Thread: I think we might have sorted the Ranger...

Yikes, that's scary... I'm not hearing a lot of reassuring things about the current selection of ute models. It seems they all have particular things popping up that are frequent across many owners, in car electronics and drivers interface seem to be one of the ones that are cropping up everywhere as a problem. Probably those systems all come from one or two suppliers who supply to every manufacturer.

I was near first to get the PX2 version of the last model ranger, waited for it with the 3500kg tow rating (earlier version 3250kg). That by today's standards wasn't that full of electronics but it's still given a hell of a lot of trouble - all core operating electronics and the same gear goes across many models (bosch) so those knocking Ford the issues with mine are all contract supplied parts just fitted by Ford. High chance the pressure sender arrived assembled by Bosch as well so likey that wasn't even ford's fault. This could just as easily been a hilux, Mazda etc etc but yes it was a very close run decision to just write it off and wear the hit to the books.

Got a customer with a colorado. 147k and it leaned out on 2cyl and fried its self thats his second one thats done it. ( we just do his tyres)

Originally Posted by blip

Got a customer with a colorado. 147k and it leaned out on 2cyl and fried its self thats his second one thats done it. ( we just do his tyres)

That must be leaky injector and running rich surely...Diesel lean= good ,Petrol lean = meltdown/detonation. Diesel rich = high cylinder/piston/exhaust temps, bore washing all bad stuff

Originally Posted by veitnamcam

That must be leaky injector and running rich surely...Diesel lean= good ,Petrol lean = meltdown/detonation. Diesel rich = high cylinder/piston/exhaust temps, bore washing all bad stuff

That's a fair point, could be some other issue causing the hot spotting though including a partial blockage of the intake manifold restricting air supply and the injector is operating fine just not enough air getting in. EGR wins - flawless victory.

Makes you wonder if there's room in the market for zero rebuilt late 1990's SUV's. Half a million km's, nothing but oils and filters and tyres and brake pads. Almost 30 years old: No rust, same door hinges, same injectors and pump as it came out of the factory with. Won't break any speed records.......but the speed limit here in NZ is 100, so no real need for a speed demon for the average punter. And with the ever deteriorating condition of our roading system, 70 profile tyres are a real boon. Have to laugh when you cruise past 2wd Hiluxes changing punctures on 15 profile tyres

Originally Posted by XR500

Makes you wonder if there's room in the market for zero rebuilt late 1990's SUV's. Half a million km's, nothing but oils and filters and tyres and brake pads. Almost 30 years old: No rust, same door hinges, same injectors and pump as it came out of the factory with. Won't break any speed records.......but the speed limit here in NZ is 100, so no real need for a speed demon for the average punter. And with the ever deteriorating condition of our roading system, 70 profile tyres are a real boon. Have to laugh when you cruise past 2wd Hiluxes changing punctures on 15 profile tyres

It amazes me Simon. I do a bit of work for commercial fishermen on their boats. All going back to non electronic Doosan motors. Mechanical injectors, basic turbo's (non variable vane) easy care and long life. Change the oil and filters and she keeps going.

Something to be said for it.

Originally Posted by tac a1

It amazes me Simon. I do a bit of work for commercial fishermen on their boats. All going back to non electronic Doosan motors. Mechanical injectors, basic turbo's (non variable vane) easy care and long life. Change the oil and filters and she keeps going.

Something to be said for it.

Yep, the numbers of boats rebuilding Detroit two thunkers rather than renewing with computer based gear... noisy as anything but if it will start it usually keeps running.

Originally Posted by XR500

Makes you wonder if there's room in the market for zero rebuilt late 1990's SUV's. Half a million km's, nothing but oils and filters and tyres and brake pads. Almost 30 years old: No rust, same door hinges, same injectors and pump as it came out of the factory with. Won't break any speed records.......but the speed limit here in NZ is 100, so no real need for a speed demon for the average punter. And with the ever deteriorating condition of our roading system, 70 profile tyres are a real boon. Have to laugh when you cruise past 2wd Hiluxes changing punctures on 15 profile tyres

makes a fella wonder why no one has continued to build something basic...the lada nivas got lots of shit thrown at them as were so basic..but the ykept going... the mahindra ...willies jeeps dead simple old school tech but not allowed on roads here WTF is with that???
we were discussing this on weekend as one fella had old hilux...as in 20 plus years old,still worth 15-20k any day of the week.... my old terrano cost us 7k costs us 1k every year in running costs/repairs but what the hell would we replace it with??? really hard to find something reliable that doesnt cost the earth to begin with and reading this thread it seems buying new doesnt automatically mean reliable either....
that mazda B1600 ute in ashburton for $7500 maybe isnt so over priced after all LOL.

