Still in Arkansas
I'm Ben, 29, from Dallas...but stuck up here with the hillbillies, in a little town called Fort Smith.
Everyone tells me I need a new truck, but my Ranger only has 192k on it. That's like 20,000 in Chevy-miles. Hell, I could slap a bowtie on it and still have a warranty...but lose a lot of horsepower and risk being stuck on the side of the road somewhere.
So yeah, I drive a gray 98 2.5 2wd, aka the Silver Bullet, aka the Danger Ranger, aka the Old Gray Fox. I got her in August 2001 in Arlington, Texas with about 40,000 miles. It's my second Ranger...my second 98 Ranger. I lost my first one in a domestic dispute. I come from a long line of Ranger-drivers. Throughout my life, my dad had an 89 that he wrecked 27 times (literally) and it kept going until the last one when a drunk driver hit him head on at about 60 mph. It would still start, but the insurance company decided it would be cheaper to just buy a new one. So he got a 91...after a long stay in the hospital. It's still on the road somewhere around Shreveport. He bought a 95 or 96 S-10 because he liked the new body style (92 or 93, whenever that ugly ass POS came out). The transmission went out after about 20,000 miles and it had all kinds of other problems, so he sold it and got a 94 Ranger to drive to and from work. 150,000 miles later, he sold it to my cousin who put about another 50 on it then sold it to a friend of his. It's still on the road somewhere around Houston. My mom has had 3. I've had other family members drive Rangers. An uncle got a brand new 86 Ranger...in 1986... and drove it for 20 years. His wife's nephew still drives it.
Of course, I'm just rambling on about things my fellow Ranger-fanatics already know. There's a reason every Ranger has a nickname. You can't find a better non-fullsize truck. I only know of one person who ever had any kind of problem with a Ranger. She got it new in 94 and it had this crazy shake when you'd hit about 65 mph. Ford tried to fix it 3 or 4 times, and then 2 years later just GAVE her a b-new 96 Ranger since they couldn't get it right. Problem solved.
Mine needs a timing belt (the one on it is factory...God I love Ford), door sensors (the DOOR AJAR light has been on for 6 years), a couple new gaskets, and I think a new front right hub assembly. It makes a real loud, hollow sounding "ping" when I turn left.
I'm on my 3rd battery, my 4th set of tires, my 2nd alternator, 2nd upper and lower ball joints, 2nd set of shocks, and other than that, she's built Ford tough. Yeah, I could get a new truck, but I don't need an F-150 yet, and a new truck will cost me at least $400 a month for the next 5 years. If I put $400 a month into my Ranger for 3 months, it would be a brand new truck.
Anyway, thanks for listening. Keep coming back. It works when you work it.
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I love my truck.
98 Ranger XLT 2.5L
203,000+ miles
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