Ford Ranger

Cruising Cruze · Guru

Ford Ranger

Nomadic4wd · Newbie

2nd hand experience has been potential issue with transmission which sounded similar to the problems with the Territory. Problems appearing after 100K.

grandpabob · Senior Member

Hi John,

I have a 2010 BT-50 auto towing 2.2 tonne. Have not had any problems i 30k of towing.

chris & terry · Senior Member

We have had a 2008 single cab 4x4 Ranger from new (now done just over 100k). We are on the road full time, the first 12mths towing a Jayco Flamingo & since towing a 19 1/2ft Starcraft. The Starcraft comes in at around 2.2 ton, while the Ranger usually comes in at around 2.6 ton. I have only had two real problems, each within the first 12mths. Firstly I burnt out the clutch in around 5k, found it was with reversing the Flamingo into tight, uphill positions (using 2 wheel drive). This was replaced with a heavy duty after market model, & now when reverse maneuvering I always engage 4x4 & have not had a problem since, (I have been told many times in my travels that there are problems with the clutch in the Ranger, said to be over geared in first gear, just be aware of this & drive accordingly). The second problem was with the springs starting to flatten out, this appears to have been rectified when I bought the Starcraft & installed a heavy duty WDH & the assistance of air bag suspension. All in all though I have found the Ranger to be very reliable & more than up to the job of towing my van & all the necessary overflow in the back (xtra fuel, water, 80lt Waco, generator + much more. Hope this is of some assistance to you.

Terry R.

Cruising Cruze · Guru

Thanks for your reply's all

It's going to look like that we going for 4x2 High rider with Canopy
not going to bush bash with it so we think that 4x2 is plenty for what we want, and we only have at the moment a small 840 kg Tarra van .
we will try for next year to get an Monarch Crusader around 1100 kg
so it will have plenty of power for its purpose

Cheers John

mr glassies · Guru

just buy a holden ya dont have to ask for advice with them lmdo merry xmas m88888888888888888 and mrs m8888888888888

dibs

Cruising Cruze · Guru

Hahahahaha

Have a good time Dibs

I just want to get rid of an Holden they can't tow that much :):):):) M888888888888888

Cheers John

Captain · Veteran Member

I recently purchased a 2013 Ranger, 4X4, 5 cylinder, 3.2 ltr, 6 speed auto to tow my 2.3t van. Wouldn't know the van was on the back. It has a 3500kg towing capacity so I have plenty in reserve. Each model Ranger seems to get better.

Aussietraveler · Newbie

I have a 2010 4x4 it's a good car I have had to have the cluch replaced under warenty and the syncromesh replaced again under warenty .
Just make sure you get a good warenty motor wise it's been great towing our nealy 3 ton van we only use 14 lt per 100 km
Andrew

Cloak · Guru

I'd say they are a winner with the boaties too. They're everywhere down here in Warneet.

Thunderchild69 · Veteran Member

A footnote to the Ranger (PX series) transmission that I have alluded to in another post. I had been towing 3200kg in 46 degree heat and the transmission tripped into limp mode several times "out the back of nowhere". Well, between Camooweal and the Three Ways actually.

After a reset by switching the engine off then on again, I continued our journey by selecting SPORT mode and holding the transmission in 5th gear. This I (correctly) surmised would increase the oil flow through the cooler and help the tranny deal with the high ambient temps.

I have since returned home and had the vehicle checked by the local Ford dealer. They told me everything was okay and had reset the computer to clear the faults. They also advised that my assumption regarding the oil cooling was correct and I should have been operating in SPORT mode "as per the manual".

This puzzled me as I had specifically read the manual section relating to Towing (starts at Page 111) and it said nothing about this caveat in relation to towing. When I queried this with the dealer he kindly pointed out that the recommendation regarding towing with SPORT mode selected wasn't in the TOWING section but was listed in the TRANSMISSION section (Page 88 under Notes on SPORT mode) and sure enough - that is where it is buried - an obscure note on towing heavy loads or operating in hilly terrain. Of course - how silly of me to expect towing stuff to be in towing!

My selection of 5th gear was, according to the same operating note, not necessary as the shift to SPORT alone remaps the gear changes and allows the gearbox to hold gears longer and downshift earlier than when in DRIVE.

I think I'll just keep it in 5th and be done with it though

Aus-Kiwi · Guru

When you think about it.. ???
Why do they have the 1.2.3.4 indents on trans selector ???
So they can be used manually..
Sheesh it didn't take long to forget what we had to do I the old cars!!
Its hard on engine also.. The engine is labouring throttle possibly 3/4 open ..
The turbo is punching heaps of boost into engine which starts to heat things up..
Must say we are spoilt !! Go drive that 70's car ...Then you realise it wasn't that great !!

Knowledge speaks, but wisdom listens.