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i found a 94 ford ranger on craigslist for 500. they say it has a small crack in the head and that it drives fine unless you floor it then it boggs out. it has 95,000 miles 4 speed manual not sure what engine size. the interior is in great conditon and the outside looks rust free but a little beat up. do you think its worth it to buy this and but a new head on it? or should i try to get this truck for cheaper. and how hard is this job for a mediocre at best mechanic like me? your response is appreciated thanks!!
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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How would they know it has a small crack in the head, without having taken it apart? The danger is that the block, not head is cracked. Then the $500 which is a decent price becomes way too much. Can they show you a visible crack or other evidence that it's the head? What caused the crack?
Is this in a cold winter climate where the block could have frozen? Maybe a bad water pump caused it to overheat?
If it's true, you can pick up a head at the wreckers and get a machine shop to rebuild and resurface it, then you have only the price of the head gasket and you'll be set to go for maybe $400. If you have to pay someone to do the labor double that.
I've bought a car for $500 that I knew had a bad trans, but still ran.
$500 bucks for a pickup truck that runs but has A/C that blows cold (a must down here) seems like a good deal to me as long as you have the $1200-$1800 or so ready to go that you'll need to have an engine swapped in or rebuild and don't mind the downtime.
Otherwise, just wait until you come across a $1500,-$2500 truck that has nothing serious wrong with it that you can drive right now.
How would they know it has a small crack in the head, without having taken it apart? The danger is that the block, not head is cracked. Then the $500 which is a decent price becomes way too much. Can they show you a visible crack or other evidence that it's the head? What caused the crack?
Is this in a cold winter climate where the block could have frozen? Maybe a bad water pump caused it to overheat?
If it's true, you can pick up a head at the wreckers and get a machine shop to rebuild and resurface it, then you have only the price of the head gasket and you'll be set to go for maybe $400. If you have to pay someone to do the labor double that.
You have to realise if it was reasonable to fix the owners would already have done so. The truck would have to be in pristine shape interior and exterior to be worth the $500 needing engine work. A fixer upper is just that, a step away from the chrusher.
You have to realise if it was reasonable to fix the owners would already have done so. The truck would have to be in pristine shape interior and exterior to be worth the $500 needing engine work. A fixer upper is just that, a step away from the chrusher.
Well, yes and no - I have bought old cars with issues and come out OK - buying them from people who don't know that much about cars, or in my case were just tired of working on a car and didn't finish the rebuild they started (and did most of the 'heavy lifting' on) . My MG-B and my Scirocco both came to me with rebuilt engines, new clutches, etc. but both in a terrible state of tune - the fuel systems and distributors on both cars apparently went back on after the engine rebuilds in the same condition they came off on - I managed to adjust both, lube the distributors, replacing the one in the MG, both run better than when I bought them.Buddy of mine bought a 928 Porsche that had an "unknown electrical problem and was killing batteries" - turned out to be a problem with the power antennna - temporary fix was to pull a fuse, permanent fix was less than $200 (new antenna) I would have to look at the truck to say if it's worth $500 needing engine work. How practical this would be depends on how much of the work the OP can do himself.The question of how they know the head is cracked needs to be answered too. Maybe they are wrong. With luck, it just needs a head gasket.
My friend owned a auto garage. There were always customers who after hearing how much a repair was asked how much will you give me for it. If you are going to have to do any repair it should be worth it. Figure the truck as a shell. Regardless a cracked head or a headgasket. The fact this damage has gone unrepaired will tell you the rest of the drivetrain is equally in neglect or disrepair.
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