I have posted on here before about my ranger. It is acting up again. So i have soem ???'s

First off, do Rangers come with grease fittings in the Ball Joints? I always though no, but this one has them in 3 out of the 4. I am guessing they were replaced since I bought this truck used. Also how many miles do they normally last?

Ok now to the clutch issues.....I need to have my clutch replaced. I have all of the parts but just need ot get my mom to pay for the work. I ma not going to do a clutch job, no time/not enough experience. The truck is real hard to put into gear. Then if you have the clutch all the way to the floor and rev the engine, the truck wants to move kind of. I am assuming it is not disengaging/engaging all the way. Also if you put it in neutral, then push the clutch in an out, then try reverse, it grinds. What the manual said to do. So is it toast or what, I ma sayign so.

Now onto plugs/wires. I have a set of motorcraft plugs from AutoZone. However I was warned about using the plug wires from there. I was going to go get OEM's but they are like 75 a set! Are there any good aftermarket ones or should I stick to Ford parts?

Finally is there anywhere online to buy OEM Ford parts? I would love to order stuff online instead of being gouged by my local dealers.....

Thanks in advance...DR

 

As far as the clutch, that sure sounds like it is not releasing. Usually, when the clutch doesn't release it is because of a problem with they hydraulics. It could be air in the lines that needs to be bled out, or a bad slave cylinder/master cylinder. Check the fluid level (there is a little reservoir under the hood, right above the pedal.) and make sure there is enough.
The slave on these trucks is prone to failure, and is mounted inside the bellhousing, so you still have to take the tranny out to replace it, and once the tranny is out it is almost always worth it to replace all the clutch components while you (or your mechanic) are in there.
Even if bleeding seems to solve the problem, it's probably temporary. There shouldn't be any way for air to get into the system, so if air is getting in it is because something is wrong. (The same goes for losing fluid.)

The wires I put in my truck came from NAPA, and I think I paid $45. They seem to be fine, but they are only about 3 months old, and the old ones were so bad that anything would seem an improvement.

 

1) I think they did away with them in 95; my old 94 had them when I bought it new. However, Ford probably uses parts from a few different vendors so there may be exceptions as well as the possibility that they deplete old stock as they are building vehicles then install the new/revised.

2) This sounds like the perfect description for a failed pilot bearing although there is a slight chance it's the throwout bearing or possibly the master/slave cyl is failing. This assumes the clutch pedal otherwise feels normal. Have you recently checked the fluid level? That little bearing is a scant $10 or so. IMO, it would be a good learning experience for you to install it yourself . You can rent a puller for the bearing or bust it up with a screwdriver, or carefully hacksaw the case apart to remove it. That bearing will get worse each time you use it and they don't bet better if ignored.

3) I've never heard of Motorcraft wires from Autozone being bad. I think the plugs you got from Autozone are Autolite and not Motorcraft as indicated.

4) Depending on what you want, motorcraftparts.com might help. Myself, when I insist on an OEM part I simply call my dealer and ask them for the price. Then, and AFTER I get the price I tell them it's for Joe Blows Auto Service (you can invent a business name ) and ask what my price is. Now I can compare and ensure that I got the "brother in law" discount, usually ranging from 10 - 40% depending on the part. For aftermarket you might like rockauto.com.

 

I never tried to bleed it....I went ahead and bought all of the parts though. The fluid in the resivoir is full, no leaks. I didn't say earlier that the clutch is extremely stiff and has wlasy been that way since I bought the truck.


So I jack it up a little whil ago and wiggled the tires. Wheel bearings are toast, way too much play. They have been greased/tightened once before. I wanted to see how bad my brak pads actually were. To my surprise, I have a crack in the passenger rotor. I would love ot get two new Ford OEM rotors but that would be too costly. How crappy are the AutoZone/Nappa?Advanced/ederal ones? Just curious.

Also any places to get OEM stuff online?

Thanks, DR

 

I recall reading a TSB regarding aftermarket rotors of a chineaese nature being vulnerable to cracking. You might look at Raybestos parts and verify that their rotors are (*still*) made here, where they should be made, in the USofA, rather than in a country that could care less about the safety of Americans. The junkyard is an option but if a 95 is like my old 94 then there is only .030" that can be turned before the rotor is scrap. That ain't much and I wore one down without ever running it metal-to-metal . Again, have a look at the websites I noted. BTW, you might not like the shipping cost on a rotor; beware. Also, don't drive with loose wheel bearing as you will possibly cause a bearing to overheat, then drag, then weld itself to the spindle. This will increase your repair cost and downtime.

 

eBay is OK if you can handle shipping and the delay it causes. I'd reccomend good pics though.
JC Whitley perhaps? I know they have rotors, dunno about their quality or fit on our trucks.
Boneyard is a good option too, find your year as best you can and pull them, shouldn't be much at all.

 

All sounds good. I guess I will just go with the NAPA or other auto parts option. I just know from experience that a set of AutoZone break pads last say 25-30K miles where I got like 45 out of my Motocrafts.


On my old rRanger, an 88, the original water pump lasted around 60-65K miles. From then on I must have put on atleast 3! no lie until I finally sold the truck at 135k miles. My freind who was a professional mechanic said well the core was Ford Motorcraft, but the bearing and seal wasn't, which is why they kept goign bad. Seriously, how can you wear out a water pump? A clutch or brakes from eratic driving i understand, but a water pump?

DR