I bought a toyota because at the time, I couldn't find a Ford Ranger that I liked. None of them come with factory rear electric lockers, 4 valve engines that get better than 20 mpg at 80 mph, or factory 31" tires.

I had an 1997 F150 that practically lived at the dealer service department. I put 40K miles on that F150 and went through 3 trannies, and the engine burned oil like there was no tomorrow. I've got 32K miles on the toyota, 1 trip to the dealer for a leaking axle seal, they replaced it no questions asked. Didn't cost me a dime, and they washed it and detailed the interior, none of the Ford dealers I ever visited so much as wiped the grease off of the doorhandle for me.

I used to be a dedicated Ford man. Now I just drive old Fords, all my new cars will be Toyota from now on. Unless I ever get to where I can afford an F-350 SRW with a powerstroke. Then maybe I'll consider trying another New Ford.

 

i didn't know rangers ever came with factory lockers? am i missing something?

lol, sounds like you are just rough on trucks! you know that redf line doesn't mean that's where you shift at .

old fords will always rule! you don't have to know how to program linux to work on them!

-jason-

 

Rangers don't come with factory lockers. Tacoma's and Jeep Rubicons do though. The three tranny's went in the following order.

1st one 59K mi. clutch in torque converter fell apart filling tranny with junk burning up all the bands and bushings.
2nd one lasted 800 miles, just long enough to get out of warranty. Same thing all over again except that it ate the main shaft.
3rd one lasted 1500 miles before it started acting just like it did the first 2 times. I pulled the stick and it was covered in ground up clutch material. New tranny again under warranty from Ford. Two weeks later same symptoms. Pulled the stick and lo and behold brown crunchy stuff sticking to everything. Truck went to chevy dealer where it was traded for Toyota Tacoma that weekend. (Good Riddance)

The only mod to this pos was 285/16 tires. Factory 4x4 with all the options for towing etc. in a shortbed regular cab. I drove it like it was made out of glass because it was my dream truck and I had no money to fix it if I broke it. So much for that idea.....

The motor knocked like mad when it was cold. It used a quart of oil every 4-500 mi. The thing was driven on long commutes and trips, no short trips except occasional trip to grocery store just to get gas and such. I practically lived at the ford dealer trying to get them to fix this thing right. After I traded it off for a big loss I found out that there was a programming glitch in the pcm that might have fixed it's tendency to eat torque converter clutches.

Did I forget to mention that both doors cracked in half just behind the window at the edge of the rubber gasket. And it had a constant pull to the right so hard that it would literally give me a cramp on long trips just keeping it on the road. ( It went to 4 alignment shops including ford. Nobody could find anything wrong with the truck, including taking apart the whole front diff, wheel bearings, half shafts etc. looking for the pull. To this day it is still a mystery to me. )


So you could say it was a lemon. But all of them that my friends have do similar things. 45K out of a tranny is good for most of them. The engines all use oil or leak it. They get crappy mileage and have no power when loaded. Heck mine wouldn't tow a suzuki samurai without wheezing, even before it got the big tires.

I will always be a Ford man at heart, but they will be 60's 70's and some 80's Fords. I hope to never again be saddled with anything with the modular motor unless it's a V-10.

There is one good thing about all of this. It taught me how to be pursuasive with dealerships and how to research problems then attack with information to get results.

 

Actually the Jeep Rubicon comes with air lockers front AND back with D44s and the I6. The have a TM on the name of the lockers but the are likely licensed from ARB. I never play with Toys so I wouldn't know.

 

I actually stole a dozer to get my truck out last month... No one would have ventured out to rescue me I was in so deep. Just wish I had my camera, it looked so hopeless! BTW dozers are the ULTIMATE in off roadin' they go anywhere!