New Ford Ranger mega thread

Yeah....there’s countless threads of third gens on tow trucks......

Even if that was somewhat true, what does that have to do with Ford stuffing an engine with known issues on multiple models into a truck mated to a tranny that is proving problematic for both GM and Ford?

Ford will lure a ton of buyers into this thing. No argument here. Still doesn’t change the fact that the power train is a POS.

 

The whole truck is butt ugly.

 

I see you've been a member since August of 2017. That means you missed the CPS debacle in the summer 2016 where brand new 3rd gens were being left stranded left and right. Some were stalled on interstate highways in compromising situations and left waiting to be towed to the dealer. It was getting so bad we were actually keeping an active count all summer until we lost count past 17 posted on the forum. That is 17 Tacomas stranded. Here is a sample of that terrible 2016 summer:

https://www.tacomaworld.com/posts/13028607/

The point is the brand new 3rd gen had some growing pains. This Ford Ranger may have growing pains. But these days, American and Mexican made Toyotas are being made to the same quality as their American competitors and not at the level of Toyota's previous reputation. The Ford Ranger could have early issues, but I'm sure Ford will resolve them quickly if they want to beat the Tacoma in sales.

Ford is taking an huge risk with cannibalizing F-150 sales with this Ranger and wanting to dethrone the Tacoma, so I bet they are trying to make an effort not to mess it up.

 

You could argue there aren't a lot of traditional truck buyers that want a turbo cause THERE'S NO REPLACEMENT FOR DISPLACEMENT MURICAAAAA. As the truck buyer market is changing so are the trucks. Chevy is putting out a 4cyl turbo soon that makes more power and torque than one of their V8s did just a few years ago.

Buyers want more power and gov wants better efficiency. Turbo is the easiest way to do that.

 

I get that. I have no issue with a 4 cylinder turbo non diesel truck engine....but I live in Northern California.

If I lived in the desert, where the Ford Ranger was ....ah....endurance tested....I would not touch a non diesel turbo with a ten foot pole.

This is the same eco boost that has been noted by Motor Trend as losing power when the ambient temp was 55 degrees. Imagine that turd at 112 degrees. No thanks.

 

Every new generation has growing pains. The Ranger is inheriting full grown pains from several different models.

Regardless of how you feel about the turd gen, Toyota has a reputation for quality and longevity that results in high resale values and low ownership costs.

Let's look at Ford's track record - let's focus on trucks:

1. The unforgettable 6.0 powerstroke. 2003 to 2007. A legacy of shame. So bad, Ford fucking abandoned it. Some of the more common issues: TTY head bolt failures, EGR valve/cooler failures, oil cooler failures, ICP FICM failures, injector control sensor/pressure failures, high pressure oil pump failures, turbocharger failures, oil rail leaks, etc. These are the COMMON problems. How did Ford deal with it? They abandoned it.

2. The truly shit-tastic 6.4 power stroke, 2008-2011. Hall of Shame inductee of one of the worst engines ever stuck in a truck and a giant middle finger to the Ford faithful. Again, such a rotting piece of offal that they completely shit-canned it after 4 years. Some cute little surprises the 6.4 gave it's owners: abysmal fuel economy, a regen cycle that melted the plastic bumpers of imported cars parked too close to the exhaust, scary levels of fuel dilution - also known as "the oh shit, I've got a bit of oil in my fuel" surprise, radiators that leaked worse than grandma's saggy old Poise Pads, damage to the high pressure fuel system due to fuel/water separation issues, also known as the "oh shit I have a bit of fuel in my water" gift, DPF's that clogged faster than a toilet on all you can eat McRib night, cavitation of the front engine cover, and a left over from the 6.0 powerCHOKE: EGR oil cooler clogging.

I'd like to go back and talk about the best feature of the 6.4 powerstroke, it's ability to belch fire out of it's exhaust. A PG&E trouble man once told me that his truck, while idling, melting the front bumper cover off of a civic he was parked in front of. Again, in true Ford fashion, they did not attempt to keep the platform, they shit on everyone who bought one and abandoned it. Aha! A pattern is emerging!

3. That brings us to the 6.7 Scorpion. Now this one is near and dear to my heart. In their second and third year, we decided to gamble and buy 15 of these as crew trucks - 3/4 and 1 tons. Guess what? Ford's inability to master the regen cycle ended in a mass issue with the turbos failing and - my favorite part - they were so fucking stupid that they placed the turbo atop the left cylinder bank. Well lo and behold after about 7500 miles almost all of ours began shaking themselves to bits whenever the went into regen. Ford brought out a tech from Dearborn to our local dealer as part of a nationwide attempt to figure out what type of unholy butt-fuckery they engineered into their trucks.

The verdict? During regen, the turbo does its dirty duty to increase heat and in turn heats up the left cylinder bank - absolutely screwing with the valve clearances. So we got a bunch of new left cylinders banks. Check out post No. 5.

