So I took a hour drive last night to check out a 97 Ranger and found it to be exactly how it was discribed! There was no rust anywhere on the truck not even under the doors or anything! This is a big deal for WI. I am not sure what he meant by the slave cylinder might need to be replaced because the clutch worked great but was just a slight bit lower on fluid then recommended but I marked where it was and after 75 miles of driving from last night on the way home and my drive to work the fluid did not change at all. I will keep my eye on that anyway. The 3.0 is running great and is clean with no leaks of any fluid. I checked the door tag and it has the 3.73 open which I will leave for now but will watch for a 4.10 that I can put in with trac-lock. The only thing I found as a negative was that the cruise control does not work which I will check for a burnt fuse or anything like that but did not have time to do so yet. The only thing I will want to purchase fairly soon would be a tonneau cover cause the one on right now is old and does not fit anymore. I think it shrunk although that might just be because it is cold out but it does come close to fitting just can't get the last corner on. Does anyone know a good recommendation for a quality cover at a fair price that works good in cold weather and will last a fair amount of time? Thanks!

Here it is!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/therealwrightman/6943808667/http://www.flickr.com/photos/therealwrightman/6943808667/ by therealwrightman, on Flickr

http://www.flickr.com/photos/therealwrightman/6943809317/http://www.flickr.com/photos/therealwrightman/6943809317/ by therealwrightman, on Flickr

Congratulations, and good looking truck! Here are your photos:

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Not sure why they didn't show up cause it worked in the preview. Thanks for fixing that. I will get some better pics after work.

nice truck

Great shape!

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2011 XLT 2WD Ext. Cab. 2.3 5 speed
chrome wheels, spray-in bedliner, Extang RT Tonneau cover, tinted glass, tailgate lock, pin stripe. :

So its a 1997 3.0 5 speed manual, 2 wheel drive????

Looks pretty good...now time to start modding it!!!
First do the air silencer removal mod, then do the throttle cable mod.

Also i gotta recommend LEDs.
3rd brakelight LED by Buggman
Interior LEDs by Pooleo or Buggman. They can hook you up with some nice LED cruise control pods/buttons.


And of course later on, get some bigger tires! Maybe some 31s, not too big, but better than the stock ones.

Good luck man.

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1999 Ranger 3.0FFV-ExtCab-4x4-My 99 Build
1998 Ranger 3.0-ExtCab-4x4-PROJECT TRUCK-My 98 Build

Nice extended cab truck, looks to be in real nice shape..

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2002 Edge Super Cab 3.0, 2wd, air box mod ,3.73
L/S,Torsion Lift, 31x10.50x15 Tires, Leer Bed Cap

Not sure if the air silencer mod is applicable cause it does not have the airbox it has a cylinder style airbox. The throttle mod will be done tomorrow I already have read through as much as I could find about mods to do from here. Also LED's are a must as well as some HIDs too. I will check out the 3rd brake light from buggman and maybe order the rest of the lights from them as well to have it all on one order. I will be checking out the cruise control on Sat also to see why that is not working right now. and will most likely order new buttons for that anyway cause the ones on there now look a little eh. Because it is 2wd a lift or off-road tires will not be going on. I might get some mustang rims like the ones I have on my crown vic for it to fill in the wheel wells a bit more and possibly lower it a little depending on how it sits with the bigger rims. I think I might go 17 but will test my current rims on it first to see how it looks. I have always had a rule of lifting 4x4 and if you are going to change the height of 2wd it goes lower. I would not slam it or go 2 inches down but maybe a 1 inch drop to hug the wheels a bit might look good.

Are there any larger TB's that bolt up to the 3.0 off another vehicle or different engine? I will be looking for some performance upgrades to do on this truck. Last night I changed the oil and trans fluid cause both were darker than I like and I will also be doing the rear axle fluids too which I actually need to do on my Vic as well. If there aren't any other ones that fit I might try to get my stock one from the Vic on there. Thanks for the tips on the LEDs time to start shopping!
-Nick

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1997 Ford Ranger 3.0 5 speed 135k miles. 17 inch 07 Mustang GT Premium Rims.
2004 Crown Vic P71 Dodge County Sherrif 150K 3.27 Trac-Lock, BBK 78mm, SCT xCAL 2 Tuner with BOC Tune, OBX LT Headers Kit, ACCEL Super Coils, 8K 55W HID, Heinous Control Arms, 17 inch 06 GT Premium Rims. Debating on stall converter or cams next.
2012 Focus SEL 1500 miles Fully loaded! 2 Tone heated Leather plus everything else but a moon roof

Welcome to FRF!

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1991 ford ranger ext. cab 4x4. 3.73 l/s 8.8, 315/75-16 tires fenders cut, 1.5 inch lift. 4.0 OHV 5 speed manual trans
build!