1990 Ford Ranger XLT from North America - Comments

You didn't do 135mph in a 4cyl 1990 Ford Ranger. Period.

Down a long, straight hill with a modest load (4 tires& rims) in the bed?

Ha ha, My speedometer only goes too 85 mph in my 90 Ranger. How did you know that it was going so fast down the hill?

Well I have a 1990 ford ranger 6 cly 4.0L stock 159000miles on it and I bet it will do 120 in a quarter mile.

Lol. yeah rite, a ford ranger pickup doing over 110mph. theres no way. period.

It is NOT possible to do 130+ in a Ranger unless extensive work is done. Either an engine swap (like I did and I STILL won't hit 135), or reworking your engine over... In 1990, the Rangers had a Speedo that only went to 80 or 85 (I forget which) but it only goes to that and you won't even be able to tell that you were going 130. Check out www.rangerpowersports.com.

Also, the 4.0L ranger will not do 120 in the quarter. NOT TOO MANY STOCK things can do that. Especially not a truck. I have owned 3 rangers, each with the different engines available, and now one with a turbocharged 2.3 liter.

The Ranger is a very nice truck, very economical for gas, and very reliable. It just isn't a speed demon!

Ranger's do not do 135mph even with a turbocharger or blower.

Sorry, writer. 135 mph doesn't easily come to mind in a 1990 Ranger.

The speedometer on my 92 Ranger SuperCab 4x2 goes to 85. It has a 3.0 6-cylinder. My speedometer is 5 mph slow, so the fastest it's been is 90 mph--and that's in overdrive (5-speed manual) and pushing about 3300 RPM.

These early Rangers were geared low to stay at 55 and not at 100+ mph.

Another reason why I don't believe you...

The governor on these Rangers is set at 105 MPH (or somewhere in that region). So, unless you tinkered with the governor switch, there's no way you could have gone that fast.

I just traded my old Nissan with my cousin who owns a used car lot on a sweet 1990 Ford Ranger XLT Extra cab with the 4.0 engine, first thing I noticed when test driving it was the power it had, it really gets up and go, the second thing I noticed was the ride, rides and drives very good, it has 106,000 miles on it, I put in a new radio with cd player and not just beginning to fix it up some, it doesn't need much, but want to get it really looking good, I love this truck, I travel to work 100 miles a day and it doesn't take any oil.

Can't wait to hook my 12 foot trailer with a load to see how that 4.0 reacts.

First thing is he said it was a 2.9 v6.Second thing my brother had a 88 2.9.It did not have a catalytic converter and it had dual exhaust. My brother hit 115 -125 in his truck and was still acceleratingwhen he let off the gas. He knew he was going this fast because it was hitting the thing that stops the dial on the speedometer which is way pass 85.

To the above writer--how can you tell you were going 125 mph in a speedometer that only goes to 85? There are no dashes to show your speed after 85.

If you want speed, get a BMW. If you want reliability, control, and practicality, get a Ranger.

On the Garmin my 2.3L 1990 ranger did 110 mph down 2 miles of open flat road and that's throwing rods, its dumb to do, but it will do it. but 135 mph is trailer park crack talk.

To 18:02. He knew he was going that fast because he looked at the marks for every 10mph. Then he estimated he was going that fast. He probably was. That truck was quick. He thinks it might have had cam work done to it, but he was not for sure.

I had a 1990 Ford Ranger Supercab 4x4 STX, and got stopped by Michigan state police. Said he clocked me at 117 mph and he couldn't believe it. He said he owned a red one just like it and wanted me to pop my hood, so I did and said it was just like his. Anyhow he asked me why I was going so fast, told him I was curious and that I NEVER drive like that, and he told me not to do it again and let me go with a warning. Thank god too, cuz that would have not been good on my record.

You guys should read carefully. Some are talking about 4 cyl and some are talking about 6 cyl. You can't compare the two of them, come on.

Are you sure you're in first gear and not third?

My uncle owns a 92 Ford Ranger 4x4 with the 2.9 5 speed stick.

They are slugs off the line. The tranny is not geared to match the rear end. I personally own a 90 Ford Ranger with the 2.3 4cyl and my truck walks all over his all day, top end and all through the gears and it's an auto. LOL.

My pappaw had a 88 Ranger 2.3; and my brother had a 88 Ranger 2.9. Both were 5 speeds. No way that 4 cylinder could come close to touching that V-6. My brother's truck had some go to it. Maybe you had a towing package on it?

My Ranger is the 2 liter 4 cylinder, and I had the GPS in it, and it said I was going 115, and I haven't done a thing to it. It all depends on the stretch of road you're on, and how far you're willing to push the truck. The only way the truck will reach 135 is work done to the gears, the motor and exhaust. Other than that, the only way is if you're on a giant hill and you're not scared of the speed.