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1396676-2015-f350-regen-issues.html

Unfortunately, those dipshits didn't come out with a programming fix for another year. In that time we lost another round of turbos and cylinder heads. These things eat turbo bearings like no one's business - we were literally told to stop idling them. Oh, and the EGR systems and DPFs need way more frequent (and expensive) cleanings than our Cummins powered vehicles.

This is why, compared to the same model year Cummins and Duramax trucks, the resale values on the 6.0 and 6.4 diesel engines fall embarrassingly short. I mean you look at the resale values and think - WTF?

So with that in mind, when I hear engine builders talking about cracked blocks in the 2.3EB, or when I read about them mysteriously losing power, or when I read about them having other issues in other Ford vehicles, all I think is "same as it ever was". Even when I look at the CPS issues with the Taco, Imma gonna go out a limb and say I'd rather deal with that bit of trouble than a cracked block - or a turbo charged engine that LOSES power when it's cold outside (you know, the temp when other forced induction engines are GAINING power).

That's just the engines...even in the halcyon days of the T444E, Ford still can't engineer a lasting tranny.

I will give the big blue suppository this: no one does interiors or features better. This is the hook that gets lodged in your gullet and why it will be the first real contender to the Taco in years. I have no doubt that it will drive nicer. I have no doubt it will be optioned better. I would not be surprised if it pulls a lot of Taco buyers away. I will even go out on a limb and say that the press and the consumer mags will cream their 44waistband Dockers over it. It doesn't matter whether they mess it up or not. They will still sell as many of these as they can make.

But at the end of the day, it's still a Ford....and even my own brother has already ordered one up.....

 

I would never trust a 4 Cylinder Silverado...

 

https://youtu.be/5SId96XzrAU

 

What is old is new again.

Who remembers the Mazda B2300 pick up- a rebadged Ranger?

Co-incidently, it had a 2.3 liter 4 cylinder... I think since 1997!

 

There are still a number of these around so not hard to remember, plenty of later model Rangers as well. I liked the styling of the '89 Bronco II as well. Looked like a roll over waiting to happen but still nice.

 

Way before that. The Ranger got the Ford 2.3L right from the beginning in 1982 and it dates back to the Pinto. Late 90's Ford increased the size to 2.5L for a few years before replacing it with a new Mazda designed 2.3L around Y2K. The current Ecoboost engines are based off the Mazda engine.

The old Ford 2.3L was a gutless wonder. Good thing Ford isn't still using it.

 

I like the look. However put a stinkin' V6 in it. I don't care if its Turbocharged I don't want a 4 cylinder.

 

That's the way things are headed now. Small engines and efficiently utilized turbos.

I do agree though. A V6 is the right way to go. Squeezing 270HP out of a small 2.3L is a lot of additional power to put on a 4 banger.

 

Its scary how its shifting. I'm curious to see how it goes in a few years with President Trump shifting CAFE standards and all. I can understand turbo'd 4 cylinders in cars and so forth but anything you tow with I can't see how its going to hold up long term... The Silverado with the 4 cylinder truly scares me!!

 

They are literally removing all the actual power out of the trucks to appease CAFE. Power adders are great, but they exist primarily to supplement an already powerful engine. Adding a turbo to a small engine and expecting it to last or even work well with heavy duty applications like towing is not the right way. Eventually something will have to give, and most likely it will be the engines that will give the moment you tow. I actually have the same thoughts regarding all this as you.

 

Not to derail the thread but the thing I thought was strange with the new Silverado (granted I don't have all of the fuel economy numbers) was that they kept the 5.3 V8 as there bread and butter engine (while Ford has all there Ecoboost options and naturally aspirated V6) GM brought the 4cylinder in but scaled the 4.3L V6 down to hardly available. I've read fleet only or just in work trucks? I kind of thought the way they had it would be the best way have the V6 standard and then pay $2000 more to upgrade to the V8. Not have the 4 cylinder available.

Either way I will not own newer then a 2018 Silverado (If I ever own another GM product) I do NOT trust that new Dynamic Fuel Management system they have. I intend to keep my vehicles forever and I won't be the test mule for all of this new technology. I know too many guys who have had trouble with GM's cylinder deactiviation post 115,000 miles. That technology alone has broken a lot of GM loyal owners I know and switched them to Ford or Toyota.

 

Hasn't this truck already been revealed? It's already online and you can pre-order according to the internet.

Is there something else happening that I missed?

Edit: Looks like reviews can't go live until then. Interesting to see what people think of this. And how many first year kinks it has. Also, what are the 100 bolt ons that ford is going to offer. If price is comparable as well as quality, OEM backed mods are attractive to me.

 

There is no replacement for displacement!!!!

 

Found on road dead. I'm sticking with Toyota.