What really irks is when you pull the emissions crud off the engines, and your fuel consumption drops by near 10%. Work that out for me will you, burning less fuel must equal better environmental outcomes?

I'll keep running my 30yo diesel until it is no longer viable.
Late model Hilux for a work vehicle means it doesn't make sense to upgrade anyway.
We changed from rangers to Hilux several years ago and we have had less issues... 140k smooth sailing. Bought out by an Aussie company who wanted us to go back to rangers...

Yeah but none of them are the specialist tools needed to work on the vehicle! That's a bit shortsighted I feel.

Having said that we made the same comment when Toyota brought out their line of accessory tools in Toyota branded chests.

As far as the ute, ran 400 odd k's in it today. Went bloody well actually - right up until it got to my favourite corner on the matamata side of the Kaimais about 4 or 5 corners from the 'Summit Lookout' and it popped a check powertrain light with the generic diagnostic code. Now, I smell a rat here - 400Km or so to the north of Auckland - and yet it does the same fault on the same corner that it has for the last 5 times. That's an indication of a wiring loom failing, a clockspring behind the steering wheel not liking the right-left-right motion or body roll tweaking something else which is referring the fault to one module which is then triggering the generic code. This is what was wrong with the cruise control - the throttle body has a little motor in it that controls the position of the airflow flap and the original one fitted to the vehicle was damaged from what we think is the power supply problem with the faulty powertrain control module. Replaced the throttle body and hey presto the cruise control works again - but no fault code indicated that the throttle body was not serviceable. And this is the issue in a nutshell with computer controlled engine management systems and sensors - there is not enough diagnostic equipment fitted to them to actually tell you what component caused the issue. When I say it's popping a generic code, that code could relate to apparently more than 26 different fault conditions - which is a bit of a limiting factor. As I said - this isn't actually a Ford issue (but haters gunna hate) as the engine management on these vehicles is Bosch gear (the newer model is Seimens gear apparently) so potentially this failure could happen with any vehicle fitted with this brand of engine management.

The problem this leaves me is the vehicle is not really saleable without the issue resolved as it will just boomerang so I'm kinda stuck with either option A which is fix it, or option B which is take the hit and sell it for or wreck it for parts myself. It does not appear to be a mechanical fault - it's the engine management and control system with one or two parts that we have yet to find giving the issue.

Next problem, the people in the know tell me that 3500Kg towing with the new gen utes is not something they are keen to experience as the gear is lighter than the generation I have now in the pursuit of better fuel economy/less emissions tax/more profits etc etc. I'm not particularly keen on buying the same version as I have already used and with a list of false promises, and don't really want a Dodge Ram or a light truck which have the same issues as the new utes (everything in them is so light weight now) so what to do... Maybe the solution is avoid that corner of the Kaimais

Originally Posted by No.3

Yeah but none of them are the specialist tools needed to work on the vehicle! That's a bit shortsighted I feel.

Having said that we made the same comment when Toyota brought out their line of accessory tools in Toyota branded chests.

As far as the ute, ran 400 odd k's in it today. Went bloody well actually - right up until it got to my favourite corner on the matamata side of the Kaimais about 4 or 5 corners from the 'Summit Lookout' and it popped a check powertrain light with the generic diagnostic code. Now, I smell a rat here - 400Km or so to the north of Auckland - and yet it does the same fault on the same corner that it has for the last 5 times. That's an indication of a wiring loom failing, a clockspring behind the steering wheel not liking the right-left-right motion or body roll tweaking something else which is referring the fault to one module which is then triggering the generic code. This is what was wrong with the cruise control - the throttle body has a little motor in it that controls the position of the airflow flap and the original one fitted to the vehicle was damaged from what we think is the power supply problem with the faulty powertrain control module. Replaced the throttle body and hey presto the cruise control works again - but no fault code indicated that the throttle body was not serviceable. And this is the issue in a nutshell with computer controlled engine management systems and sensors - there is not enough diagnostic equipment fitted to them to actually tell you what component caused the issue. When I say it's popping a generic code, that code could relate to apparently more than 26 different fault conditions - which is a bit of a limiting factor. As I said - this isn't actually a Ford issue (but haters gunna hate) as the engine management on these vehicles is Bosch gear (the newer model is Seimens gear apparently) so potentially this failure could happen with any vehicle fitted with this brand of engine management.

