My Saga With The 10R80 (Will Update)

[TJC]

Wasn't commenting on performance. The comment was on the lack of the technology that everyone seems to hate when it breaks.

Had a 70 Cuda myself. Loved it, but it couldn't turn a corner for S%@T. That torsion bar front suspension Chrysler had back then was horrible.

Understood...

I loved those old cuda's! 318 V8, 383 V8, and 440 V8. As far as handling goes, a modern Honda minivan will out handle most any muscle car in the 60's and 70's including corvettes (at least the 60's and probably the 70's too).

Who needs handling??? American roads are generally wide and straight!

Actually I like a nimble auto, easier to keep the shiney side up!

And Ford Rangers aren't rated high in rollover tests, at least my 2005 wasn't. Consumer Reports warned not to buy for that reason.

I've been driving mine for 20 years now and it still face up!

It's a KEEPER!

One last thing FWIW, I almost traded my 1957 2 Door Bel Air Chevy for a White 57 Chrysler 300C Convertible 392 Hemi v8 with twin quad carbs. It needed a LOT of body work. The south Florida weather had begun rusting the body panels, and I backed out of the deal. It was a cool car to look at, and those Hemi heads were WIDE compared to the 202 camel back fuelies that I had on my 327 V8 in the Chevy. The fellow told me that it didn't smooth out until you hit 100mph. I never got close to that speed with it.

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[Big Blue]

Understood...

I loved those old cuda's! 318 V8, 383 V8, and 440 V8. As far as handling goes, a modern Honda minivan will out handle most any muscle car in the 60's and 70's including corvettes (at least the 60's and probably the 70's too).

You missed the best engine, a 340 V8. Mine was a 4 speed with 355 posi. First gear was pretty useless except to get you off the line, but she would pull to 6500 rpm and chirp the tires at 95 miles an hour hitting fourth. Put a few big blocks to shame with the hole shots.

 

[TJC]

You missed the best engine, a 340 V8. Mine was a 4 speed with 355 posi. First gear was pretty useless except to get you off the line, but she would pull to 6500 rpm and chirp the tires at 95 miles an hour hitting fourth. Put a few big blocks to shame with the hole shots.

You are right! I did miss it. They were prolific and went into a lot of different Chrysler Motors models. A great engine even in stock form.

When did they quit making them? I suspect around 1972-73 when the smog craze kicked into full swing. I remember them in the Dusters and Road Runners. I had a 72 2 door Fury III with a 360ci V8, and I remember the early 60's 273ci V8.

All were easier to repair than anything on the market today. Thanks for the nostalgia trip!

BTW, what color was your Cuda? I remember the deep purple, and bright orange, green, and yellow. I am sure there were many other colors. I could be mixing in Challengers too. They looked similar.

 

[AzScorpion]

Wasn't commenting on performance. The comment was on the lack of the technology that everyone seems to hate when it breaks.

Had a 70 Cuda myself. Loved it, but it couldn't turn a corner for S%@T. That torsion bar front suspension Chrysler had back then was horrible.

You missed the best engine, a 340 V8. Mine was a 4 speed with 355 posi. First gear was pretty useless except to get you off the line, but she would pull to 6500 rpm and chirp the tires at 95 miles an hour hitting fourth. Put a few big blocks to shame with the hole shots.

My very first car was a '70 Challenger RT. It was pretty much in pieces and I was only 15 and bought it as a project car. My best friends older brother had 2 of them, 1 for the street and 1 for the track and helped me fix it up. It had a 383 v8 auto ( I wish is was a stick!) and came with tunnel ram and a set of dual quads. Needless to say I gave them to his brother for helping me because I was a broke 15 year old washing dishes for just over $3/hr and would've never been able to afford the gas.

You're right though, those did not handle at all and it was like trying to steer a refrigerator around a corner. lol But they were never designed for handling just straight line speed which it had plenty of. It had a set of old cheap bias-ply tires on it and when I finally got it running we melted them off in my friends neighborhood. It was one of those neighborhoods where everyone hung out and the whole street was full of rubber. Man, you could never get away with that today!

 

[30coupe]

I'm about to turn over 90,000 on my F150 with no real complaints about the transmission or anything else about the truck. The transmission is crap in the "normal" mode, so I use tow/haul mode 99% of the time. I'm looking for a mid-size truck because we moved, and the garage isn't big enough for my wife's Escape and an F150. I've researched just about every mid-size and find that they all have issues of some sort. Our local Ford dealer has an excellent service department, which makes me lean toward another Ford. According to car complaints and some other sources, the 2022 Ranger has great reliability ratings. Sorry to hear that some of you have had issues.

Those of you longing for the "good old days" when things were simple tend to forget that vehicles with 100,000 miles on them were pretty much worn out back then. Those that weren't were finished off when unleaded gasoline became the standard and valves began eating their way through the heads. Oil burning was common, and those that didn't burn it leaked it everywhere. "Fill it up with oil and check the gas," was a common refrain.

