I have 97 Ranger 2.3 93,000 miles. How long did you get out of yours?
Jason

 

my 94 2.3 went 140,000

 

I had a 94 Ranger 4 cyl. that the belt got changed at 74K miles, sold the truck last year with 147K miles on it, never threw the belt. Now I have a 2000 Ranger V6 Flex Fuel 3.0L that I can't help but wonder how long I can go without changing the belt, lol.

 

i thought the 3.0 L use a timing chain

 

Does it??? whoa! ok, that's a new one on me...may explain why I couldn't find it on the maintainance list in the owner's manual, lol.

 

Yes, the 3.0 uses a chain, not a belt.

 

Lucky you, don't have to mess with that dang belt now.

 

I also have a 97 2.3 liter, have 158,000 miles. Never changed the belt, if you read the manual it only tells you to check the belt, there is no mention of changing the belt anywhere in the manual. I just checked mine the other day because I had to remove the timing belt cover to change the thermostat. There were no cracks in it and looked perfectly fine. The belt is relatively easy to change on my truck because I do not have A/C and nothing is in the way. I think I will have my mechanic change it just to be on the safe side next time I have the truck in for something. I would attempt to change it myself, but not sure of myself in getting the timing back to where it suppose to be. I think he wants about $100 to change it.

 

it should be changed about every 100k miles. they are easy to change on your setup, i have the same but its a 91. the only thing that is hard is getting the crank bolt off to remove the harmonic balancer. renting a 3/4" impact wrench should do it though. I can almost guarentee that it will cost you more than $100 to change it unless you have a buddy doing it or something. You can do it yourself. all you have to do to time it is line up the marks on the crank and camshaft, very simple. definatly get it changed either way. if you go ahead and do it yourself and have difficulty, just post here and we can guide you.

 

i had mine changed at 143k.......ddnt want to take a chance of it breaking.......found out spark plugs were never changed as well

 

I changed my 93 at 143,000 simply because when it became cold last fall it made a
slight slapping sound like the old nylon tires used to do, until it was warm. It didn't look at all bad and they are the curved tooth which I know from experiance have far more life than the square cornered belts. After it was off I wished I had let it be and see just how far it would go.

 

Someone told me that if you;ve never changed one before be prepared to make a day of it. Will it really take that long?

 

Yes I am soooo happy about it too. See me dancing?!?! lol Gives me more money and time to play with OTHER things on the truck if I ever get this other problem sorted out (grr!).

 

it did for me but i took my time. if you have the proper tools its not that bad. the crank bolt is a beast to get off, if you dont have a 3/4" impact wrench. timing is a snap.

 

My belt went at 145 000kms. Yes kilometers, i dont what that is in miles so i apologize to my friends south of the border. Lucky for me it was only -30 celcius so the repair on the side of the highway was a snap. (say that as sarcastically as you can). It took me a good 5 hours, warming up in my other truck every fifteen minutes. The part that burns me up is the fact the belt blew off 40 000 kilometers early. Does this mean I have a bigger problem, or just bad luck?