Anyone know anything about Ford's 2.5 engines?

[dsmith41]

So in an effort to get out of debit, I am thinking about selling my 05 Ranger FX4 and getting something cheaper. I don't want to do it, but I need to pay some things off and get on track while I'm still young at 24 years old.

I am going to look at a 1999 regular cab manual tomorrow and it has the 2.5 engine with 72k miles. I am familiar with the 2.3s and 4.0 SOHCs because I have owned them but I know nothing about the 2.5 engine.

Are there any known problems or quirks with the 2.5 engine from 1999? Should this truck be as reliable as my other Ranger engines have been?

Link:
http://www.autotrader.com/dealers/dd...er_id=64003767

 

[exranger06]

The 2.5 is the same exact (stroked-out) engine as the older 2.3s used in older Rangers, Mustangs, T-Birds, etc. Extremely reliable, bulletproof, non-interference engine.

 

[JTK]

Consider all your options before dumping a 5yr/old truck for an 11yr/old truck for financial reasons. Sometimes that can work against you. Like exranger06 says, this particular 2.5L is basically the same as the earlier 2.3L. My dad had a 1998 2.5L for some years. Never had an issue with it.

Joel

 

[JustinH]

Well, he didn't spell it out for us. Do you have a large loan on the 2005 truck that you are trying to get out from under?

If you sell the truck, will you at least make some money to pay cash for the next one?

Buying an older truck may or may not make sense depending on what your situation is.

 

[Eddie]

I think it is the Mazda engine which Ford calls the Duratech? Maybe a collaboration between Mazda & Ford. The early Rangers were re-badged Mazda's.

 

[mechtech2]

You may save a little $ but be disappointed overall.
Is your present vehicle in good shape?
What do you think the old one will be like?
Costs can certainly exceed your present vehicle at that age if anything goes wrong, or wears.

 

[exranger06]

Originally Posted By: Eddie
I think it is the Mazda engine which Ford calls the Duratech? Maybe a collaboration between Mazda & Ford.


Wrong. You are thinking of the 2.3 that was first offered mid-year 2001. The 2.5, like I said, is a stroked-out version of the old Ford-built 2.3.

Originally Posted By: Eddie
The early Rangers were re-badged Mazda's.


WHAT?! Wrong again! The Ranger was NEVER built by Mazda. You're probably thinking of the Courier. The Courier was built by Mazda, then Ford dropped it and started building their own small truck: the Ranger. Mazda continued to build their own truck (completely different from the Ranger) until 1994, when Ford supplied re-badged trucks for Mazda.

 

[dsmith41]

Here's my situation. My current truck is paid off. I got lucky and my grandmother unexpectantly gave me some money, allowing me to pay it off back in 2007.

Last summer I borrowed 5 grand and bought a motorcycle. I am just tired of the American debt game and I want to get out of it. I could sell the motorcycle but I don't want to because I love riding it and I ride it just about everywhere during the warmer months, saving me gas.

By dumping my 2005 Ranger, I could pay off my bike, pay cash for a cheaper yet reliable mode of transportation, and in turn save money on insurance and gas.

Oh yeah, I am graduating soon and I just figured out what my student loan payments are gonna be.

At 24, I don't need a nice truck, I have high earning potential and low income. Later on when I have a higher income and still relatively high earning potential, I can buy a nicer truck. Having said that, I am not going to sell my truck for an old lemon. I am being very careful as to what kind of vehicles I consider. That green 99 Ranger I posted has been sold.

 

[01rangerxl]

Originally Posted By: Eddie
I think it is the Mazda engine which Ford calls the Duratech? Maybe a collaboration between Mazda & Ford. The early Rangers were re-badged Mazda's.


Wrong and wrong.

The Ranger has always been designed and built by Ford since its introduction in 1982 as a 1983 model.

The 2.5 engine is from the Lima engine family. It's a Ford engine.

The only complaint I have with the 2.5 is that it uses 8 spark plugs. They are great motors overall though. Not very powerful, but with a manual they are not too bad. They do have a timing belt, but are non-interference.

