Ford Ranger on the ropes

We posted some conjecture about the Ranger not too long ago, with some Photochops to illustrate possible ways Ford could keep its smallest pickup alive. via Autoblog

[Jim]

Actually Ford did have a replacement for the Ranger in 2011 and it was to share the 3.5L powertrain with the new 2011 Explorer (same powertrain as Edge/Taurus/Flex). The truck looked good and kind of a cross between a small F150 and a Honda Ridgeline. But, Ford killed it several months ago without saying why, and only the Explorer remains. Time will tell if they bring it back.

[Faustus]

It's the best small pickup my family has ever owned. We've exceeded the weight limits on our Toyota Tacoma, old Nissan and new Nissan Frontier, GMC Sonoma, and Ford Ranger pickups no an almost regular basis. The Ranger took the most abuse and got the best fuel mileage. Which is not to say anything bad about the Toyota, Nissans or GMC we've owned, just that they didn't perform as well as the Ranger.

In my experience, this is the best small pickup currently available, and taht says a lot, because it's competition is very good.

[Testecles]

My mom drives a 2003 Ranger, 3L 5spd. Nice little truck, it's done things a half-ton is really called for. It even drug home a '72 C10 that finally gave up after being owned by rednecks with no problem. It even survived the C10's chrome horn on two diff occasions(brakes on that thing are beyond shot. Yes, I still drove the damn thing into town.). Amazing little truck if ittl stop it's own fat ass plus the 6,000 pounds of C10 and associated rust and debris. It's a shame it's dying, but it's the last good American truck in this segment. GM discontinued the S10/Sonoma line for this Colorado 'thing' that's had problems with it's inline five, namely lack of power. Atleast they still offer a stick in the damn thing. Daimler-Chrysler has decided to just fade the Dakota out of exsistance. I havent seen any at my local Dodge dealers in a couple of years now, it just skips from their Neon replacement to the Ram now. Someone tell Ford to keep this thing on the road!

[Doug]

I have heard that the 4 litre Ranger engine suffers from cracked heads at some point. This was with the 2004 and prior models. Does anyone know if this is still a problem.

[Gregg]

The cracked head problem was much worse with earlier Rangers with 2.9L-V6 engines,with the 4.0 V-6 Engines a much less of a Problem,When Ford went to the overhead Cam 4.0L in (2000?) I seldom see one with a problem any more. A Great little truck.

[mel1]

But what you may not have seen
is that Toyota has already
passed both Ford and GM in a different category -
automotive recalls.

Although we've barely passed mid-February,
Toyota has already recalled! 533,417
vehicles this year in a mix that, according to www.AutoRecalls.us ,
includes Tundras Sequoias and Camry’s. That puts Toyota on track to recall
more than the over 1.76 million autos they recalled in the U.S. and Japan
in 2006, and the 2.2 million they recalled in 2005 when they recalled
more cars than they built.

What's more, the current recall
related to the Turdra trucks and Sequioa SUVs is similar to the same defect
in 800,000 of the same vehicles in 2005.

[Donnie Anderson]

