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96 ford ranger (I know boo hiss) questions

original balzer

original balzer

1/2 ton status
Joined
Nov 17, 2004
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roosevelt utah
First of all do they make just a leveling lift? It has an bad case of stink bug.

second what are the axles? available lockers or limited slip?

third are there any known common problems.

foruth can the auto hubs be replaced with manuals?

Its my girlfriends ride and other than needing a tune up fix the 4wd and some tires it seams to be a good little truck for just a commuter.

I may fix it up and either drive it or try to sell it later. My yukon is much safer for her and her daughter to drive in so I have been driving the ranger to work.

Its a v6 (3.0 or 4.0?), 5 speed, extended cab, plane jane white and grey bumpers fender flairs, with rubber floors and manual windows.

I hate to admit it but I kinda like it.
 
I'm sure google would help but I think it has a Ford 8.8 in the rear and a HP D35 in the front, lockers and limited slips should be readily available for both.
 
original balzer said:
First of all do they make just a leveling lift? It has an bad case of stink bug.
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Yes, Skyjacker makes a nice set of coils but be aware the 2" set gets you on the ragged edge of "alignability" with TTB.

foruth can the auto hubs be replaced with manuals?
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Yes, pretty easily in fact.

Its my girlfriends ride and other than needing a tune up fix the 4wd and some tires it seams to be a good little truck for just a commuter.

I may fix it up and either drive it or try to sell it later. My yukon is much safer for her and her daughter to drive in so I have been driving the ranger to work.

Its a v6 (3.0 or 4.0?), 5 speed, extended cab, plane jane white and grey bumpers fender flairs, with rubber floors and manual windows.

I hate to admit it but I kinda like it.
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Sounds like mine. 4.0L V6, 5 speed stick, extended cab, carpet interior with AC and cruise yet manual windows and locks. Sliding rear window. I loved it and really do miss it, just didn't have the funds or room to keep it and for what I was using it for I needed a bigger truck so I sold it and got Big Ugly.
The TTB is fun once you get to understand it. A lot of people let the alignment go out and the coils sag so they end up with that stance you mentioned. Then they bitch about the front tires wearing out but it's their own fault. Mine was great over the 3 years I had it.
After I did the leveling coils I had about 12" of down travel up front. It was crazy. It wasn't a prerunner but I could beat on it going fast for a basically stock truck. I was running 33x10ishR16 Interco TrXus MT's (255/85R16's) with 4.56 gears and a Powertrax NoSlip locker in the rear, the leveling coils up front, and a long add a leaf and Zero Rate in the rear. It was great and fun to wheel...if a bit long.

38377k5 said:
I'm sure google would help but I think it has a Ford 8.8 in the rear and a HP D35 in the front, lockers and limited slips should be readily available for both.
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Yep, 28 spline axles 8.8". The size of the gears will make you cringe in envy if you own any 10 bolts.:doah:
TTB HP D35 with reverse cut gears. The axles are actually good to around 35's if you don't beat on it too hard but I'd stick with 33's.
Thunder said:
might try looking around here:http://therangerstation.com/
TRS is a good site/forums with lots of info on Rangers
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Yep, great place. Was there for a long time 2003-2006. The CK5 of RBV's (Ranger Based Vehicles).

Ranger.jpg

Ranger 2.jpg
 
I just want it level and will stay with 31's. I am sure the alignment is off coils would actually be better than spacers. i think you are correct about the stock coils being sagged. If I remember correctly from auto class (13 years ago LMAO) it should use the bushings with an offset hole for alignment? that over time and abuse get turned and or worn out? I would imagine it uses unit bearing in the front?

I just dont deal with fords that often i guess Ill learn.

It runs good 1 minute then runs crappy the next that is odd to me but it seams to run strong when its not acting up.

Im not sure what I will do yet LOL I still have a ford stigma but I have always kinda liked small trucks.
 
Yep, just replace the coils. Ford cheaped out on them and TTB puts a LOT of force on them. TTB coils are in the 500ft/lb range I believe.

Skyjacker has a "leveling coil" set for the 4x4 4.0L V6 extended cab trucks that is pretty stiff. Gave me a good 2" but started alignment issues. They also have a regular set meant for the trucks from the 80's with 4-cyl's and smaller V6's and also the regular cabs...I ran that set at first and they gave about .5"-1" of lift over what the factory coils should have been. Worked well.

