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Ford Rangers are Junk!

3K views 6 replies 5 participants last post by  dieselshadow 
#1 ·
You would think that a timing belt should last longer than 282,000 plus miles.!

Friday, on my way to catch the van pool, my little '97 Ranger just quit like someone turn the key off. A quick call to my wife to bring the Dakota and a tow strap (it's never a good thing to wake your wife up at 3:50 in the morning, but....). We get the Ranger home (that's another story altogether) and it was sounding like it jumped time.

Anyways, a new timing belt at about $28 (with Autozone's reward point systems, it only cost me about $8 and change), and a couple of hours of work and my little baby is back on the road again. It's a good thing my wife's brother knows more about engines than I do. He help me get it fixed

Love my Ranger! I'm sure it will be good for another 282K.

Here's a link to it doing what it does, this time going 500 miles round trip to bring home a 318. http://www.greentractortalk.com/forums/lawn-garden-tractors/4099-my-new-1988-318-a.html
 
#2 · (Edited)
WOW, 282,000 on one timing belt and the engine didn't self-destruct when it broke - if it was a rubber timing belt, you were driving on borrowed time:laugh:

My only experience was with one of the first Rangers in 1982, best 4WD pickup for driving in snow I ever owned ... worst engine (2.8 L V6) I ever had. The engine started acting up with blow-by and loss of compression way before the clock hit 100,000. I hear Ford made improvements but I haven't had a Ford since.

My TDI recommends a new timing belt every 100,000 miles. If it breaks, major $$'s. For me it's over $300 in parts, about 8 hours to change, and a one-time expenditure of $300 in software to re-time the injector pump and about $250 in special tools. Done this 2 times so far, may or may not do it a third time, it's got 250K right now.

Sounds like you need to change that timing belt before it breaks again, maybe in 250,000 miles?

Just my 2 cents.
 
#3 ·
There's a difference in each engine, the Ranger's engine is a non-interference engine and the TDI is an interference engine. When the timing belt breaks on your TDI, the pistons will hit the valves being out of timed whereas the Ranger's engine is designed like most engines and the pistons will not hit the valves.
 
#4 ·
Some engines are zero tolerance engines, which means stuff can happen when it jumps time. My Ranger is not a zero tolerance engine and therefore, it's just an inconvenience when the timing belt breaks, like getting my wife up oh dark thirty to come and pull me home. Changing one on a 2.3L isn't hard, in fact, getting the fan off and back on, was the hardest part of it.
 
#5 ·
282k miles on a timing belt! Amazing! When I bought my '95 Accord new, the manual recommended timing belt changes every 60,000 miles; then Honda upped it to 90,000 miles because the belts weren't failing to justify 60k changes. My wife's 2005 CRV has a timing chain...YAY! I think manufacturers are going back to timing chains because customers are getting tired of being soaked for approximately $500 for a routine maintenance item.
 
#6 ·
I remember a co-worker bought a Hyundai a few years ago because of their 100,000 mile warranty. But she was taken aback when she found out she had to take it in every 40,000 miles to have the timing belt replaced or it will void the warranty. And that cost she had to pay, the 40,000 mile timing belt replacement was not covered by warranty.
 
#7 ·
Gates, a large manufacturer of timing belts, has a chart to determine if your vehicle has an interference engine or not.
 
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