustable carrier side bearings and your only real issue is pinion depth.
All Bronco IIs have the same spring pad dimensions as the ’93-’99 vehicles BUT the offset (left to right) of the pinion is off a little because of the short wheelbase/long transmission/transfercase relationship to the rear differential.
One more note about Bronco IIs. A 2 wheel drive still has a transfer case! Housing only. So they use the same rear driveshaft as the 4×4. When I saw that in the parts manual, I couldn’t believe it. We were researching flat tow ability behind an RV before we even saw our first vehicle at the dealership or owners manual. By the way. Flat towing a 4×4 Ranger or Bronco II
IS NOT RECOMMENDED!
The transfer case relies on input from the transmission to pump lubricant to all the moving parts. (Most concern there is bearings) So, when engine is not running (and naturally in gear) no lubrication is available. Don’t ask me why. I didn’t design it.
If mounting a 4×4 rear differential over the springs (like an Explorer) remember to get your pinion angle correct before welding in the new spring perch. (The likely hood of removing the old perch to relocate on the opposite side of the axle tube without compromising the axle tube and saving the perch to be reused would be a minor miracle. And I have seen several installed with both top and bottom perches present So have Summit send you a pair of new ones. I have done the over the axle swap so many times that I keep a pair in stock. I don’t like the axle flip kits where they supply a “squared off “U” shaped bracket to sit on the spring to support the axle. It gives up too much support to the spring in my opinion. This lowers the rear by about 4″. And new spring perches give you the option to make sure that your pinion angle is correct. Where the supplied “squared off U bracket” uses the same pinion angle as was used with the axle under the spring. A total of almost 8″ in pinion height to vehicle. I hope I answered your questions and gave you a little more to think about.
Can anyone say 302 with a 4 or 5-speed tranny? Had an ’87 that I had just bought when the engine took a 💩. Then, one of my many
BILs told me that you could swap
a 302 into these without a lot of trouble. And that’s what I was gonna do with it until my MILs HOA put the kibosh on that one.
Wound up selling it to a regular
customer at the restaurant I worked at for $500 and he finally
did the deed. When it was done, he brought it by so that I could see it. And then, after his meal,
he proceeded to do a very smokey burn out that made the
teenagers happy. Kudos to our seller! His honest and forthright
assessment of this truck is very
refreshing to see. Here in Florida,
they still sell used cars with cracked blocks and bent frames for ridiculous amounts of money
and they don’t say a single word
about it. There was a guy in Davenport who was trying to sell
an ’03 Ram pickup with over 300K miles and a blown head gasket for $30K a few years back. I looked at him and asked
him what he was smokin and tha
I wanted some! He wanted $5K
cash down and $650 a month for
36 months– and that was in ’19 or ’20! Needless to say, I told my
friends to avoid him like the plague and not to buy anything from him. And tor the good of all,
I turned him in to the Department Of Consumer Affairs. Oh Wayne,
I just got your email this morning
and sent you a reply.
The kit is only for 2 wd. AND ‘twin “I” beam ’98 and older trucks only. No room for torsion bar suspension or for exhaust with 4×4. I’m betting with a 2wd truck that uses coil springs and “A” arms you could probably use V8 Explorer mounts. Although you still might need the Explorer exhaust manifolds. I’m in the process of making a V8 4×4 Ranger by clipping the front frame off an Explorer V8 4×4. It looks like I will have to trim a little of the inner fender wells, but that’s about it other that a few changes to the cab mounts. AND YOU SHOULD SEE WHAT THE FACTORY EXHAUST MANIFOLD LOOKS LIKE TO CLEAR ALL THAT 4X4 STUFF. A CAST IRON SPEGETTI NOODLE!
I wish it was closer, as I like in Ohio. Good deal for sure
Totally agree , wish it was in East Tennesse. Probably good thing it’s not actually
I bought at estate sale a one owner 97 XLT 2.3 five speed with 96,000 for 2,700.00 thought that was a little high. I’ve replaced Timing belt,tires ,shocks serpentine belt and pulley The clutch,rebuilt shifter, gas tank filler hose while at it the fuel pump all fluids it’s a 7ft. Bed found a used shell put some ladder racks on.Has the original Ford bedliner other than that it’s a great looking and driving truck. Got to love them Rangers.
Shouldn’t it still run with a bad gasket , just leak a lot of oil ?
The engine might run but no very well and the longer you run the engine, the more damage you’ll do.
Right , totally agree. I guess I misread it. I thought it said not running.
You’re mostly right. If the leak is between the oil and water galleys, both the oil in the pan and the water in the radiator will be completely compromised. In this case you certainly do not want to continue to drive the vehicle more than a few miles to get to where it can be repaired or you risk damaging the internals of the engine and radiator. However, if it’s only a water leak either into a cylinder or externally…or if it’s only an oil leak into a cylinder or externally, you can continue to drive the vehicle making sure that the oil and water are topped up respectively. Not that you’d want to do that for very long, but you can at least manage to get by until you can get it fixed permanently. In a V engine, you have to do both sides and not just the leaking one.
Right. I guess my thinking is , if as I first read this it does not run (which to me me means DEAD will not fire a lick) then something other than the gasket is bad. If it’ll start and basicly run for a little while , just spraying fluids , then the fairly simple gasket culprit holds true
A good mechanic would have this little truck back on the road in a very short time.