The problem this leaves me is the vehicle is not really saleable without the issue resolved as it will just boomerang so I'm kinda stuck with either option A which is fix it, or option B which is take the hit and sell it for or wreck it for parts myself. It does not appear to be a mechanical fault - it's the engine management and control system with one or two parts that we have yet to find giving the issue.

Next problem, the people in the know tell me that 3500Kg towing with the new gen utes is not something they are keen to experience as the gear is lighter than the generation I have now in the pursuit of better fuel economy/less emissions tax/more profits etc etc. I'm not particularly keen on buying the same version as I have already used and with a list of false promises, and don't really want a Dodge Ram or a light truck which have the same issues as the new utes (everything in them is so light weight now) so what to do... Maybe the solution is avoid that corner of the Kaimais

You could always take it to a dealership & trade it there then there be no come back on you because they should done there checks

Originally Posted by hunt08

You could always take it to a dealership & trade it there then there be no come back on you because they should done there checks

Yeah, but they offer 15K and want to charge $65K for something that's how much better? Far better off getting something privately at the moment - much better buying power that way. It's just what to do with this thing I've got currently. I think we are almost all the way there though, something under the dash not playing nice now so once we sort out what that is I think it will be back to normal. Much cheaper option than trading it to be fair, as with the custom towing mods on it it's going to be a fluff around sorting out the next vehicle if I did trade it. Would need the full suspension kit fitted, towing cooler on the trans, plus whatever other mods have to be done on top of purchase price - mechanically the one I have is fine the issue is in the Bosch control gear.

Originally Posted by No.3

Yeah but none of them are the specialist tools needed to work on the vehicle! That's a bit shortsighted I feel.

Having said that we made the same comment when Toyota brought out their line of accessory tools in Toyota branded chests.

As far as the ute, ran 400 odd k's in it today. Went bloody well actually - right up until it got to my favourite corner on the matamata side of the Kaimais about 4 or 5 corners from the 'Summit Lookout' and it popped a check powertrain light with the generic diagnostic code. Now, I smell a rat here - 400Km or so to the north of Auckland - and yet it does the same fault on the same corner that it has for the last 5 times. That's an indication of a wiring loom failing, a clockspring behind the steering wheel not liking the right-left-right motion or body roll tweaking something else which is referring the fault to one module which is then triggering the generic code. This is what was wrong with the cruise control - the throttle body has a little motor in it that controls the position of the airflow flap and the original one fitted to the vehicle was damaged from what we think is the power supply problem with the faulty powertrain control module. Replaced the throttle body and hey presto the cruise control works again - but no fault code indicated that the throttle body was not serviceable. And this is the issue in a nutshell with computer controlled engine management systems and sensors - there is not enough diagnostic equipment fitted to them to actually tell you what component caused the issue. When I say it's popping a generic code, that code could relate to apparently more than 26 different fault conditions - which is a bit of a limiting factor. As I said - this isn't actually a Ford issue (but haters gunna hate) as the engine management on these vehicles is Bosch gear (the newer model is Seimens gear apparently) so potentially this failure could happen with any vehicle fitted with this brand of engine management.

The problem this leaves me is the vehicle is not really saleable without the issue resolved as it will just boomerang so I'm kinda stuck with either option A which is fix it, or option B which is take the hit and sell it for or wreck it for parts myself. It does not appear to be a mechanical fault - it's the engine management and control system with one or two parts that we have yet to find giving the issue.

Next problem, the people in the know tell me that 3500Kg towing with the new gen utes is not something they are keen to experience as the gear is lighter than the generation I have now in the pursuit of better fuel economy/less emissions tax/more profits etc etc. I'm not particularly keen on buying the same version as I have already used and with a list of false promises, and don't really want a Dodge Ram or a light truck which have the same issues as the new utes (everything in them is so light weight now) so what to do... Maybe the solution is avoid that corner of the Kaimais

Definitely burn it, you’ll smile the whole time.

Maybe we could put together a 'burn the Ford' donation page and relieve you of this eternal heartache and stress No 3