Faults:

Dome light has never worked, door ajar light always on.

Power steering leak at ~120k.

Radiator leak at ~145k.

Auto tranny rebuilt at 155k.

Oil pressure sensor starting to go bad.

General Comments:

This has been an excellent truck. It was owned and maintained by my girlfriend since 80k. She just does the basic maintenance (oil every 5k, etc) and this damn thing just seems to keep on going. It still runs like a top, even with 160k it feels tight. I have never owned a vehicle with such a strong engine.

My dad had an '86 Toyota pickup with ~180k that still ran great but it leaked oil like CRAZY... this little ranger doesn't leak a drop of oil. It also has good power for a 4 cyl. Acceleration is crisp even with a dirt bike in the back, or a load headed toward the dump.

We have used this truck to do everything: Thousand mile trips, hauling cement, loading the dirt bikes up for a ride, moving, etc, etc... takes it all in stride! Never let us down!

The BAD:

There are 8 spark plugs and they are a pain to change! Took three hours and a lot of beer. Not easy like the Chevy (10 min job).

Oil pressure sensor is going out. I don't care it, it's just the gauge.

Power steering leak was a pesky bugger. Finally took it to the mechanic and it was just a hose (go figure).

The only MAIN problem we've had with the truck is that the tranny went out a few months ago and cost over $1000 to repair. This is probably due to my girlfriends neglect to do anything other than oil changes. But if I were in the market for a Ranger I would try to find a 5 speed.

I have always been a Chevy guy, but this truck has definitely changed my mind. Ford really engineered the hell out of this tight little truck.

Overall, can't beat the 2.5l or 2.3l Rangers. The 2.5l has good power and gets 20/25 mpg. The components all seem to be lasting very well too!

Faults:

Regular maintenance (brakes and battery) and a rebuilt valve body (250$). This truck has been GREAT!!!

General Comments:

Ford got the Ranger right 20 years ago. My first Ranger went 273,00 miles (1988 2.9L) before the motor blew.

My 1999 4.0 Ranger has been another great Ford truck. Good power, awesome off-road and super-reliable.

The factory undercoating has resisted ANY rust for 10 years.

I had a 2001 Chevy S-10 and that was about as CHEAP as it gets. HORRIBLE. Fuel pump, alternator, ball-joints, tie-rod ends, etc. Every month it was something else.

Ford builds the best truck, hands down.

Faults:

ABS was screwing up... would come on every time I would come to a stop. It ended up just needing cleaning.

The transmission makes a awful clunking. On step-off, even with the lightest step-off imaginable, the whole truck shakes. The same thing happens when you come to a stop. Nothing has broken yet, but I don't have much faith it's going to fix itself.

Something is wrong with the starter. Most of the time the truck fires right up without a problem. Other times, it will sit there and try to start without any fire, and other times it won't even turn over. I haven't addressed this yet because it doesn't happen enough.

Drivers side door hinge came loose, resulting in unimaginable effort to close the door right.

The wheels are corroding... ugly as you can imagine.

General Comments:

I bought this truck because my Tacoma was bought back by Toyota for frame rust. I loved that truck, and it isn't going to be easy to ever replace it.

I sit up higher in my Ranger than the Tacoma.

About the only thing I like over my Tacoma is the looks of the interior of this truck. The beige interior surpasses the Tacoma's bland and boring gray interior. Even though my Tacoma's lame interior was well, lame, it was built much better than this one. I never heard a squeak, rattle, or buzz in my 9 years of owning it. I've had this for about 3 months and it sounds like the whole thing could fall apart.

Other than that, I don't like the Rangers flexy chassis. On "washboard" gravel roads and heavily pitted roads, the truck will immediately swing it's rear end out. The only way I can avoid this is if I slow down to maybe 10 mph. It's already sent me into a field once, and it was during the summer. Thank God there was no damage. I'm interested to see how it handles in a Pennsylvania winter. Also, I realize that this truck is NOT a sports car, but come on. The steering is as numb as a prosthetic leg, and it rolls so much I feel like I'm going to tip over if I take a turn at more than 30 mph. My Tacoma cruised around corners like a breeze, and my Tacoma never skirted off the road like my Ranger does.

The 4.0 V6 is decent off the line, but you might as well forget about passing that dawdling Taurus in front of you. The only way you can really pass someone quickly is to turn the overdrive off and hold it to the floor. My 4 cylinder Tacoma could pass quicker than this thing, and that's saying something. Not to mention fuel economy. I realize that this is a truck, but it is a COMPACT truck. One of my co-workers drive a Toyota Tundra with a 4.7L V8 in it and we average the same mile per gallon!! (18 mpg)

Overall, I'm pretty disappointed. This truck only has close to 70k miles. Besides the frame rusting out, my Tacoma ran like a champ, and it had 110k miles on it when it was bought back.

Man I miss my Tacoma...