I have a 98 ranger with 2 pages of ford tsb's.

Ford is telling me they will not fix them unless I have a Ford Warranty ( Ford would not extend their warrenty when I bought IT)So the gave me an after market warrenty, The warranty company will not repair anything that ford has a TSB on it because they say ford knows about the problem and should fix it.

What a bunch of crap getting screwed from both ends.

Any suggestions would Help

 

Well, I think there's a difference between a TSB and a recall, I don't know what the difference is though. I was recently checking out edmunds for the Ford Ranger and they DO have a LOT of tsb's.

 

The TSB's are basically a manufacturer defect that won't affect the safety of the vehicle. For instance, there was a TSB on my F-150 that said a cross-over valve was defective in my fuel system. The letter said;if you have fixed it, we will pay for the repair. If not yet repaired, we will fix it if it breaks in the future. They probably have lawyers write up these tsb's because, after all they are a large corporation with a goal on making money.I can't help you on the ethics of why ford won't fix it.

 

I've looked at the TSBs for my 98 X. There are many duplicates and some were just informational (ie. the type of tissue box that fits in the console). They don't seem to be that big of deal as some people make them out to be IMHO.

 

This is the tsb I am worried about, from what I have read the drive shaft can fail. This is going to cost alot of $$$$ to fix.

Article No.
01-11-11 NOISE - "THUMP"/"CLUNK" HEARD ON LIGHT ACCELERATION FROM A STOP OR
WHEN BRAKING AND COMING TO A STOP - SLIP/STICK SENSATION AT REAR DRIVESHAFT
SLIP-JOINT SPLINES - 4X4 SUPER CAB ONLY
DRIVESHAFT - "THUMP"/"CLUNK" NOISE HEARD ON LIGHT ACCELERATION FROM A STOP OR
WHEN BRAKING AND COMING TO A STOP - SLIP/STICK SENSATION AT REAR DRIVESHAFT
SLIP-JOINT SPLINES - 4X4 SUPER CAB ONLY
Publication Date: JUNE 1, 2001

FORD: 1998-2001 RANGER


This article is being republished in its entirety to update the model year
applications for the service parts required.

ISSUE:
Some 4X4 Super Cab vehicles may exhibit a low frequency "thump" type
noise/vibration on light acceleration from a stop, and/or when coming to a
stop with light to moderate braking. This may be caused by axle wind up
during acceleration or deceleration and creating a stick/slip condition at
the rear driveshaft slip-joint splines causing the "thump"/"clunk" sensation.

ACTION:
Replace 3.5" steel driveshaft with 4.0" aluminum rear driveshaft. This
requires installation of a revised fuel tank skid plate for vehicles built
before 1/15/2001 equipped with the 4X4 Off-Road package. Refer to the
following Service Procedure for details.

SERVICE PROCEDURE
Reference yellow balance mark on existing steel driveshaft. Using chalk,
paint-pen or equivalent, index a mark on the rear axle flange in-line with
yellow mark on driveshaft. This will enable the new driveshaft to be
reinstalled in an original balanced state.
Remove existing steel driveshaft from vehicle.
Using the previous reference mark on the axle, align the applicable revised
aluminum driveshaft yellow mark to the axle flange mark. This will assure
correct orientation of the new service driveshaft.
Install new service driveshaft and torque all eight (8) fasteners to 88-119
N-m (65-87 lb-ft).
Remove fuel tank skid plate for vehicles built before 1/15/2001 equipped with
the 4X4 Off-Road package.
Replace with new service Skid Plate (1L5Z-9A147-AA).
Torque fuel tank skid plate fasteners to 34-46 N-m (25-34 lb-ft).
Verify condition has been corrected by accelerating from a stop, and/or with
light to moderate braking when coming to a stop.

PART NUMBER PART NAME
1L5Z-4602-JM Driveshaft (1998-2000 Ranger)
1L5Z-4602-JA Driveshaft (2001 Ranger)
1L5Z-9A147-AA Fuel Tank Skid Plate


OTHER APPLICABLE ARTICLES:
NONE

SUPERSEDES:
01-9-6

WARRANTY STATUS:
Eligible Under The Provisions Of Bumper To Bumper Warranty Coverage

OPERATION DESCRIPTION TIME
011111AB Replace Driveshaft (Vehicles Without Fuel Tank Skid Plate) 0.7 Hr.
011111A Replace Driveshaft And Fuel Tank Skid Plate 0.8 Hr.

DEALER CODING
BASIC PART NO. CONDITION CODE
4602 69

OASIS CODES:
597997, 702000, 702200, 702300, 703000, 703200, 703400

 

I read it through and it doesn't sound like the driveshaft will fail to me. Are you experiencing this thump/clunk? If not, it doesn't sound like you need to worry. My $.02