 

[dishdude]

Friend of mine has a 2000 2.5 that has been great, I think he is in the 160's now. No problems at all although the 8 plugs are a bigger pain to change than they should be on a 4 cyl, and he has to run 89 octane gas or it pings like mad.

 

[JTK]

My dads bare to the bone basic 1998 Ranger 2.5L, 5spd manual was SO doggy, you'd swear you had a brake hanging up on it until you got used to it. It may have had very tall rear-end gearing. I really don't recall. I never drove it for any length above ~55mph.

Joel

 

[JustinH]

Originally Posted By: dsmith41
Here's my situation. My current truck is paid off. I got lucky and my grandmother unexpectantly gave me some money, allowing me to pay it off back in 2007.

Last summer I borrowed 5 grand and bought a motorcycle. I am just tired of the American debt game and I want to get out of it. I could sell the motorcycle but I don't want to because I love riding it and I ride it just about everywhere during the warmer months, saving me gas.

By dumping my 2005 Ranger, I could pay off my bike, pay cash for a cheaper yet reliable mode of transportation, and in turn save money on insurance and gas.

Oh yeah, I am graduating soon and I just figured out what my student loan payments are gonna be.

At 24, I don't need a nice truck, I have high earning potential and low income. Later on when I have a higher income and still relatively high earning potential, I can buy a nicer truck. Having said that, I am not going to sell my truck for an old lemon. I am being very careful as to what kind of vehicles I consider. That green 99 Ranger I posted has been sold.


Sounds like a slippery slope. That 05 ranger is a 5 year old truck, getting into something even older than that doesn't make sense to me, unless you don't mind working on them yourself.

I'd sell the bike, and start socking money away to pay the school loans back and buy a house.

I'm 27, and had to sell a supercharged thunderbird, and a jack roush f150 to get a house, a student loan payment, and a [censored] saturn ion.

Just telling you my experience.

 

[ffracer]

The Ranger 4 cylinders for North America Rangers and 94 and newer Mazda B-series are as follows:

2.3L Lima engine from 1989-97 100-110hp
2.5L Lima engine from 1998-2001 120hp
2.3L Ford/Mazda design Duratec (totally different design) 2001-now 143hp

What's conufsing is that a Mazda-designed truck is sold in Europe and Asia as the Ford Ranger and (Courier in some markets) and Mazda B-series and looks like the US Ranger, but is not related by design.

 

[dsmith41]

I am a DIY'er and I trust Rangers because I have owned two so far and they have been great little trucks. One thing that is a deal breaker for me is I have to have a manual. I don't want to buy an auto with high miles. Too many people neglect them and they are expensive to repair. Clutches can go out too, but I can feel a clutch and tell a fair bit about its condition. Plus, I know how to drive a manual in a way that is not hard on the clutch.

At my age, I don't need a fancy truck. I need something inexpensive and reliable.

 

[ffracer]

Originally Posted By: dsmith41
I am a DIY'er and I trust Rangers because I have owned two so far and they have been great little trucks. One thing that is a deal breaker for me is I have to have a manual. I don't want to buy an auto with high miles. Too many people neglect them and they are expensive to repair. Clutches can go out too, but I can feel a clutch and tell a fair bit about its condition. Plus, I know how to drive a manual in a way that is not hard on the clutch.

At my age, I don't need a fancy truck. I need something inexpensive and reliable.


Agreed. Looking for another manual Ranger used. May buy a new one. I got between 24-28 mpg in my longbed 2wd '95 for almost 10 years.

 

[mjoekingz28]

I agree that bikes are fun and get great mpg, but don't think you are saving money. What you save in gas you more than make up for it in tires.


+1 on a manual Ranger 93+. I've been looking at them myself, even though I don't need one atm. They hold their value pretty good

 

[super20dan]

do you realize the clutch slave cyl is INSIDE the bell housing requiring an trans pull to change it? this is a deal breaker for me

 

[ffracer]

Originally Posted By: super20dan
do you realize the clutch slave cyl is INSIDE the bell housing requiring an trans pull to change it? this is a deal breaker for me


Change out clutch fluid (not just bleed) every 3 years and no problems.