Comments: 1-15, 16-29
Pre-ignition. Oh, did I mention pre-ignition. My 2.3 liter 2004 XLT Ranger pings just like the 2.3 liter 1991 Ranger I had before it. I have to use premium gasoline even though the owner's manual says 87 octane is fine. WRONG! WRONG! WRONG! On warm days the thing pings like a pinball machine if it is not filled with 92 octane. I do not know how I let myself get talked into another Ranger. I guess figured after 13 years Ford should have fixed the problem. But NO. Now I am stuck with paying extra for premium gas. Next time I will pay the additional "gas money" up front and get another brand truck: one that really runs on regular gas.
On another note, the 2004 Ranger has blind spots that were not present in my 1991. The seats, for one, are higher in the back and make it harder to look back when you turn your head while parking, etc. Additionally, the rear pillars seem to be wider on my 2004 regular cab than on my 1991 regular cab. Or, perhaps the rear view mirrors are in a slightly different location. Either way, my ability to see vehicles coming up from behind in the lane next to the driver has been reduced.
I have a 1987 ford ranger i'ts the best I ever had. I plow with, but I have a problem with the right front brake locking up. Ihave 63000 on it. any ideas. Someone told it was the brake line. I say it's the calaper. Idon't know john.
I have a 2004 Ford Ranger XLT and it's been in the shop 4 times in it's first 3600 miles because of a miss around 40 mph. The dealer told me today that the torque converter pulses at that speed, it's a characteristic of the vehicle, and all Rangers do it, including the 2005s. My highway gas mileage is 17 mpg, and that's with me using cruise control and trying to get the best I can. I really have trouble believing that this is a widespread problem. Does anyone else have the same "characteristic" in their Ranger; and if so what did you do to fix it?
All I can say is if your so unhappy with the pinging of the engine or the blindspots, which seem to be the only complaints you have, than you shouldn't have bought it. After all anyone in their right mind is going to take any vehicle on a thorough test drive before purchasing the vehicle, new or used. The blindspots and pinging you should have noticed in a test drive, and if it does make you that unhappy you shouldn't have bought the truck. Sounds like to me, the truck isn't the biggest problem, and the biggest problem is you not taking the truck on a test drive at all, or not paying any attention on a test drive.
Actually, your owners manual is written for the owner to follow. For example, when it says to use 87 octane, you are supposed to use 87 octane. Most cars on the road today do not/should not use a high test gasoline. I was running 89 octane in my 2001 Ranger for about 20k miles. One day I filled with 87 ocatane on the advice of a very educated car friend and guess what, the engine ran smoother and had more power. The reason is the compression of your engine is not designed to effectively burn high test gas. Most people think that a high test gas burns "cleaner." That is not the case. An octane rating is merely the level at which the gasoline ignites and a lower compression engine (like the Ranger and most other cars) have lower compression cylingers. Try running what the manual says and I bet some.. if not all.. of you pinging and missing problems will disappear.
I have an 04 ford ranger with the 2.3 engine. it clearly states in the owners manuel not to be alarmed by a knocking sound unless it gets worse. A lot of Ford 4 bangers will have a knock to them. I have owned 3 and most have had over 100000 miles on them.
I have a 2004 Ranger XLT with the 4.0L V6 (7,500 miles). This is my third straight Ranger (previously I have an 87 2.3L, and a 95 3.0, both XLT extended cab). The pinging characteristic is common to Rangers who get a lot of city driving. I agree that the 87 octane fuel yields the best result in mileage and power, and I've found the best way to reduce the pinging effect is to blow the carbon out of the system with good runs at 3,000+ RPM from time to time (a nice hard acceleration from a stop light will handle this). Obviously, use a respectable gasoline and be consistent with the brand.
With respect to the reduced field of vision, I admit this is true in the 2004, but the high back bucket seats are much more comfortable than previous years, and are worth it. Solution to blindspots: two-inch convex mirrors on the lower outside corners of the rear-view mirrors. Costs about $2.50 for the pair at Autozone.
