There's a open recall for this issue call your local ford dealership with your vin number they will order a fusible link that plugs it doesn't cost you anything I did alot of the recalls back in the day very surprised that one hasn't been done yet love the show

If any auto maker brought back this size truck they would make a fortune. These and the old S10s were great.

Wow, that Ranger is the find of a lifetime. It's so clean. I'm not even a truck guy but damn I want this one.

A lot of creators would hate on this truck for the sake of clicks, but you really appreciate it for what it is, and that's refreshing. What I CAN'T figure out is when you sleep.

Love older trucks that you don't need a ladder to get something out of the bed.

It’s amazing how a vehicle can look when you look after them like a part of your family

Cruise control buttons, had to replace the Set, accel, coast buttons. Came with the on/off side too. This was on a 2001 XLT.

"We've replaced everything else, it has to be that" And then it wasn't that, love those projects!

The condition of the Ranger is incredible and such a great find!

Having so much space and so many lifts helps to give your content greater continuity. More like an unfolding series of events than just random stuff happening. Makes the already good even better. Thanks JRGo.

It's good to see someone working on actual vehicles instead of giving up on them. Keep up the good work and looking forward to seeing what you find out what the problem is with the cruise control...

On some older fords the cruise light doesn't come on until you actually set it. Simply pushing "on" won't turn on the light

You have a short on the steering column. That is a common issue with those so you might have to change the entire switch panel

I used to have a 2004 ford ranger edge...had it for 11 years. Most reliable Truck ever

Great video, that ranger was in amazing shape and I really like how consistent your content is. looking forward to the videos on the c5 vette

That is one sweet ranger! This is an example of how a seriously obsolete truck can be such a great truck. (Yes, I consider this base work speck truck a great truck!)

i have a 2007 mazda b2300 pickup i bought brand new, its identical to the ranger you have , same colour , 4 cyl, manual. 170,000 kms .. great little truck !!

Careful John, don’t get the ranger pregnant or anything.

All your brake lights must be working for the cruise control to work. Also when you check them out be sure you don't have a bouncing filament on one of the bulbs. It can make contact and the bulb works then hit a bump and the filament bounces off and the circuit is open. Make sure all the third brake light bulbs work. Sometimes they are so small that if one is out the light is still bright enough to give the appearance that they are all working. Hope this helps.

That truck looks like someone has wound up the mileage 160k wow 👍🏻

Eric pointing to his shirt and shaking his head had me laughing - I LOVE the ford ranger.

He channeled his inner chandler bing when he said this truck is perfection 😂

I’ve got an 07 that’s manual everything and love it. It was my dream truck as a little boy, so when I found one abandoned in a field after a life in the search and rescue department, I had to have it. I remember walking out in the field with the key and even the old owner was not surprised when it fired right up and drove from it’s grave. 2 years later and it’s never let me down, ever! The 4 wheel drive even works, and the 4L purrs. I did a bit of work to her but she ran great regardless.

A friend of mine just had this identical ranger fully restored by a local trade school body shop. He loves that truck.

I had a family friend that had a Ranger exactly like this right down to the color and 5 speed. Awesome little trucks!

Great video. Love to see trouble shooting and repair on these older vehicles! 😀

A friend of mine here in Newfoundland Canada bought one of these basic work trucks, also a 2.300 standard from new. He used it for his courier business, he sold it recently and it had over 400,000 klms on it. It still ran well and had survived ten Newfoundland winters...

This truck is amazing, the 2.3l, perfection, 5 speed, heaven, after I got my 91 Ranger I immediately fell in love with them. Ive done a lot of mods to mine and I will post a walk around soon, love the vids👍🤘🤙

More DIY beaters!! Keep up the awesome work JR!!!

That is really good deal! Been keeping my eye out for that sort of simple Ranger model for a while (in southern Ontario), but one in that kind of amazing shape is more rare than a Blue Moon, and the asking price is always more than double what you guys paid. Awesome find.

I miss mini-trucks. this Ranger generation dates back to 1993, but the basic platform is actually even older, dating back to 1983. People still love these small Rangers.

Let's put this truck out in the sun. Narrator: "But there was no sun"

i used those windshield kits a lot in the past, not sure the brand but they always worked great. Love that clean engine compartment

Nice pickup Eric! I used to love renting those Ranger pickups from Budget on work trips in the early 2000's. Some of them were the XLT 4x4 package, but most were bare bones (automatics...blah). On the mileage....thinking that truck only did only highway running. Way too clean for a real work truck!