I owned a '97 Ranger 4.0l XLT Supercab 2x4, and last year upgraded to a 2006 Ranger Sport 4x4 4.0l Supercab.
The '92 was a nice truck. Cheaper than anything offered from the other manufacturers, and smaller meaning more capable offroad. The smaller it is the more drivable it is. The 4.0l engine lasted 9 years without a single problem. And it was used to haul a 6000lb travel trailer. Only problem was that the heater mixer broke. It's a plastic valve behind the glove compartment that switches from heat to cold and mixes. I checked online and its a common problem with Ford's and an expensive fix.
The 2006 has been a joy. I love the fact that Ford stuck with a small pickup instead of upgrading to a mid like Dakota, Colorado, and Tacoma. I like the small jacked up look the Ranger has, similar to the older Tacoma. The Tacoma is now beefed up like a Dakota. I find the smaller trucks easier to drive, park, and go offroad. I love the all vinyl interior, no cloth on the floors to turn all white and stiff with road salt. A quick go over with Armor All or similar product and your truck is like new. I have the upgrade to the Pioneer MP3 system with subwoofer and it rocks. It actually has bass, compared to some upgraded manufacturer stereos I've heard. But it's not boomy, it's a nice full range sound that's just sweet across the entire range. And the deck holds 6 discs meaning no need to load a CD changer in the trunk or dash.
The Ranger is nice but old and dated. It is unrefined and has lots of road noise. It is in serious need of an overhaul. If I were Ford I'd keep the mini pickup going and revamp it...do not make it a mid...if you want bigger go with a full size. A full Size F-150 is the same price as a Tacoma, and can tow a trailer. The Ranger should be redesigned to make it a better fit and build and reduce road noise. ALso the drivetrain should be replaced. A 4.0 litre engine that tows is not required...if you wanna tow get a full size. Fuel economy is more important. Make a small truck that can accelerate with good fuel economy. Torque is not required. Maybe offer a diesel engine if you want torque for hauling loads. The rest put a nice Taurus engine or similar that would give nice performance with good fuel economy. The truck should remain small, jsut give it more lift and possibly upgrade 16" to 17" tires for an aggressive look and better offroad capability. Offer a 4 door model. Make the FX/4 better turning the Ranger into a lean mean off road machine. Turn it into something that can compete with the aggressive look of the Tacoma TRD off road. Add a sunroof. Have the beds factory sprayed with a coating so a plastic liner is not required. Offer a bed rack system for installing skis, bikes, canoes, etc... or even a roof rack system like Nissan Frontier and Xterra. Offer a tonneau cover and cap option. Offer a beefed up skid plate on FX4 models. All stainless steel exhaust with a nice chrome tip for a lifetime of worry free use. Factory undercoat the vehicle, and offer a program for getting Krown rustproofing sprayed at the dealers yearly. Keyless entry with a keypad on the door is a must to eliminate locking your keys in the car for good. Offer a system to allow cell phones to plug directly into our stereo. Like offer a stereo plug that you just attach the proper adapter that would plug right into your cell phone headset plug. Maybe offer a memory card reader or built in memory. Load MP3's off a memory card instead of requiring CD's. Or offer a DVD system. Upgrade the headlights to somethign better like GE Nighthawks. The current bulbs are no good. Change the Windshield Wipers...they are no good either. Offer auxilary lighting on the FX4 model for offroading. Add some fancies like a tire pressure gauge, external temperature guage, and a favorite of mine, fuel mileage and distance remaining.

[Donnie Anderson]

The above truck would just. Ford should do what Toyota did years ago. They made a monster small truck with the Toyota that jsut ate everythign else. Now they rule. Gm keeps comming out with a redesigned Silverado that isn't so different and advertises the hell out of it to reep the benefits. Ford should make a whole new Ranger, advertise the hell out of it, and be proud of sticking with the small truck heritage. Advertise that the small pickup is better than anythign else. And if you wanna tow go for an F-150.

Doing so would improve people's image of Ford trucks as a whole and would probably increase F-series sales. They could ditch the Explorer sportrack, which people don't like just because of the explorer name and the whole Firestone tire incident. Have a 4-door Ranger model to replace the Explorer Sporttrack. They should also keep the Ranger name so down the line they can show off the history of Ranger from past to present and show how much better the present is. And show off how much more nimble and drivable a small pickup is, and why its better than a bigger Dakota, Tacoma, Colorado etc.... Make it with lots of viewing clearance and no blind spots. Tell people, why buy a Dakota when you can get a RAM? Why a Tacoma when a similar sized F-150 is cheaper. Why a Ranger, cause it's small and capable, and not a pain in the rear to park or take of road.

I say revamp it, make it a modern wonder, do not skimp. Keep the heritage alive. Advertise the hell out of it. Keep the prices lower than the rest, and definitely lower than a full size, and take over the market. The other manufacturers, will be begging to go back to small and jacked up. Make the full size fuller, keep the small size small. Make a difference. The Dakota is so close to a RAM it's going to merge into a Ramota. Toyota will have the Takundra. Ford needs to jump on this while the market is good for it. It will improve their image, and their F-series brand will benefit from it as well.

Get rid of the Sporttrack, and the truck lineup will finally be complete. Then they can focus on making a good car lineup and being a car manufacturer to contend with.

Another thing I like with the 2006 Ranger. Rubber hoses and clamps under the hood have been replaces with stainless steel pipe. ALl my previouse GMs had problems with hoses eventually falling off or rotting out and leaking fluids all over the road, meaning a tow to the garage, repairs, and damage. Stick to stainless pipe, get rid of the hoses, and Ford should do this to all vehicles and advertise it to show that their Vehicles are now more reliable. They could say they are the first North American manufacturer to become a Japanese and European competitor. It's been a long time comming but the Inverter of the car is now prepared to take on the world. They could advertise this and become a thorn in the sides of GM and Chrysler.

Please Ford do not kill the Ranger. If anything kill the Explorer Sportrack, revamp the Ranger, and make a modern truck lineup all the magazines can boost about.

