Forgive me for I Have Sinned!

"Mercedes Streeter" (smart) 06/05/2019 at 18:38 • Filed to: Truck Yeah

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I now own a 1999 4 Liter V6 4x4 Ford Ranger! Now before you say something about my hoarding, I did sell three bikes and this will largely serve duty as a Gambler 500 and offroading rig, hopefully for several years and rallies. Got it for all of $700.

Runs and drives spectacularly well, has a TON of new parts (shocks, water pump, injectors, plugs, and more), and easily repairable rust. I’ve never met a vehicle with 200k in which everything works! Ooh it even has a pair of “backseats”!

Ignore the battery, that’s to the smart 450.

Colour appears to be a dark metallic blue, but it needs a good cleaning and polishing.

It came with a bed of spare parts, too. Extra lights, extra grille, extra grille support, brakes, etc!

All four of my smart cars add to 3.3L...This small truck has more displacement than four smart cars.  This is the first non-smart car I’ve ever purchased with my own money!

Can I call myself a country gal now?

AestheticsInMotion > Mercedes Streeter 06/05/2019 at 18:42

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*Tries to comprehend how a running Ranger in absolutely any condition at all can be purchased for less than $2500*

*brain explodes *

TheRealBicycleBuck > AestheticsInMotion 06/05/2019 at 18:44

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Unfortunately, they are just about worthless. Mine was finally decomm iss ioned when t he cost of replacing the windshield exceeded the value of the truck.

Future Heap Owner > Mercedes Streeter 06/05/2019 at 18:45

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Looks sweet, congrats!

How many smarts do you think you can fit in the bed at once?

facw > Mercedes Streeter 06/05/2019 at 18:46

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No offense, but I think we all expected this...

fhrblig > Mercedes Streeter 06/05/2019 at 18:48

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Congratulations! Welcome to the Oppo truck family.

Those aren’t seats in the back , they’re punishment zones for those who displease you.

BeaterGT > Mercedes Streeter 06/05/2019 at 18:48

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Congrats!  Hope it treats you well.  

Montalvo > Mercedes Streeter 06/05/2019 at 18:50

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A ranger for $700 is a solid nice buy. Its funny how it looks like you can almost fit the smart car into the bed. It still amazes me how small those things are.

AestheticsInMotion > TheRealBicycleBuck 06/05/2019 at 18:51

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*cost of replacing the windshield exceeded value of truck*

Oh man. I wish that was an issue around here.

Forget JDM forbidden fruits, importers need to start bringing Rangers to the PNW

AestheticsInMotion > fhrblig 06/05/2019 at 18:52

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Unless you’re a kid, in which case they’re the coolest thing ever.

-Man who remembers sitting in the back of his cool Aunt’s Ranger with a Husky

MM54 > AestheticsInMotion 06/05/2019 at 18:58

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I can’t see through the side of it and it’s 4x4 so around here this is a $3000+ truck as well

404 - User No Longer Available > Mercedes Streeter 06/05/2019 at 18:58

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Is that a Threadripper?

wafflesnfalafel > Mercedes Streeter 06/05/2019 at 19:00

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cool - not the best mileage but super functional. I worked with a guy who had one of those with the 4.0 in the more red/burgundy color they offered for a while.  I need a truck. again...

Mercedes Streeter > AestheticsInMotion 06/05/2019 at 19:00

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Come to Illinois and Wisconsin! While 4.0s are hard to find under a stack, we have 4 bangers and Vulcans everywhere!

