[KB2ROCKET]

I have a 1987 Ford Ranger that I just retired with about 240K miles on it and I bought a 2001 Cherokee as my new daily Driver
.
everything still works on the Ranger but I want to put a new or rebuilt engine and trans in it. Now we all know that with enough determination we can fit anything into anything and I dont have to be brand loyal so keeping this in mind ( WHAT ENGINE & TRANS are the most dependable the truck dosent have to be fast and because it will be a daily driver again fuel economy is somewhat of a issue but that is not as important as dependability
.
thanks

[DoubleVision]

I think there is a lot of factors in that answer. When I bought my chevy pickup it`s a 92 model, it had 268,000 miles on the original 4.3 V6. It still ran strong, didn`t use any oil. I still rebuilt it when it reached about 275,000 due to cold piston slap.
The trans is also the original 5 speed. My uncle used to get 300,000 or better out of his ford work vans, of course this was a every 3 week oil and filter change, every 6 month tune ups, tranny fluid and filter change every 15,000 miles, along with air filter checks and etc. So really I think it comes down to how well they are taken care of. If you have a small block chevy and a TH350 we all know there record, just like a ford 351W and C4 tranny. Most of the old timers all said to me "you take care of them they last"
The last car I will mention is a 87 chevy Z24 with a 2.8 V6 and a 5 speed, it has over 300,000 on the original engine.

[matt167]

how about a MB 300D 5cyl Turbo diesel engine. only 129 hp or somthing like that, but a lot of torque. they go about 500k, transmissions are decent too.

[Vortech 4.3]

if i had the resources, i would put a small ci LS1 in my daily. i would be over 30mpg with that

[curtis73]

Cummins 4BT, Mercedes 5 cylinder diesel, BMW inline 6 (in particular the 2.5i/2.7e engines from E30s) Slant 6, Caddy 500/472, and the Mod motors (4.6/5.4) seem to last quite well. They're not super reliable as far as things like external parts, but the metallurgy seems to support long life on the inside.

As far as tranny, pick a tried and true manual that is capable of taking whatever torque you give it. NV3550 tops my list followed by the T5. If you can deal with 4 gears, the muscle car era Muncies are great boxes. M20 4-speeds are pretty cheap, too.

[327NUT]

Why not just save yourself a lot of trouble and rebuild the Ranger's engine and trans and put another 240k on it, isn't that dependable enough for you??

[curtis73]

Where's the hotrodder in you, 327?

I agree... you'll never get 600k total out of the rest of the truck, so why worry about an engine that will go longer than you need? We are talking about a serious investment on a truck that's worth $800

[ap72]

For longevity you're going to be running a deisel.. they are built to last longer. For unleaded gas engines, in particular one for a small truck I like the 4.3L chevy. They don't have the best efficency but they last forever.