Hello all! A little bit of background. I sold my old 87 Jeep Cherokee,(AKA 87PDEM, Jeep forum), and switched to a 2002 Ranger with a dual overhead cammed 2.3 and 5 speed automatic. I love having a truck bed behind me and good gas mileage to boot! I hope to learn more about my ride and maybe be able to share some of my mechanical knowledge along the way.

 

Welcome.

Good to have another "old fart" here :)

2.3l Duratec(Mazda L) engine has been pretty reliable in Rangers.
One sore point is that this engine was designed for front wheel drive cars, transverse mounting, so there is a cooling system hose/fitting on the back side of the engine.
When put in a Ranger this fitting is only accessible if you remove the transmission(or pull out the engine), so if you ever do need to pull out the trans(hopefully not) then it is a good idea to replace this fitting and hose just as preventive maintenance.

 

Welcome to the club Patrick, good to hear how reliable your truck to you! How many miles on her clock?