Oil Recommendation 1997 Ranger

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I've recently had a 1997 Ranger handed down to me from a family member. The truck is a 2.3 L 4 cylinder with the manual 5 speed and has almost 215,000 miles on it. It has had very little (if any) maintenance done to it in the past. I use the truck now mostly in summers when I am commuting to construction sites, probably a mix of about 50/50 highway/city miles.

The truck has been pretty much only had oil changed by quick lube centers who I'm sure just use a cheap 5w30. I'm going to start doing my own oil changes now and I plan on giving this truck a little TLC so that I can hopefully get a few more years of use out of it. What oil would you guys recommend? Just stick with the conventional 5w30 or would it be beneficial to try something high mileage or a synthetic blend?

Thanks in advance!
 
High mileage oil is an upgrade worth trying. It helps remove some of the varnish, and the slight viscosity increase helps make up for wear.
 
If the truck does not leak or burn oil, I would use motorcraft semi 5w30 especially for Wisconsin winter. The red jug from wal-mart is cheap and you can pick the matching filter there too. If you wish to clean the motor then pick up a quart of mmo and add 16 ounces , then shorten your first oil change to under 3000 miles. Great thin winter blend. fine in summer too.
I had the same truck, only an 86 with the 2.3 manual . It had the extended cab . We beat the [censored] out of it by towing boats and trailers. Never broke down. My nephew bought the same truck with the same combo on my advice for his power washing business. We paid about $800. It got him about 6 years.He had all his friends driving it back and forth to college. It was mud brown . We called his the turd truck. Great engine/trans combo.
If it does leak or burn oil, the next choice is maxlife or similar.
 
The truck has just recently began to leak a very small amount of oil, not enough that it needs to be topped off or anything between oil changes. Just some small drops here and there.

Would you still recommend the motorcraft semi? Would 4-5000 oci's be reasonable or should I go shorter? Is the motorcraft a good choice as an economical filter for the price and short oci's?

The truck has been solid for me and am trying to maintain that. Recently changed out the tranny fluid and boy that made a world of a difference. Much smoother shifting.
 
i would run the semi and mmo for a 3000 mile run to clean up the motor with the motorcraft filter . If the motor is still leaking then switch to hm if you wish.
 
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