3.0 and towing
Senior User
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 377
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Originally Posted by RangerPilot
I'm not sure of the exact weight of your boat cadriver, but your trailer should have a tag riveted on it somewhere that lists the weight for the trailer,
Q: How good are those eBay hitches that you can install yourself?
Would you trust the bumper ball for towing near the max of the bumper
weight limit?
Postmaster
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 4,982
Likes: 1
From: Clearwater, Fl
i towed a 12x6 uhaul container with my tacoma 3.4 i had. the ball was on the bumper.
the container was not recommended for my truck, still did it anyways, went from mass to florida with no troubles.
the container was not recommended for my truck, still did it anyways, went from mass to florida with no troubles.
Elder User
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 524
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From: Liberty, MO
As far as the factory bumper and a ball goes, tow up to the max the bumper says w/o even thinking about it. The bumper is rated differently than what the truck can actually handle. The ball itself depending on its core strength can handle more pressure than w/e a bumper/trailer/hitch can put on it. They just arent your weak point. If there's a failure due to overloading it'll more likely be either your bumper or the removable part or the hitch. As far as the strength of a hitch goes, if you get a class 3 hitch or higher its max weight will be higher than what your truck is actually capable of safely hauling!
Post Fiend
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 8,462
Likes: 4
From: Durant, OK (SOSU)
Exactly. The bumper is the limiting factor on Ranger towing. That's why Ford sells an aftermarket hitch for the Ranger and has weight limits above the 2K pounds the bumper is rated for.
It's easy to see why a ball is so strong...it's nothing but a chunk of steel. Do make sure the ball is properly torqued (both of mine spec 200 ft/lbs). The mounting point on mine is rather pathetic, just a washer welded to the bottom of the bumper.
It's easy to see why a ball is so strong...it's nothing but a chunk of steel. Do make sure the ball is properly torqued (both of mine spec 200 ft/lbs). The mounting point on mine is rather pathetic, just a washer welded to the bottom of the bumper.
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New User
Joined: Mar 2007
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Around where i live with hills and mountains the manual is definately better. i talked to a guy that owns a feed store and he hauled feed regularly up and down a long mountain. he burned up the auto transmission trying to pull it.
bull dog transmissions have a really low first gear. if you want to get anywhere in one of those pulling out you really need to pull out in second if your not towing anything.
bull dog transmissions have a really low first gear. if you want to get anywhere in one of those pulling out you really need to pull out in second if your not towing anything.
Post Fiend
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 8,462
Likes: 4
From: Durant, OK (SOSU)
The first gear in the M5OD tranny we have isn't low enough to be a granny gear, so it's used for day to day driving. You can start in second if you want with the Rangers, but it'll quickly eat up the clutches.
The enemy of autos is heat. Heat will kill them faster than anything. That's why most production automatics in trucks come standard with some sort of tranny cooler. They are not generally required for manuals, but automatics need them due to the massive amounts of heat generated, mainly by the torque converter.
The enemy of autos is heat. Heat will kill them faster than anything. That's why most production automatics in trucks come standard with some sort of tranny cooler. They are not generally required for manuals, but automatics need them due to the massive amounts of heat generated, mainly by the torque converter.
Senior User
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 377
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I know this issue has nothing to do with towing, but since I'm here maybe you guys can help.
Today as I was waiting at the light, the oil gauge needle dropped to the bottom and came back fast to normal, ol this took less than a second,
I don't know if the oil pump is going out or the sensor, how do you guys can tell if the pump is working, I mean without installing a pressure gauge, maybe someone knows the way to tell without hooking up a pressure gauge?
I hope no one gets upset for me posting this here?
Today as I was waiting at the light, the oil gauge needle dropped to the bottom and came back fast to normal, ol this took less than a second,
I don't know if the oil pump is going out or the sensor, how do you guys can tell if the pump is working, I mean without installing a pressure gauge, maybe someone knows the way to tell without hooking up a pressure gauge?
I hope no one gets upset for me posting this here?
Elder User
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 771
Likes: 0
From: Aurora
You could've/should've started a new thread, but what the heck. The oil guage is a switch, not a guage. Mid scale means you have like more than something like 17(probably wrong and someone will likely say so) and zero means you have less than that. Check your oil and electrical connections to the sensor.
Senior User
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 377
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Originally Posted by fflintstone
The oil guage is a switch, not a guage. Mid scale means you have like more than something like 17(probably wrong and someone will likely say so) and zero means you have less than that. Check your oil and electrical connections to the sensor.
Ok so it's a switch, and maybe a bad connection is causing the neddle to jump and return to the middle? BTW it only did it once. is like a skipping a heart beat you always worry LOL.
Can a bad oil pump do that too? I'm just worry I might have a non working pump and that can blow the head gasket or worse.
If the pump is gone I should have a coolant temperature raising I guess?
Last and Final Q in this thread. What are the engine symptoms when you got very low oil or no pressure, can't trust the oil switch/needle.
Post Fiend
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 8,462
Likes: 4
From: Durant, OK (SOSU)
fflintstone is correct. The oil pressure "sender" is just a switch that closes at 7 PSI of oil pressure and causes the gauge to jump up to middle range and sit there.
The sender isn't the most reliable thing and so I'd suspect it to be faulty, but definetly check your oil first and then see if you can get a mechanical gauge to check the oil pressure.
The sender isn't the most reliable thing and so I'd suspect it to be faulty, but definetly check your oil first and then see if you can get a mechanical gauge to check the oil pressure.
Senior User
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 377
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Thanks guys, I search this site and I found plenty of info on the infamous oil pressure switch, there's hundreds of posts on this issue and RangerPilot is ol over the site with great info, no matter where you look he's there.
Can't get rid of him LOL
Can't get rid of him LOL
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