This brings me back. I learned to drive in my dads 2000 Ford Ranger single cab. It was 2WD, manual everything, 4 cylinder. Green.

Here in Argentina we have this Rangers with a Land Rover Turbo Diesel and dual cab from factory! There are still running strong!

We have a 09 Ranger XLT. It is 2.3 automatic. Been a fantastic truck! We have had some repairs done though. First thing that went out was the water pump, then one or the A/C lines was leaking. We've had to replace all front end components and a full 4 wheel brake job. It does have 191,000 miles though. Next thing to take care of is the leaking timing cover. This is our third Ford Ranger, the last one ran until 260,000 and then the motor locked up, sadly.

On my third Ranger, 2004, 2009, 2011. All with 2.3 and 5 speed manual. The first went over 200,000 needing only a lower ball joint and a new alternator. I drove it with 240,000 from Plymouth, MA to Valley Falls, KS without a worry and it is still running on my sister's farm. Most reliable vehicle ever and with the manual it is fun to drive. Went down the Tail of the Dragon chasing a Corvette bumper. You have a fancy model with the clothe seats.

Hi, I live in Topeka and have a 91XLT 2.3 with 66,000 miles 5 speed.. I bought this new in May of 1991and greatly enjoy your vids. I really enjoy ranger videos as mine is really like new and its was nice seeing your friends 2005 in such good shape with the miles.I was 48 when I bought mine so that tells you I'm a little older then you guys.

I had an 88 ranger, I loved that truck. did everything I asked of it and was a 4 banger so it got excellent gas mileage.

I'm waiting for an update on the hoverboard 😄😄😄

My dad has a 1997 Ford Ranger with a 4 cylinder 5 speed at around 101,000 miles. XLT with manual windows. All stock. Great little truck.

“Hit it with a little inertia.” Love it!

Probably the buttons themselves. Had to replace them on my father's old ranger.

I had the same lil ranger for awhile. Got it with 80,xxx miles for $2000. Still cant get over how good of a deal it was.

I bought two 2009 Ford Ranger XLTs in the past 3 months. A Grey supercab 4.0 5 speed and a white regular cab 2.3 5 speed. The 4.0 was taken apart and never put back together by the previous owner. The block sat in the rain for 2 years.. the white 2.3 has 47k miles on it but a crunched front from a minor accident. My father and I spent about a week swapping literally EVERYTHING from the white truck to the grey supercab and it runs PERFECTLY! We are also having a tough time fixing the cruise control, but everything else works great. 0 lights on the dash and ready to drive. All for a combined $4000.

GEM module behind radio upper left corner. Mine had the same problem. Bought one second hand from you pull it yard. Worked perfectly

I currently have a 96 Mazda B3000 4x4 plain jane with manual trans and manual locking hubs. Even if I buy a new truck, I'm still keeping that one for as long as I can. Also had an 84 and a 93 Ranger too. The 84 fell victim to rust. The 93 was sadly totaled after I got it all sorted out. I highly recommend them if you're a DIYer on a budget, these are great trucks. If they break, they are usually cheap and easy to fix.

I had a 95 ranger STX. Extended cab. Manual transmission. I loved it. Wish I never got rid of it.

That's a very clean example you lucky guy. I have an 04 that was used by some Texas company or institution and didnt have any rust. Real basic truck, but it gets you around without much trouble.

Probable failure point is steering wheel buttons. Wow! Very clean truck for the miles.

Check the third brake lamp. Ford uses it as a signal in some models. Part of the ground circuit. F150's can have cruise issues if the third brake lamp is out. Ive been fighting these same issues in my 08 150 for awhile now. I have replaced switches under the dash and hood but no luck. If i hit a good enough bump when it does work the bump shuts off cruise and wont reactivate untill key off/on cycle.

That’s an amazing find in that condition... truly like showroom new.

I had a new 2006 screaming yellow ford ranger and it was so bright! I miss that truck but it was a 3.0 v6 auto. but i also owned a 1999 gold ranger with the 2.5l 5 speed that i had until it was totaled. was almost rust free.

Ive never seen some geek out over a Base model Ranger 2WD Fleet spec with no options before. But I get it. Id love to have one too. I had a 2003 5 speed ranger with the factory hard color matched tonneau cover. I loved it. It sipped gas.

