1999 Ford Ranger XLT 4.0 from North America

Summary:

Affordable, Dependable, Power beyond the usual Ford

Faults:

Windshield wipers come on without warning from time to time.

To get better mileage I had to customize my exhaust and put on a forced air intake. Now it gets about 400 miles to a 12 gallon tank.

Power steering leaks a bit, but adding fluid is cheap.

Platinum Four spark plugs also improve gas mileage as well as jump in horsepower. Also after-market plug wires.

Never had the vehicle in the shop. Maintaining is easy as long as you get the manual.

Passenger side air bag fried out at 76000 miles. Still haven't fixed. Don't care much for passengers anyway.

General Comments:

This truck is a demon on the road. I am quite fond of racing and I've never been beaten in this truck.

Right turns at high speeds are a little scary. The front tires don't like to hold the road.

Cabin is about all you can expect from a ford truck. Seems to leak a little though.

Rear end loves to spin if you don't have the right tires on it. It's a little light in the rear.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 18th December, 2003

1999 Ford Ranger Base 3.0 V6 from North America

Summary:

A good, reliable truck

Faults:

Absolutely nothing has gone wrong with this vehicle.

General Comments:

The 3.0 liter V-6 has a good amount of power. With the 5 speed manual it is fairly quick. I haven't had it very long, but I have beat on it pretty hard and it took it in stride. The cab is a little small, but I'm 6'6", so that's to be expected I suppose. I had a pinging problem at first, but I took out the air silencer and airbox and installed a cone filter, no more pinging now.

This truck is the base model with air conditioning.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 17th November, 2003

1999 Ford Ranger XLT 4.0L from North America

Summary:

A great truck with a weak motor

Faults:

Wipers turned on by themselves. Switch replaced under warranty.

Drive shaft flange made pinging noise when going into reverse. New drive shaft put in under warranty.

General Comments:

Seats are cheap. Just barely consider them comfortable. Material is thin and looks cheap.

Dash and controls are good. No squeaks, good control layout. Looks good, but plain.

Motor is weak. It has decent torque to get moving, and hauls and tows OK. But anything over 60mph, this motor is gasping. Trying to pass a tractor-trailer up a hill at 70mph is pretty much out of the question. I understand the 2000 and up Rangers have more power. I will say that the highway driving was the only time the motor let me down. In town it was perfectly fine.

Transmission is firm and seems bulletproof. Loved the 5-speed automatic. Just needs a real motor to go with it.

Suspension was truck like, but not too harsh. This was my daily driver for 3 years and after getting used to a truck's ride, I never gave it a second thought. I was really impressed once I put some weight in the bed, like 400 pounds. It took it fine and rode a little more car like. The truck didn't even seem to notice minor road imperfections.

Road noise. Man these things are loud. I know it's not a Lexus, but wow. Wind noise was the worst, the tires were pretty quiet. Doors are thin, let in a lot of noise.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 2nd October, 2003

25th Feb 2005, 08:15

I agree th only time my 1999 Ford ranger has let me down was trying to pass up hill. Believe me I try all the time and after 60mph the truck just does' nt have that extra kick of acceleration to get you up and passed a hill very quickly.

15th Nov 2007, 13:33

The 99 Ranger is a good truck. It needs more power for up hill and it does stink when the wipers turn on by them self. Ford needed to make the motor better. They especially need to change the plastic upper intake on the 4.0 liters, so they don't warp and you have a lot of problems.

8th Jul 2008, 14:53

1999 Ford Ranger Truck 3.0L 4x4 has been a fair vehicle & provided a lot of use but with points to remember. At 119,000 miles the Oil Pan gasket has pushed itself out the front and it now leaks oil by the quart. The fix is ten and one half hours of labor to raise the engine, lower the four-wheel drive unit or almost $900.00. A bit much to change a gasket! The PCV system works OK. Surging at 100,000 miles was fixed by a new set of wires & plugs. The intake manifold plugged up with very thick carbon deposits every two years from the start and was fixed by a $600.00 EPROM flash at the dealership at 90,000 miles - carbon was chipped out with tools & grinders. Since new the four-wheel drive unit turns itself on at various times of the month making a winding sound like something is going to explode. Fix is to turn the knob and return it to rest. The right front brake caliper sticks and drags since new. It has been replaced three times. Based on a sound meter normal sound level in the XLT Cab is 90 to 110 Db depending on the road surface. Original tires were replaced at the dealership with lumpy-thumpy Goodyear tires that had to be rotated & balanced every other month for 40,000 miles. All in all - second & last Ford ever!