New here and not sure if I'm in the right thread so please move to a tech thread mods if needed.

Had an 88 ford ranger that lasted way longer than it should have. Now I am back to it with 97 ranger. This is good because in mass I no longer need to pass emissions at all. The body is really immaculate with no rust. Even the bed inside and out. It seems the New England weather and salt was not great for other parts though. The frame has some scale but nothing significant. But it seems like the shock has nothing above it when it should. Also it is a 97 5 spd rear wheel drive 4.0 6 cylinder. It's at 127 now. What can I expect or should I be looking at for preventative maintenance. Any insights and advice is appreciated. I am not a professional mechanic but I do my own work. That's why I got the 97. My 88 always had problems with the starter and I used o have to beat it with a hammer or pop it. Just wondering what quirks I should be concerned about.

Hi.

What do you mean by " The shock has nothing above it when it should " ?

The problems you will encounter with this truck or any vehicle depends on how well it was maintained.

With this in mind, it is a good idea to check the service records if you have any to see what work has been performed.

Regardless of what the service records may or may not expose. I would do a complete
preventive maintenance analysis.

This means inspecting the truck bumper to bumper ( skipping nothing )

Write down your findings so you can make a do to list giving priority to items that can cause harm you or others first, second to items that can cause harm to major items like the motor transmission rear end.

This list is very important because rebuilding a severely neglected truck can quickly cost way more than buying a different truck that has been well maintained.

I cannot stress this enough, you cannot gather too much information.

If you look at your owners manual it will have a service interval section, this gives you an idea of what should have been done to date.

Other members here may provide you with more year and engine specific items to look after.

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2002 Ford Ranger 2 Dr Standard cab 2.3 5 SPD 7.5 373 gears