That's a $1500 truck max here in PNW. The company I used to work for had a fleet of those Rangers and they were shit boxes. Always had something wrong with them. Was glad when we finally went to different trucks.

You seem like a great guy John.... Good luck with all you do. Great vids

Reminds me of my 2001 Ranger Edge Ext Cab I drove for 8 years and the only problem I ever had was a hanger for the exhaust coming loose. I loved the egg crate front grill and the Edge sat up higher at a perfect height for me to get in and out super easy. I had the rubber floor mats and actually preferred it to carpeting. Manual trans. The manual window cranks fooled more than one passenger. I've owned a '66 Mustang, a Chevy, 2 Acuras, 4 Nissans, 2 Toyotas, an Isuzu Rodeo, and that Ranger was my favorite ride of all of them.

Ooo, me next, Eric! That's a great spec and in amazing shape!

I was originally looking to coat the truck bed but ended up putting in a BedRug. Had it 8 years, it carried all my camera and lighting gear, went camping with it, hauled a bunch of junk around, and the BedRug looked brand new when I sold the truck. I had a Leer tonneau cover that matched the style of the hood.

Awesome! Manual everything, must be a unicorn.

I had one just like this. Mine was red, ‘03 with same engine and 5 speed. Great little truck! Unfortunately my knees went bad, and couldn’t drive a stick anymore.

I just found your website here on KZfaq. I Love all the info you have. Yes I did subscribe

I have a 4.0L the 93's are very easy to work on aside from replacing cyl 3's spark plug (on a v6)

I miss the days when you would fix and flip cars super fast. That's why I started watching this channel. The car flips were so interesting because I never knew what jank car you'd bring home next. Then you'd fix it and flip it. Now it's all big shop and big project stuff. Can't we still see some quick flip projects once and a while?

WOW, nice little truck and 5sp manual - don't see those anymore. O'Reilly's should have you do a promo each episode. For the next 48 hours get 10% off (5 qts Castro GTX, any RainX product, Masterpro shocks) when you say "JR Sent Me"

I had a 03 Ford ranger xl. My 1st car. Got it brand new. Loved that truck.

You could always check the clutch return spring. I have had a couple of cars where that spring began to fail and the pedal dropped low enough to trip cruise. Could always swap in a new cruise Throttle control module. He really has a great toy now. Made me miss my 89 Dakota. Those mini-trucks were great.

'Manual everything' should be an option on new vehicles. :-)

Your advertisement for the for the ford ranger is amazing i just went out and bought one because off you

YES!!! I WAS BINGE WATCHING YOUR OTHER RANGER TODAY AND YESTERDAY AND THERE'S A NEW SAGA!! WOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOO (cracks open a can of coke)

I found one for $5000 almost as good of shape as this one. Totally tricking it out and dropping it low! Great truck!

We needed a small pickup to use around our property. In 2019 we found a 2011 Ford Ranger XLT super cab 4X4 with a 4.0 V6, 5spd automatic transmission and LSD. The original owner was 62 years old when he bought it. He put custom wheels and running boards. It only had 20K miles on it. KBB said it was worth $22K, but we bought it for $18K. We don’t like silver, grey or black and this one is silver, so I had it 2 toned in Red metallic. Of course the interior was grey and black so I had it reupholstered in Red and Black. I then added a K&N intake and a 3” Flowmaster exhaust, LineX spray in bed liner, air shocks for the rear, as we haul a lot of top soil, gravel, etc and didn’t want the rear to sag while loaded. While coming back from the family farm in MT to WA, the Ranger was fully loaded with equipment we needed here. We set the cruise on 75mph and we consistently get 25mpg. I change the oil every 4K miles with Mobile 1 full synthetic. When the truck hit 30K miles I had the front and rear differential, transfer case and transmission fluids changed. I now have only 34K miles on it. I took it in to be detailed and the owner wants first dibs if we ever want to sell it. I’ve had a few other people wanting to buy our Ranger. This is our 4th Ranger and we plan on driving it until we’re both dead and gone. A family member will end up with it. After adding the new intake and exhaust, I raced a Chevy Tahoe. We couldn’t pass each other until the Tahoe’s governor kicked in at 105mph. It was then that my Ranger walked away from him. Our Ranger up shifted from 4th to 5th at 100mph. I’ve noticed an improvement in hp, torque and mpg since adding the intake and exhaust modifications. It’s a great lil pickup. Because used car prices have increased, I went online to KBB and now our Ranger books out for $25K, without all the extras that has been done to it.