Finally, concerning the Ranger with low highway mileage, this isn't right. My 4.0L Ranger gets around 22 MPG on the highway, more if I drop the tailgate to lower the wind resistance. It doesn't miss or do anything weird while accelerating, so the line about the torque converter is BS, imho.
Just my two cents...
My 2004 ranger XLT reg cab is the best truck I've ever had 32.5 mpg my last tank (The 2.3 runs like a dream.) On 87 reg gas. Only took 42 years for me to find the truck I love and I would kill anyone if they tried to take it away from me.
32mpg Wow what ever you do Don't TOUCH IT...I BET FORD WOULD BE SURPRISED.
I own a 2004 Ranger XLT FX4, and it is my dream truck. I've owned many other vehicles; cars, 2WD trucks, and 4x4 trucks, but this one is the absolute best! I've had no problems with it (@ 32,000 miles), and I see nothing that points toward future problems. Kudos to Ford Motor Company for bringing back a lapsed devotee!
Joe in Phila., PA.
Wait till you get in an accident with those higher seats. AS you whipwash your head back and forth you'll appreciate that ford has higher headrests so your head hits something soft and supportive. Not the rear glass which might cause a little more than an owie.
I am on my 5th Ranger. The only comment I can offer about the 4 cyclinder models is... they NEVER will perform, sound like, or not ping, like ones with a larger V6 engine. So I learned to stop over-working / expecting from them... and buy only V6 models. However I was a contractor with up to 1000lb payloads sometimes, so we already know that was abusive. Last one was on 184,000 miles before I sold it to a contractor. The money was far better than I could have recieved as a trade in of course. I'm STILL on my 2002 xlt 3.0 4x2. No complaints from this one either. Let's face it Ford has a simple design that is tried and true. I hope they continue it.
Got a 1987 Ford Ranger XLT.
Major problems I have had has been windshield, it was cracked along the bottom, and now its all over the place, but it may have been cause of the rearview mirror or someone hit it with a ball or something, not sure. The cracks along the bottom seem to be common with ford trucks..
Got a whooshing sound when I accelerate, any ideas? Injector or what? got the O2 sensor replaced, but not sure what it did.
I went from having an okay MPG around 12.5 to much lower of late, maybe cause of the cold and all, I do plug it in, but sometimes I do not and the MPG goes to crap when I do that..
Went from a 3/4 tank to 1/4 a tank in 12 miles, not sure what is up, maybe got a gas line leak that only seems to come on when it is cold or.. Also have dual tanks, I do not use the back tank any more cause of gas going away, but..
Any ideas, please I need some help on this, cannot afford the loss of fuel, and winter here is -30F or so, and I sometimes need to leave my truck running to keep it warm, I delivery pizzas (not a good vehicle to do that in, but I get creative).
Abrigon@gmail.com.
Plan to if I can, take it to a buddy to see, cannot afford to get much fixed.. The O2 sensor was cause of I'm standards, so not sure, may have been a faulty one or..
I do love my truck, like having 4wd even if it is not working right at this time.. Maybe the cold. But it starts at -30F and the heater works great, a lot better than my Chevy car I had before, and hated my old VW when it came to heat..
Mike
North Pole.
I drive a 1999 Ford Ranger XLT 4x4 SuperCab with a tailgate cover and with 94,000 Miles. I calculated 12.3 city miles on my last fill up with Regular Gasoline. Does anyone know how to boost my city mileage.
Thanks,
Michael.
I own and drive a 93 Ranger XLT. Has covered 120,000 miles, with no problems. Change the oil and filters at the right service gaps and it`ll run forever.
The guy with the 1987 ford ranger...
Just replace the windshield, its not the fault of the truck. Whoosing sound? Coming from where? Or maybe its air coming in through the windshield you can't seem to fix.
Bad mpg? Tune up.
Gas tank? Broken or rusted fuel lines. I'd check the brake lines as well.
Well, really, there isn't much you can do about your truck seeing as you have no money to maintain it and its falling apart. The only way to keep it in good condition would be to spend some money and get it fixed.
The lack of a 4wd system is probably due to lack of maintainace...