2001 Ranger
 

Hi. I am seriously considering buying a 2001 Ranger Edge with the 3.0L V6 and manual transmission. 2WD. 125,000 miles. It looks great, but I have not driven it yet. Is there anything I should watch out for with this truck? Thanks, Jerry.

Welcome to the site..

Other than the visual and seat of the pants, any docs to give a history of its care?

I doubt it. It is 18 years old. I have been an amateur mechanic and drag racer for 40 years. I pretty much know what to look for. I was mostly wondering if this particular year and engine had any known serious issues. A relative bought an F150 with the Triton 5.4, and it has been sitting in his dads back yard with a blown engine for most of the time since he bought it. I quickly found out a whole bunch about the 5.4 online. I haven't been able to find anything really bad about the 3.0L so far. I will be meeting the seller and checking it out more today. Thanks, Jerry

The 3.0 Vulcan engine is pretty much a 300K+ mile bullet proof engine if maintained properly It was a new engine when designed. It was a new design meaning, no modified engine to come up with it. It's a straight forward pushrod engine that was used from 1986 - 2008.

I would second what Use Common Sense stated, good engine.
Keep an eye on the cam sensor , if you hear a sudden squeak beginning , catching it early saves a lot of time.

I'll second what Hanky stated about the cam sensor "Squeak/Bird Chirp" sound from the cam sensor. But don't let this scare you. It's also related to the 90° Essex motor. It's just a thing with these. And they are pretty cheap and easy to replace.