Ranger, s10, Sonoma, or Dakota

[DRIVEN]

Re: Anyone ever have a Ford Ranger?

The 4cyl Rangers have always been decent. The no-frills trucks are great and many are in fleet use. Do NOT buy one with the SOHC 4.0 engine. Why? Ask Google about the timing chains and you'll see.

 

[bill]

Re: Anyone ever have a Ford Ranger?

Not to rain on your parade...but I recommend a nissan frontier 4x2 is a great truck, economical, very dependable...Ive owned 3, and they dont break down and they are super cheap to own. Ive owned a few ford trucks and even used to sell them at a dealership...but unless its an F150, with a stick shift and a straight 6 engine, I wont buy another one. just my 2 cents.....

 

[bigdawg]

Re: Anyone ever have a Ford Ranger?

Pencero take it easy lol and my monte with manual windows to be honest is degrading when u go to McDonald's I always felt broke and lessor lol with my regal though my nose is up haha

 

[Lorenzo]

Re: Anyone ever have a Ford Ranger?

Not to rain on your parade...but I recommend a nissan frontier 4x2 is a great truck, economical, very dependable...Ive owned 3, and they dont break down and they are super cheap to own. Ive owned a few ford trucks and even used to sell them at a dealership...but unless its an F150, with a stick shift and a straight 6 engine, I wont buy another one. just my 2 cents.....

To be honest ive never really liked Nissan, and for a truck i wanted to stay with an American brand 🙂 I like the look a bit better of the Ford Ranger, plus the Ranger has been in the world for along time so there is alot of history on it and more of a part source for it too if anything were to break down. Im planning on getting the 5 speed model so i hope the transmissions are good and better then the automatic version. Just worried that the 4.0l is gonna suck gas like my Monte Carlo, but there is ways to improve the mileage a bit i hope.

 

[DRIVEN]

Re: Anyone ever have a Ford Ranger?

The 4cyl Rangers have always been decent. The no-frills trucks are great and many are in fleet use. Do NOT buy one with the SOHC 4.0 engine. Why? Ask Google about the timing chains and you'll see.

Do I need to repeat myself?

Really, your history and parts availability arguments are invalid. Nissan (under the Datsun name in the US) and Toyota have a longer history with building small trucks. You wouldn't have any more trouble getting parts for them than a Ford. If "buying American" is your thing, the Frontier is built in Tennessee and the Tacoma in California. The Nissan, Toyota, and Chevy Colorado ALL get better mpg and make more power than the Ranger. The Ranger 4.0 sohc is the worst engine of the bunch. I'm speaking from personal experience, not just regurgitating stuff I heard on the interwebz.

 

[Lorenzo]

Re: Anyone ever have a Ford Ranger?

The 4cyl Rangers have always been decent. The no-frills trucks are great and many are in fleet use. Do NOT buy one with the SOHC 4.0 engine. Why? Ask Google about the timing chains and you'll see.

Do I need to repeat myself?

Really, your history and parts availability arguments are invalid. Nissan (under the Datsun name in the US) and Toyota have a longer history with building small trucks. You wouldn't have any more trouble getting parts for them than a Ford. If "buying American" is your thing, the Frontier is built in Tennessee and the Tacoma in California. The Nissan, Toyota, and Chevy Colorado ALL get better mpg and make more power than the Ranger. The Ranger 4.0 sohc is the worst engine of the bunch. I'm speaking from personal experience, not just regurgitating stuff I heard on the interwebz.

Ok then i looked online about the timing chains and it was more noticiable in the earlier 4.0 sohc ones. Apparently this problem has been fixed with the newer rangers. Trust me i do want to get the 4cyl but i cant find any of them used for sale. If i do find a couple then i would not buy the 6 cyl for sure!

 

[DRIVEN]

Re: Anyone ever have a Ford Ranger?

Sounds like patience is the key. If you have the time to hunt, you'll find exactly what you're looking for. Hopefully there's no deadline. Keep us posted on your final decision.

 

[Lorenzo]

Re: Anyone ever have a Ford Ranger?

Sounds like patience is the key. If you have the time to hunt, you'll find exactly what you're looking for. Hopefully there's no deadline. Keep us posted on your final decision.

Well thing is i dont really have time to hunt. The car is going to be coming off insurance soon and is going to be parked for the winter so i have to find one. If i have to go for the v6 then i guess its my choice but im looking everywhere for a 5 speed 4cyl and cant find crap! I looked a chevy Colorados new and sh*t they are expensive! over 25000 just to start! I wish Ford still made the Ranger 🙁

 

[Blake442]

Re: Anyone ever have a Ford Ranger?

...The 4.0 v6 isn't even a bad engine on gas, I mean the 4.6 gets 22mpg w 2 extra cylinders so you add a couple mpg for the missing 2 and thats what you have... The ony reason ford cancelled them is they over powered their supply curve and killed the demand!

Good thing you made sure you knew your facts before you posted...

Rangers were built here in St. Paul. Production stopped in Dec '11.
It was scheduled to stop 3 years ago, but they had been selling so well they postponed the closing.
Ford pulled the plug because the Rangers 30 year old chassis wasn't up to par with the upcoming federal mileage and safety regulations.
The St. Paul assembly plant was also the oldest Ford plant still in operation, built around 1925.
Updating the truck and the plant just wasn't cost effective to the bean counters...

The 4-cylinder is the only way to go. The 4.0 is a sh*t motor, and they get such lousy gas mileage (15 mpg), that you might as well just get a V8 1/2 ton that can actually pull a trailer...

 

[DRIVEN]

Re: Anyone ever have a Ford Ranger?

Blake442, I agree with pretty much everything you said. The Ranger had become redundant. The "new" F150 is essentially replacing th V6 version. Slightly bigger, better mpg, more power, more payload. The Transit Connect is filling the delivery fleet hole in my area that used to be occupied by 4cyl Rangers.