2.3L 5speed reliability

[spacecadebt]

In a few weeks i will be going on a cross continent road trim from florida to alaska. Unfortunately My 300,000 mile explorer just has to many problems and im in the market for a new ride.

Tomorrow im going to look at a 96 2.3 5speed ranger reg cab with 150,000 miles. How reliable are these drive trains. This will be my first OHC motor i have ever owned and the fact that it has a timing belt scares me. Is the 2.3 powerful enough to pull the ranger and about 500lbs of gear through the mountains and drive at highway speeds for long amounts of time?

Any input would be greatly appreciated

 

[boominXplorer]

They are very reliable. The timing belt is not hard to change but is necessary by 150k. If your a tall guy you might want to look for an extended cab. I have put 1000lbs of steel in the bed of my Mazda B2300 (same as Ranger) and drove 55 mph to the scrap yard no problem. Also if your worried about power you want to make sure the stock size tires are on the truck. They drag butt when you put oversized tires on them

 

[townmoron]

For what it's worth, my experiences: I had my 2001 ranger for 10 years and never had a single major problem with it. The only actual repairs I ever did other than routine maintenance was the alternator, which went out after about six years and 50k and the heater control valve, which broke this winter and leaked coolant whenever the heater was on. The 5 speed is far better than the automatic with the smaller engine, I even drove the 6-cylinder automatic same year as mine and far preferred the manual, the automatic left me feeling underpowered at times. The engine is really responsive but the gearing is also pretty low, so you will find yourself in fifth gear for pretty much anything over 45 mph or so. I brought a small (but fully loaded) u-haul tow-behind cross country FLA to CA with my Ranger about five years ago, again, no problems at all, though you will definitely not be in the fast lane going up any hills! After that trek, I did drain and replace the oil in the gearbox, because shortly after the trip I started having a bit of resistance getting into second when downshifting, and that actually resolved it. I'm 6' and had to have the seat all the way back at all times or I felt cramped, there really isn't any room for much at all in the cab, I could tuck my laptop case behind the seat and a few straps with a really tiny tool kit, but not much more than that. I just sold it and got a 2000 Explorer because I had such good luck with my Ranger I wanted something very similar.

 

[spacecadebt]

The engine is really responsive but the gearing is also pretty low, so you will find yourself in fifth gear for pretty much anything over 45 mph or so

Man they must scream at 70mph.

This is going to be difficult for me going from a V8 explorer to a little 4 banger truck lol

 

[4x4junkie]

Several different gear ratios were offered on those trucks, however the 2.3L is perfectly happy "screaming" (as you put it lol) at 2900 RPM at 70 MPH. Try to find one having a 3.73 or 4.10:1 axle ratio if you want a bit of pep from the 4-cyl.

If you go a little bit newer ('01up), you'll get the Duratec 2.3L instead of the older Lima motor (good for another 30 or so HP IIRC).

 

[Tbars4]

..My 2.3L Ranger has 32"s and 4:10's...

...Just for fun today and since I wanted to check this before, I ran about 2900 rpms at 65 in 4th gear (not normal but ran high rpm to achieve 65 in 4th, for this 4th gear test), and in fifth gear I run at 2500 rpm at 70 ...I normally run 70 or so on the freeway unless there is a huge hill...

..Speed was verified by GPS...