[Dave F]

Donnie, while I can agree with a lot of what you say, I for one would not buy the 4dr model, or own it...... I don't like them if I want a car I will buy one. Now having said that, I will say that a 3.0 V6 is all that is really needed, with 4X4 with an XFER case that can be shifted into neutral. I would like to be able to tow it behind my motor home. Keep the weight down, remove the tow package. I have that on mine at present however I don't really need it, I would rather get the gas mileage with current pricing.

I don't mind offering say a model that you describe however for me I don't want all that stuff, and wouldn't buy it. I have a 2001 XLT extended cab, with 4X4. I absolutely love it, not happy with the 18 mpg, however I can live with it for the next few years.

One of the items you stated was bigger tires, keep in mind that if you go bigger is OK, as long as you don't go wider. When I got my Ranger it came in with over sized tires, and it was absolutely helpless in the snow in 2 wheel drive. I put the stock size on and no problems, the wide front tires would not turn the corners, it just wandered where ever it wanted to go. My gas mileage was also down around 13-14 mpg.

So for me, keep the small truck, however offer a somewhat more bare model that what you suggest.......

[smit]

I could write a book about Fords starting with my 51 then a new 56 with the black police interceptor engine. That's the only one that I wished I would have kept. A 63 1/2 Falcon was next then after ruining it I picked up a 68 fastback Torino, next 73 LTD then the biggest mistake of my life a 68 Bronco. Ford had gone to hell and I became a Dodge and VW owned.
Love Fords or hate them but I'll honestly say that if Ford decided suddenly to answer just one of my complaints, say something like the dash board vinyl burning from sunlite that passed through my optional tinted glass and wanted to give me a new car I'd tell them to keep it, I don't need the problems.

[art]

ford rangers rule i have had one for nine years and try to kill it every weekend.it won't die and takes tons of abuse. it can do everything my old f150 could do and is much more economical.someone please tell ford to drop some of those giant pickups and revamp the ranger -smaller trucks are the future with the price of gas etc. everyone needs to downsize -drop the f150 and buy a fully loaded fx4 level 2 ranger you won't be disappointed!!!

[greg]

how can you tell if you have a cracked head on a Ranger??

[Bush]

greg wrote:

how can you tell if you have a cracked head on a Ranger??

The brains are a dead give away! ha ha .

[hillbilly]

greg wrote:

how can you tell if you have a cracked head on a Ranger??

its simple..either you will get water in the oil...or blow the water out off the rad..if you can fill the rad with water and start engine and it dont blow water out..it is not a cracked head..if motor is running rough.geting water in one cyl..its a blowed gasket...most times when mechanic claims cracked head its really just the gasket..the only time a head will crack is by overheating...if motor has never been run hot..just change the gasket..

[Jim]

I own a 01 ranger, bought it new, former S-10 owner. The dealership sucked but the truck is grate, It is a plane truck, 2.2lt. standard cab. I have not had any problems at all with this truck. Ford is planning on closing the St. Paul plant in 09, Big mistake! I will buy a new ranger then. If it is as good as the one I own, it will last untill I retire, and more! And I will streetrod the old one, It is a good looking truck!

[boubtingthomas]

I doubt they will last unless the improve there product. I have a Ford Ranger and let me tell you it is the biggest piece of junk ever built I had a small dodge before this piece of junk and put 180,000 on it with just some minor repair this piece of junk was back in the shop in 6 weeks and back and back and when your 6 year warranty runs out you better get rid of it because you think you got hosed when you bought it wait rid the Ford service centers get a hold of you after they are done with you have to take out a loan I hate to see the workers go but not ford they should try for a toyota or honda plant .

[PG Vet]

I have owned 2 Ford Rangers and they are amazing. The first one had 185,000 miles when I gave it to my nephew and he put added 40,000 before he sold it. No problems at all with this truck but normal replacement parts.

My current Ranger is a 2004 with 98,000 miles and has been perfect! It is a shame to see a truck of this caliber go away. I don't know what the hell Ford is thinking but I hope they bring the Ranger back. I'm going to buy one of the last ones so I have my last, good and dependable Ranger truck for many years to come.

[08 xlt supercab]

The Ranger you want is available worldwide except N.America ( US /Canada)Check out Ford Ranger on Ford sites in UK,Australia,S American countries
this a rebadged new generation Mazda B series
avalable with 4 doors,diesel about the size of the Frontier & Tacoma.. looks great too!!

[Mrs Morrie]

Can somebody tell me more about the Ford Ranger 3L diesel 2x4 want to buy a 2007 model