Which engine? My cousin bought a Ranger with the 4.0L. He feels the 3.0L is extremely under-powered. Up here in snow country, he specifically searched for a 2wd because of all the problems he heard about with the 4wd versions. A former coworker, (an automotive instructor) bought a new 2000 Ranger. Traded it for a new 2002 Dakota. Said he wanted either good power or good fuel mileage. He got neither with his Ranger. Now he has lots of power and slightly better fuel mileage with the 3.9L. Former student traded his '97 Ranger for a 2000 Dakota, also with the 3.9L a few months ago. Claims he's getting 20 mpg on the highway and loves the power. His Ranger got worse fuel mileage with a manual transmission. The Dakota has an automatic.
Another former coworker bought a new 2000 Ranger 4wd. Said the dealer replaced the front hubs twice under warranty. Forgot what he said the problem was but found out it was real common. The third time they failed, the dealer wouldn't fix it for free.
One advantage of the '98 and newer Ranger is they use a two-piece right upper control arm for the suspension. It makes alignment much easier. Unfortunately it was such a good idea that the part is not available from Ford. You must use the standard one-piece unit. NAPA, and probably other parts stores DO have replacements available. They will be expensive because you're forced to buy the control arm with integral ball joint. You buy just the ball joint with the Dakota. GM products like the S-10 and Blazer eat ball joints. We loved them because we sold lots of replacements, usually every 40,000 - 50,000 miles. You will also go through four to six generators in the life of the typical GM product. Ford and Chrysler have very little trouble with their generators.
You might ask around for advice from people who have a Ranger, but be aware a lot of people are loyal to their favorite brand and will be biased. My cousin, for example, is a Ford nut and he will overlook all of the problems he has had with his cars and trucks, but he loves to tease people about their vehicles even though they have much less trouble. You might also consider asking around some independent repair shops to see what mechanics are driving and why. Many of them love to give advice when they aren't busy.
Caradiodoc
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Monday, April 26th, 2010 AT 10:53 AM
