Fordzilla80
Ranger Lariat
Hey ya'll,i'm fairly new to Ford Truck Fanatics,and especially the Ranger section.I've been here for 3 days now and I love the site.I mainly hang around the 7th and 8th-8th gen F-Series forums.I figured i'd drop by and introduce myself here,since I plan on getting another Ranger someday.I bet ya'll are wondering about my first Ranger,so i'll give you the story.Back in February I was coming home from the store when I saw a black Ranger sitting in the front of a guy's yard 2 streets away from me.It had a for sale sign in the window that had the guy's number and 1,000 obo.I copied the number down,and after taking a close look at the truck,I went home and called the owner.He said he was on his way home from work,but he could show me the truck in half an hour.I agreed,and after a half an hour,I walked down to his house.What he was selling was his 2000 Ford Ranger Sport.It had a 2.5 4 Banger with an Automatic.It had a long bed,which was pretty rare to me.It had 189,000 miles on it,but the 2.5 had been rebuilt about 30,000 miles ago.It had a slight problem shifting from 1st to 2nd gear,but it was just a small jolt.The owner told me that his wife had pulled horse trailers with it,so that was most likely the cause.It didn't affect the way the truck ran.He told me his wife had been the first owner of the truck,and she got it new from the local Ford dealer.After talking a little more and hearing it run,he told me I could have it for 800 bucks.I told him I was very interested,and that I would have to go back and talk with my mom about it(i'm only 16),and make a decision with her.The next night I dragged my mom down to look at the truck.After she looked it over and took a quick test drive,she asked the owner if they would accept 100 dollars to hold the truck til I could get the full 700 from the bank.They agreed,and took out the for sale sign and parked the truck in front of their house.That Saturday I went to the bank and collected the money for the truck,and then headed to the owner's house to purchase the Ranger.After we handed over the cash and signed the title,I drove home with my new Ranger.I spent the next week cleaning it up waiting to get tags for it.For the next week and a half I did odd jobs for friends with the truck to make a little money.I also went and saw my then gf a couple times.Fast forward to February 24th.I was on my way home from the gf's house,and I was stopped at a stoplight in the left hand turning lane waiting to make my turn.When the light turned green,I started to make my turn.As I was making the turn,I noticed the truck wasn't shifting into gear.All of a sudden,the truck jolted hard,and the next thing I know,i'm in the opposite lane in a fishtail,so I tried to correct and get the truck straight and back in my lane.But I was too late,and I rocketed into a tree.I got out of the truck,and after making sure I was okay,I looked at the front of the truck.All I could see was mangled metal.It smelled like gunpowder,and the horn was blaring loud.I walked to the side of the truck,and put my hands on the bedside and yelled out F*ck louder than I've ever done before.I didn't know what had happened.I tried to recall what had happened.That's when I remembered the truck jolting.So I crawled under the truck to try and see if anything broke,but it was about 7:15 at night,so I couldn't see anything in the dark.I got on the phone and dialed 911,and told the operator to send police and a tow.A passerby who had seen the wreck stopped,and bought me a pepsi and brought it back to calm me down.The passerby told me she had seen me make the turn,and said somethin didn't look right about the way the truck was moving when I started turning.They ended up sending 4 fire trucks,2 police cars,and a tow truck to my accident.It was on a two way street,so traffic was blocked.I wasn't injured,but they still had to check me out.I stand at 6'2" tall,so when the airbag deployed,it didn't touch me,because I had the seat all the way back,and I had my heavy camo jacket on too,since it was cold out.The other thing that helped,was that it wasn't a head on collision,but rather a side swipe.The only thing that stopped me was a slightly turned wheel that hit the tree and stopped the truck.My mom was hysterical.It took me 2 days to get her to calm down.After talking to me and the witness,the highway patrol officer ruled the accident was caused by mechanical failure,with 5,000 dollars worth of damage.I was devastated.I loved that truck.Here's what it looked like when I got it.
And here's what it looked like after the wreck....
At the time,I didn't think it was worth fixing,because I had bent the frame.But now,I regret signing it over to the towing company,because the tow truck driver who towed it bought it,fixed it up,and now drives it himself.It was so hard letting that truck go.I loved that truck.Worst of all,I just recently broke up with the gf that I was coming back from seeing.If I could go back in time,I would've never gone that night.But from what I was told,it sounds like the tranny locked up,and that could've happened anywhere,anytime.But I still kick myself over it.But oh well.There's plenty other Rangers out there.I'm currently looking for(wanting) a 98-2005 Supercab XLT 4x4.But i'll probably settle for any automatic Ranger.
And here's what it looked like after the wreck....
At the time,I didn't think it was worth fixing,because I had bent the frame.But now,I regret signing it over to the towing company,because the tow truck driver who towed it bought it,fixed it up,and now drives it himself.It was so hard letting that truck go.I loved that truck.Worst of all,I just recently broke up with the gf that I was coming back from seeing.If I could go back in time,I would've never gone that night.But from what I was told,it sounds like the tranny locked up,and that could've happened anywhere,anytime.But I still kick myself over it.But oh well.There's plenty other Rangers out there.I'm currently looking for(wanting) a 98-2005 Supercab XLT 4x4.But i'll probably settle for any automatic Ranger.
Last edited:
