1990 Ford Ranger XLT review from North America

At 300,000 km the starter died. I replaced it myself for $180 and an hour of my time.

At 312,000 km the radiator started leaking - replaced with a new one for $140 and took half an hour to do myself.

At 315,000 km there was a clunking noise coming from the rear differential. Changed the fluid (came out pretty dark, so I don't think it had been changed in a while, if ever) and the noise went away and hasn't been a problem since.

At 325,000 km I replaced the U-joint for less than $100.

At 340,000 km the main thrust bearing on the crankshaft has deteriorated enough that the crankshaft moves front-to-back about 1/4". It's enough that it causes the clutch to slip once in a while since the flywheel moves with the crankshaft.

At some point before I purchased it, it has had a new clutch.

As I outlined above, most of the things that have gone wrong with this truck are wear items that one would expect on a high-mileage vehicle. The thrust bearing requires a full rebuild to fix, which is something I'm not prepared to do to this truck, so it looks like it may be headed to the scrap heap so I can cash in on a government incentive.

Having said that, this truck has been great to me. I've taken it on 2000km+ road trips, and felt I could rely on it. It left me stranded once, and that was because of the starter (my own fault as I ignored the warning signs). It doesn't burn oil at all, nor does it leak.

I have used this truck to tow a small 3000lb boat around, and it does it without complaint, even though that's over its rating. It was a little slow on the hills though...

It got great mileage for a V6, I consistently got 19-20 MPG mixed highway/city, and can get 23 MPG on the highway if I keep the speed reasonable.

It has bench seats without head rests, so your neck can get sore after a while, but the seats themselves are quite comfortable. After 20 years of service, they are still holding up well. The rear jump seats are useless for anything other than small children. Small stature adults will fit back there for short periods of time only. I found the back seat area to be a great dry-cargo storage area.

I should mention that I got this truck when I was 16, and I learned to drive a stick with it. IT HAS NOT HAD AN EASY LIFE. The fact that the transmission didn't blow up on me still surprises me to this day.

All in all, a fantastic truck. I'm currently in the market for another Ranger, except this time I think I'd like the 4L with 4x4.