Category: Clean Title
Status: Domestic

I have a 1998 Ford Ranger XLT 4x4 for sale, in USA - North Carolina.

Mileage: 130,xxx miles
VIN: 1FTZR15X9WPA51781
Engine Size: 4.0 OHV V6


Asking price is $$5,500 OBO


Seller Information: Thomas Connelly
Phone: (919) 478-8302
Email: tom_connelly@live.com


The truck is a 1998 Ford Ranger XLT 4x4, 4.0 OHV V6, 5R55E automatic transmission, and 3.73 gear ratio. I bought it with 114,000 miles on it and as of right now it has 130,000. The body of the truck is a bit "rough". Being a black truck, whoever owned the truck before me didn't dry the truck after washing it as it has water spots almost all over. Every time i've washed it i've dried it and it seems to have made a difference. The windows are about the same, since they weren't dried either you can see some spotting on the glass, again, my washing and drying has seemed to help. It's still a 13 year old paint job. It isn't faded but there are a few dents and dings and some scratches. There is also a small chip in the windshield. There are a few scrapes in the plastic on the front bumper and the plastic on the rear bumper is slightly tweaked. There are a few spots on the hood, i'm guessing it was parked under a tree and sap got on it and whoever had it before me just peeled them off. It doesn't look bad it just has a few spots on it. Since I used the truck as a truck, the bed isn't in the greatest shape. As you can see it's pretty tore up and it's a shade of copper from using the tailgate as a bench and rattling canning some parts. I have used this truck to haul cinder block, stone, cement, and lumber. The tires on the truck are larger than stock, they are 265/75R16 Goodyear Wrangler TD's, they have approximately 16,000-18,000 miles on them. I had them on another Ranger I had and took them off when I sold it and they have plenty of life left.

The interior of the truck is in good shape. The seats aren't torn and they are comfortable. I also took them out of the last truck I had because the one's that were in it worn out. The latch for the center console arm rest is broken but it's a common problem on Ranger's. There used to be cup holders mounted to the floor where the 4x4 shifter is. Instead of cutting up the old floor plate I bought the correct floor plate to use with the shifter. Sadly, it doesn't allow the usage of cupholders without cutting part way around the cup holders so the shifter will fit. This wasn't a big deal for me as there are 2 cupholders at the rear of the cab right below the sliding rear window. That, and I also wanted reliable 4x4! The truck has manual locks and manual windows. This was never an issue for me as I never had to worry about a window motor failing and these windows are easy to roll up and down quickly. In the rear of the cab it has a fold out jump seat on either side and a cargo net on the back of the cab. There is also a privacy shade that covers up the cab behind the front seats so no one can see what you have behind the seats. The gauges for the truck are quite "rare". They were only found in 2003 Ranger XLT's if I remember correctly. I bought them and installed them because the originals were just plain black. I also installed blue LED's, 3 of which have burnt out so I will be replacing those. The only bad part about the gauges is the shift indicator broke. It does not affect putting the truck in gear whatsoever. I also installed a factory CD player as the truck only had AM/FM/Cassette when I bough it. There is a Cobra 29 CB radio mounted to the roof. I had to cut a hole in the headliner to get the CB mounted as close to the roof as possible. There are two layers in the roof so you don't have to worry about the screws going through the actual roof of the truck. It has been tuned and has Bluetooth capability to connect your cell phone to. The antenna is mounted using one of the fender bolts using a F-250 hood mount, it's a 4ft FireStik.

This truck is in excellent mechanical shape. Like I said before, I bought it with 114,000 miles on it, that is when I did all the work to it. It was losing coolant somewhere so I pressure tested the coolant system and found nothing. I said screw it, and tore it apart anyway. When I finally removed the heads, there was a crack in both heads between the intake and exhaust valves (which is common on these heads) and there was also a hair line crack in the head gaskets. I bought two brand new heads, all new gaskets, and I also had to buy new head bolts because they are Torque-To-Yield. Every gasket from the heads to the upper intake is brand new. While I had the heads off, I also went ahead and replaced the water pump. After that, I put new fluids in the transmission and rear axle. After putting fresh fluid in the transmission the transmission started to slip. I removed the transmission and installed a re-manufactured transmission with 0 miles. The transmission alone was $1,700. I took it for a test drive and got "death wobble". The only fix for that is re-sealing or replacing the rack and pinion so I put in a new rack and pinion. While I was inspecting the front suspension, I went ahead and replaced the upper and lower ball joints, as well as the outer tie rod ends. The truck is nice and tight in the front end now. I also put new rotors and pads on the front, the rear brakes still need to be replaced. At about 125,000 miles the left front hub bearing started making noise. I ordered 2 hubs and replaced them both. The 4x4 shift motor quit working so the truck wouldn't engage 4x4. I swapped the manual transfer case in on June 26th. The only thing I need to do is put manual locking hubs on the front for the truck to have 4x4 again. The truck has Bilstein shocks all the way around.

The only "bad" parts about the truck that I can think of that I haven't mentioned are the rear brakes and the oil pan gasket. The rear brakes have 130,000 miles on them as far as I can tell and are thin. The oil pan gasket has a small leak but not enough to drip on the ground after being parked for any amount of time. I would do it myself but it requires removing the transmission from the engine and raising the engine off the mounts to remove the pan.

I believe I have covered everything about the truck. Please don't let my honest description deter you away from the truck. I have put a lot of blood, sweat, and tears into this truck to make and keep it as mechanically sound as possible. I never really cared much about how it looked but it is a good looking truck. If you have any questions about the truck and think of something I haven't covered feel free to call me any time at 919-478-8302. If you want more pictures PM me your email address and i'll send them to you.

 

Price drop to $5,200 OBO.