Thread: Gotta Ford Ranger, You might want to watch this.

Haha, worst run out of a brand of utes I've been involved with was Hiluxes. Broken tailshafts, broken transmissions, blown diffs, injector/fuel, literally wore an engine out in under 110,00Km (wore it out literally, buggered). That's all with brand new or leased units, dealer serviced. I honestly do not think it matters what colour, flavour or country the things are made in - deal with enough of them and they'll fall apart on you. Use em hard and they'll die young. Build quality - jeez one of the worst interiors in the utes I've been in are the Nissans, followed by Toyota and Ford. Caution, bits might fall off...

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Doesn’t matter what brand of vehicle they all have a shit model or production run within a model line. Least ways that’s what I’ve noticed since starting as a mechanic late 70’s and my predecessors said the same.

My experience with vehicles is .. brand loyalty or dealer loyalty is not a flash idea. I had always purchased Toyotas from a local dealer, I rock up to buy a brand new ute thinking he will be giving me the best deal as I always shop here. Bugger me I go to trade a 2.5 yr ute in and I think this isnt a flash price for the trade in as I had had a look on Trade me. Sold it to a mate for quite a few thousand dollars more and he said I ripped you off on that truck as it was worth way more.. I got way more for it than the dealer was going to give me but I also knew he had got a good deal . Last few trucks have been Rangers but I went to the local dealer the other day and I will be looking around at different brands and also looking out of Chch this year for sure.

Originally Posted by tac a1

No, I'm not a Ford man. Never have been since I had to work on the things way back when. Just the build quality of them was rubbish.

I much prefer Toyota's. I've got a 70 series V8, which I think is agricultural, but fantastic for towing, which is what it was brought for.

Don't get me wrong some people have a great run out of their Ford's. Lots of people seem to have serious issues though from what I hear and see.

Set in my ways?? Maybe, but I just know what I like and what works for me.

Got to do what works for you man, I would never go back to towing or off roading with a manual box the auto's rule for both.

The old manual v auto towing debate.

10 years ago I was firmly in the manual camp. If using an older Cruiser or Nissan etc, or up to about 2010 ute of any brand then I still would be. However, auto's have come a long way with way better engine breaking and reliability. Choosing now would come down to other features the vehicle had and probably not the transmission.

Originally Posted by Got-ya

The old manual v auto towing debate.

10 years ago I was firmly in the manual camp. If using an older Cruiser or Nissan etc, or up to about 2010 ute of any brand then I still would be. However, auto's have come a long way with way better engine breaking and reliability. Choosing now would come down to other features the vehicle had and probably not the transmission.

Agree, although one thing that really affects things is the cooling ability for auto's. Some auto's are crap even with an uprated cooler - this is one of the main culprits with the Ranger auto issue I think. The newer common rail diesels suffer from a distinct lack of engine braking across the board, I have often thought a simple bolt on electromagnetic retarder kit coming with a shortened rear driveshaft would be a bloody good thing at 3500Kg towing. The TB-class electric brakes are good, but not as good in some ways as the hydraulic override couplings that on a downhill natively apply the brakes on the trailer as it leans on the towing vehicle and starts to push. TB-class you almost need to wind the proportioning controller back, rest your foot on the brake pedal and have the brakes on the trailer riding while the towing vehicle is coasting under engine retarding. Not easy to do with some of the electric systems, not set up to do that (brakes either on or off...).

The other thing that used to be good with the 4x4's is being able to leave the front hubs disengaged and going to 4L when backing or moving the trailer in tight areas. Real handy. I asked about an interrupt switch for the PX series rangers just isolating the front diff servo, seems with CANBus that idea isn't a starter as the computer is looking for a feedback signal from the servo and if it doesn't get it with 4wd selected it goes into panic mode like a true hypochondriac.