Mercedes Streeter > Future Heap Owner 06/05/2019 at 19:01

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None! The bed's not wide enough lol

AestheticsInMotion > Mercedes Streeter 06/05/2019 at 19:02

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4 banger, manual, air- conditioning , longbed. All I ask. Bonus points for a color 

Mercedes Streeter > 404 - User No Longer Available 06/05/2019 at 19:02

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Nah, it's an old Opteron. :)

Future Heap Owner > Mercedes Streeter 06/05/2019 at 19:03

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Dang!

shop-teacher > Mercedes Streeter 06/05/2019 at 19:09

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I saw a free camper shell for a Ranger on FB yesterday. 

jimz > Mercedes Streeter 06/05/2019 at 19:39

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Sinned? How? Rangers 4 evar!

jimz > Mercedes Streeter 06/05/2019 at 19:45

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oh, and it’s piss easy to install a 2DIN head unit in these and have CarPlay or Android Auto if you want. All you need is this and a tiny bit of trimming on the centerstack bezel. and voila!

jminer > Mercedes Streeter 06/05/2019 at 19:45

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I used to have an old Pentium III that I used as a keychain like that. Ground off the pins and punched a hole in the corner.

On another note, that’s right around the year that the ranger changed the 4.0 from the OHV to the SOHC. The SOHC has an issue with the timing chain guides. They wear out and have 3 chains that require an engine out service to replace. If you hear rattling coming from the front of the engine it’s now running on borrowed time.

I had an 03 Explorer with that same drivetrain, it was awesome. They tend to have an upper life span of like 220k without the engine coming out for work. Mine made it to 217k, but the frame was starting to rust badly so it just got scrapped.

AfromanGTO > Mercedes Streeter 06/05/2019 at 19:58

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Good job getting a 4.0 Ranger. That engine was used up until 5 or 6 years ago in the V6 Mustangs. They make headers, supercharger, and intakes for it. Plan on replacing the bushings and changing out all of the fluids. I would recommend putting fresh fluids in everything, changing belts and spark plugs, and a good detail job.

HondoyotaE38: A Japanese and German Collab...wait a minute > AestheticsInMotion 06/05/2019 at 20:01

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I’ve heard the 4 banger is beyond anemic. Mercedes got very lucky with a 4.0L Vulcan  V6 4WD for that amount of money. Here in Florida those, even with 200k+miles command a hefty price tag. 

TheRealBicycleBuck > AestheticsInMotion 06/05/2019 at 20:09

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They called mine the three-point-slow (3.0 liter engine). I was once beat to an exit by a Prius. By a Prius!  I never drove the 4-banger, but it has to be super slow.

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > Mercedes Streeter 06/05/2019 at 20:17

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How do you afford insurance on all these things! lol

AestheticsInMotion > HondoyotaE38: A Japanese and German Collab...wait a minute 06/05/2019 at 20:36

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With an autobox they’re terrible, but with a manual they’ll easily merge and cut ahead of 99% of traffic. I ran manual 4-cylinder Rangers with my last company, and at no point did I ever think they were lacking in power!

Yeah, this would probably be a $7-8k car up here.

(edit) for what it’s worth, my 01 and 99 manual Rangers felt infinitely more powerful than my friends 08 Mazda3 (also manual) and about on par with my manual Miata. Felt a lot quicker than my 08 slush box Outback as well. 

AestheticsInMotion > TheRealBicycleBuck 06/05/2019 at 20:37

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I've only driven manual ones, and they did just fine as long as you weren't timid with the throttle! I never had any problems cutting in an out of Seattle traffic at least

HondoyotaE38: A Japanese and German Collab...wait a minute > AestheticsInMotion 06/05/2019 at 20:44

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Ah, interesting. I've been told that all 4-bangers were slow but that's good to know, even better that it's the manual one that's good. And woah what since when did you have an Outback

AestheticsInMotion > HondoyotaE38: A Japanese and German Collab...wait a minute 06/05/2019 at 20:51

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Mmm 6 years? I’ve had it longer than any other vehicle I’ve ever owned.

Here it is, in all it’s glory. I technically sold it to a neighbor as I hated the damn thing, but for some odd reason I’ve driven it more in the 6 months since selling it than I did in the last 3 years of ownership.

HondoyotaE38: A Japanese and German Collab...wait a minute > AestheticsInMotion 06/05/2019 at 21:54

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Interesting. What happened with the Volvo? Is it gone?