I love these little rangers I had a 2008 same as this one a 5 speed manual transmission with the 2.3 Mazda motor even the transmission was a Mazda unit. A little under power but a very good truck

I have a 2005 with manual and cruise...I owned it three years before I realized it has cruise, which works! I seldom use it...

Is that a Ford **Freakin'** Ranger?!

I've got one just like it, except no Cruise, tilt, or Rhino liner. 2003 165,000. Paid $4000 ten years ago, had 82,000. I love it. Needed a head gasket once, and some minor cooling hose work.

That's a nice Mazda B-series! ❤️

I'm still driving my 1990 XLT 2.9l V-6. It only has 229,000 miles on it. Last year, I did replace the head gaskets, rebuilt the power steering pump and replace the MAP sensor. It's running like a champ again.

The thumbnail made me laugh...JR...that was perfect!

Wow, I need that truck as a daily driver. Spec'd out perfectly and in great shape.

I'd buy it in a heartbeat that thing's awesome

That's a really cool little rig. Great buy!

One of best vehicles I owned was a 1998 GMC Sonoma SLE, 2wd, 5spd, 4cyl. Simple, but rugged and got 28mpg on highway. Fixed it up and sold it for more than I paid for it

My brother in law wanted one of those but they are still expensive used. He wound up getting one from a county auction for a few grand and it's pretty good. I heard that a ranger with manual transmission will never die. You might have a wire issue like a pinched ground or the switch is bad. Good luck.

Have a 1994 Ranger XLT 146,000 miles..Always kept in the garage.. 2.3L- 5 speed.. Have kept it in near-mint condition..Great truck..Most of the 146,000 are all highway..

I have a 2006 mountaineer with the 4.6 and it's also dry under the hood but it has 176k miles on it and no leaks. fully loaded.

I had a mentor back in the day who had a black 03 ranger xlt with the V6 & extended cab. He loaned it to me one time when he was out of town. Good times!! I test drove a similar ranger some years later but with the 4 cyl. Just wasn't the same

I had a 2014 Nissan Frontier S model. Manual windows and door locks, but the car had bluetooth phone and cruise control. still modern as heck

I can can one up you here lol. I just bought a 2004 ford ranger for 450.00. It was as clean as this truck with all the paperwork for every service it has had. Air got into the clutch system and the owner let it sit for a year. He wanted 650 and I offered him 450 and he took it. Spent a few hours replacing the clutch master cylinder and bleeding the system and it shifts like a dream.

That truck is pristine! I think that's from the Ford collaboration with Mitsubishi. If so, that's a little Mitsubishi engine, which should go for a long, long time. That's a fantastic deal on the truck, so clean.

I'd be looking at the switches for the cruise control if you're getting no "ready" or "set" responses at all. Steering wheel controls do seem to fail on certain Fords and Chevys.

Vacuum line on the cruise control housing it did the same thing to my truck

I have an 05 F150, not sure if the wiring is the same, but for me it seemed to be a completely unrelated issue that was causing cruise to not work. The high-mount rear brake bulb is integrated into the cruise circuit, and if it is blown, or there is not enough resistance in the bulb (my case when I replaced it with an LED bulb,) it will make the cruise think you're pressing the brake and it will immediately shut it off. I replaced the LED bulb back to a standard bulb and it started working again. This appears to be an issue on GM trucks as well, which is how I found it was also an issue for Fords, too.

That had to have been driven by a much older person and stored in the garage religiously. Nice buy! The ford 2.3 is a great motor they have had forever and keep upgrading. It was in the old 80's cars, including the 80's turbo mustang, and now in the new mustang as a turbo that hits 60 in 5.1 seconds.

Had a 97'. Loved that little truck.

I bought a 2.3 02 ranger with a 5 speed, love it so far. 155k miles for 4500 bucks. Paint is a little worn out but the a/c works and everything else. Have a small coolant leak but other than that it’s pretty nice honestly

My favorite is always small trucks like this. I wish they made trucks like this again. Also: You swapped everything but the steering wheel switch, if nothing is happening when you press it I'd try that.

Seen a number of these small pick-ups spinning out in the middle of the interstate and at toll plazas in the rain at acceleration. No weight in ass end and easy to do.Didn't even look like a fun ride.

I replaced both switches on the steering wheel on my 02 ranger, but disconnect the battery first as not to accidentally trigger the airbag when you do this task. the task was a piece of cake. Those switch contacts do go bad.