Nope, regular bearings like ours. The Dana 35 TTB is basically a 2/3 Dana 44 TTB. You'll find a lot of things very familiar if you've worked on one of our GM Dana 44's or 10 bolts from the knuckles out.

Yes, those are the alignment bushings. Do yourself a favor and get a set of the dual range bushings that Superlift makes. You can change camber and caster with them and it helps A LOT when you're messing with the suspension a bit.

Also, a word of warning, Ford put short shocks on the front and a lot of the aftermarket makers used Ford's specs. I took my sway bar off and immediately started overextending the shocks. I got some "leveling lift" shocks and they were still too short (maybe they would have been fine if the sway bar was still on). If you lift it, even level it, I'd flex it out and do some measuring, then peruse the parts books and order shocks that work for the lengths you need and not what everyone says.
I actually ended up getting shocks that were too long next...whoops...:doah:

I will say they can be fun to trouble shoot. '96 was the first year of OBD-II and Ford's EFI was certainly more complicated than I was used to with my TBI Chevy. When I got mine it had 142k on it and EVERYTHING was original. Spark plugs and wires too. The smallest gap was over twice the stock spec and two actually had the ends of the electrode gone completely. Still ran decently enough that it'd fool you into thinking it was just a little out of tune. I replaced all the filters and tune up stuff and then went after a bunch of the sensors. Ran much better but the EGR was always giving me crap so I just learned to ignore it. I'd check the codes every few months with my scanner and if the EGR code was the only one I'd leave it alone.

Oh, btw, 4.0L + 2.25" Magnaflow with a turn down = revvy fun without being obnoxiously loud.:wink1:


...sigh...I really do miss that truck. Had a lot of fun in it.:(
 
Pics?

Watch the alignment and front suspension and all that. These are known for eating up tires when the suspension and the steering bits have gone soft.
 
Oh im sure it is out of alignment the old tires are cupped and feathered but I kept 3 of them for spares. The MTR's are discontinued and have ZERO warranty.

I kinda want to get the springs and some front shocks before I have it aligned but If I cant afford to get the new parts soon I will get it aligned anyway.

I would like to check out the trailing arm bushings and u-joints and a tune up.

I figure I can go several directions. I can dump a little money into this truck and try to get over my hang ups about fords. or fix it up a bit and try to resale it and put the money towards another vehicle or just try to trade it in on something.

She only gave $700 for it and only owes about $400 of that (her boss bought it and takes a little out of her checks)

Its actually in good shape body wize and I think a little money and some labor it would be a good truck.

Keeping it and fixing it up to suit my tastes would most likely be the cheapest route for a second vehicle.

dark but heres pics.

016.jpg

018.jpg

017.jpg
 
They are good trucks. Head and shoulders above a S10/S15 and in my opinion second only to a Toyota in the minitrucks of the era. Ford did build them durable...if a bit overly complicated in some places.

Ever figure out which engine it is?
 
Yeah, they have the normal pickup rake and then the front starts going soft and yeah...you end up with a hot rod.

If it has the original engine cover it should say 3.0L or 4.0L on it. Aside from that...the guys on TRS could visually identify them as they were made by different companies. The VIN says which it is and any Ford dealership could tell you from that or a Chilton's manual.
 
its a 4.0 :haha::haha::haha:first time I have lifted the hood on it! Oil looked good though.

HUGE EDIT! typo on the size its a 3.0! What a dork.
 
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Another vote for checking out therangerstation.com. Also check out this site:

http://rrorc.com/

A good friend of mine has a '96 Ranger. His is 2WD with a 2.3L I4, 5 speed manual trans. Its an all black regular cab shortbed step side with the XL package. Previous owner of it put on a leveling kit and some 31x10.50R15s on a set of black steel wheels. Its a nice rig and it does what the owner wants it to do. Ford Rangers are good little rigs.

Scott
 
samolson said:
Dude its a Ford you'll never catch up with all the problems
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Yeah, because Fords suck man.

Wait, GM has design flaws, mistakes, and flat out stupid engineering too...

[rant]Can we get past the "Chevy rulz man!" childishness? Most of the folks on this forum own or have owned a variety of makes and models. Hell, several on here don't even own a GM anymore![/rant]
I had no more issues with my Ranger than I have had with Big Ugly and The Blazer. Some you fix, some you deal with, some you learn to ignore. Part of the game.
 
Having had numerous Fords, brand new 85 Ranger, an 86 ranger , 75 bronco,and a 89 bronco, I've spent enough time walking home to more than develop an opinion about Fords
 
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