2000 Ford Ranger No Owners Manual

As far as oil and filters go I would recommend going with an Ford OEM filter as they are usually engineered more precisly for the needs of the make. However Fram does make a good filter. As far as oil goes, I would recommend using a high mileage oil. If the vehicle has always run on standard oil stay with it in a high mileage blend. This being said I am a fan of sythetic blends especially the Mobil extended protection blends. As far as additives go, if you are looking to get a little less friction and more performance out of your truck, I would recommend trying the Lucas Heavy Duty Oil Stabilizer. Add it in place of one quart of oil. It has a very thick honey like consistency, and is of good use to high mileage motors.

For me you can't beat the orange thingy The Fram Filter and the Penz oil

Thanks for the input. I was using an additive for higher mileage cars and standard oil on a Dakota I had before this Ranger and it treated me pretty good. I was leaning more towards a synthetic blend on this Ranger because I really need to get some longevity out of it but do not have much experience using synthetic oil straight up. Also, would a 5w30 or 5w40 make that much of a difference? (Someone at work suggested this)

If you live in a mild (no severe weather) climate 5w-30 should be fine. Also many times the recommended oil grade is writen on the oil filler cap on the valve cover.