AestheticsInMotion > HondoyotaE38: A Japanese and German Collab...wait a minute 06/05/2019 at 21:58

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The black 850 was sold months ago, someone flew out 1600 miles and drove it home.

The blue-green V70 was just put up for sale for a song a s I don’t have the time to mess with it. Someone's coming to look at it on Sunday, so fingers crossed

Mercedes Streeter > TheRealBicycleBuck 06/06/2019 at 00:01

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From what I've been told, the 3.0s basically have the fuel economy of the 4.0 with only marginally more power than the 2.5. They're also seemingly unpopular, which can explain why the 2.5 Rangers in my area are worth more than the 3.0

Mercedes Streeter > HondoyotaE38: A Japanese and German Collab...wait a minute 06/06/2019 at 00:02

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I mean, I’ve only owned anemic cars, so I probably wouldn’t have noticed. xD

Mercedes Streeter > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars 06/06/2019 at 00:07

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Only insure the things I’m driving at the time. Progressive allows me to change covered vehicles on the fly. Takes all of a few minutes...or basically when I’m in the bathroom in the morning . So I have two bikes and one car or two cars and a bike insured at any given time. With discounts it’s something like $80/mo? They don’t seem to care so long as I pay the policy difference.

The truly damaging thing is title and registration. $200 minimum at first then $100 every year after.

i86hotdogs > Mercedes Streeter 06/06/2019 at 04:42

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I was in the market for one of these half a year ago, but I literally could not fit in the cab of any Ranger from ‘93-’04 (I tried 8) . Whether it was single cab, or the extended like you have, my head would touch the ceiling every time. Shame, because I came across a lot of clean manual rangers in my shopping trip.

jimz > AfromanGTO 06/06/2019 at 06:05

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None of those “upgrades” are worth it.  The 4.0 is still a poor breathing boat anchor, SOHC or no.

TheRealBicycleBuck > Mercedes Streeter 06/06/2019 at 06:44

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I rarely believe what I’ve been told and always reference the numbers. Brand new in 1994, the 2.5 produced 98 hp, the 3.0 made 140 hp, and the 4.0 was all the up to 160 hp . According to Fuelly , the 2.5 got around 21 mpg, the 3.0 around 19 mpg, and the 4.0 around 17 mpg. That’s in line wi th my experience. I tracked the mileage on my truck for years. It started around 20 mpg and was down around 18 mpg when I parked it for good.

I drove my truck past 269,000 miles and never had a major engine problem.

HondoyotaE38: A Japanese and German Collab...wait a minute > AestheticsInMotion 06/06/2019 at 08:37

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Damn, and then there was none. Where have I been during all this lol

AfromanGTO > jimz 06/06/2019 at 12:17

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It’s a better engine than the Vulcan 3.0 V6. That had the lovely saying of it has all of the power of a four cylinder and fuel economy of a v8.

Negative > TheRealBicycleBuck 06/07/2019 at 16:56

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That’s horrendous! My 1994 2.0 Celica made 254hp

TheRealBicycleBuck > Negative 06/07/2019 at 18:34

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I would bet the engine in your celica didn’t make it past 200,000 miles without major work. The 3.0 in my truck went over 269,000 miles without any major work. I replaced the distributor, water pump, and radiator. No head work, or valves replaced, or timing belt to worry about. It just did the same thing day in and day out over the 18 years I drove it. 

Negative > TheRealBicycleBuck 06/10/2019 at 09:05

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You’d be wrong. That engine has been in the car for 25 years and well over 250,000 miles and has never even needed a reseal. I did change the oil pump to a higher output one from the N/A version but the old one never failed. I keep up with belts, hoses, ignition system and fluids but that’s basically all 90's Toyota engine needs. Helps that I’m in Texas and we don’t have rust issues probably. The same engine in my 1990 MR2 Turbo has even more miles but the oldschool odometer cable failed at some point so who knows how many miles are on it. The V8 in my 1997 Lexus LS400 has never been touched aside from an alternator and it’s at 250,000 miles as well.