The biggest difference between current vehicle problems and those of old is the fact that back then we didn't have a place to share our complaints with the world like we do now. There are and have always been those built on Monday/Friday lemons, but I'm not ready to turn back the clock just yet.

 

[Fordup]

Understood...

I loved those old cuda's! 318 V8, 383 V8, and 440 V8. As far as handling goes, a modern Honda minivan will out handle most any muscle car in the 60's and 70's including corvettes (at least the 60's and probably the 70's too).

Who needs handling??? American roads are generally wide and straight!

Actually I like a nimble auto, easier to keep the shiney side up!

And Ford Rangers aren't rated high in rollover tests, at least my 2005 wasn't. Consumer Reports warned not to buy for that reason.

I've been driving mine for 20 years now and it still face up!

It's a KEEPER!

One last thing FWIW, I almost traded my 1957 2 Door Bel Air Chevy for a White 57 Chrysler 300C Convertible 392 Hemi v8 with twin quad carbs. It needed a LOT of body work. The south Florida weather had begun rusting the body panels, and I backed out of the deal. It was a cool car to look at, and those Hemi heads were WIDE compared to the 202 camel back fuelies that I had on my 327 V8 in the Chevy. The fellow told me that it didn't smooth out until you hit 100mph. I never got close to that speed with it.

My buddy had a 273 Valient 4 speed that was built to about 400 hp. That was a fun wheelie car. Luckily we didn't die in it.

 

[TJC]

My buddy had a 273 Valient 4 speed that was built to about 400 hp. That was a fun wheelie car. Luckily we didn't die in it.

I remember them!

 

[Garrabrant19]

Wow! After reading this, I'm thinking I should consider trading mine in before something happens. I'm not having any issues so far at 42k miles. Does anyone have a 19 to 23 with high mileage and no tranny issues?

I’ve got a 2019 Ranger with 104k miles. No transmissions issues, truck has been rock solid for me and I have no complaints. Had an exhaust gas sensor go bad at 64k miles that made me think the transmission was failing - I’ve spent too much time reading this forum. Took the truck to my normal dealer, they had the truck for 24 hours and it hasn’t had an issue since.

I have had all of my service done by the same ford dealer, and followed exactly what the book (not the dealer) recommends.

Almost all of my miles are highway miles as I drive 50 miles a day. But it has been worked pretty aggressively. Towed a 7500lbs boat for a couple thousand miles - once on an 8 hour trip. I’ve done a decent bit of disaster relief work with it, once loaded it down with 2600lbs of batteries in the bed - only went about 10 miles and that was about 9.9 miles too far with that kind of weight.

I know this forum is full of people having issues with their trucks, but mine has been rock solid and I can’t imagine I’m the only one that trusts his Ranger to get the job done.

 

[Stevedbvik1]

I’ve got a 2019 Ranger with 104k miles. No transmissions issues, truck has been rock solid for me and I have no complaints. Had an exhaust gas sensor go bad at 64k miles that made me think the transmission was failing - I’ve spent too much time reading this forum. Took the truck to my normal dealer, they had the truck for 24 hours and it hasn’t had an issue since.

I have had all of my service done by the same ford dealer, and followed exactly what the book (not the dealer) recommends.

Almost all of my miles are highway miles as I drive 50 miles a day. But it has been worked pretty aggressively. Towed a 7500lbs boat for a couple thousand miles - once on an 8 hour trip. I’ve done a decent bit of disaster relief work with it, once loaded it down with 2600lbs of batteries in the bed - only went about 10 miles and that was about 9.9 miles too far with that kind of weight.

I know this forum is full of people having issues with their trucks, but mine has been rock solid and I can’t imagine I’m the only one that trusts his Ranger to get the job done.

So you’re still on the original transmission fluid and filter?

 

[dtech]

I remember them!

My father was big on Chrysler products, had a valiant and then a 63 belvedere wagon, both iirc had the slant 6 , he gave the 63 to me as my 1st car and I promptly totaled it. Then he had IIIRC a Gran Fury wagon with a 383 V8 which was pretty fast, followed by a Volare which was a piece of junk. The early Valiants had style.

 

[30coupe]

I’ve got a 2019 Ranger with 104k miles. No transmissions issues, truck has been rock solid for me and I have no complaints. Had an exhaust gas sensor go bad at 64k miles that made me think the transmission was failing - I’ve spent too much time reading this forum. Took the truck to my normal dealer, they had the truck for 24 hours and it hasn’t had an issue since.

I have had all of my service done by the same ford dealer, and followed exactly what the book (not the dealer) recommends.

Almost all of my miles are highway miles as I drive 50 miles a day. But it has been worked pretty aggressively. Towed a 7500lbs boat for a couple thousand miles - once on an 8 hour trip. I’ve done a decent bit of disaster relief work with it, once loaded it down with 2600lbs of batteries in the bed - only went about 10 miles and that was about 9.9 miles too far with that kind of weight.

I know this forum is full of people having issues with their trucks, but mine has been rock solid and I can’t imagine I’m the only one that trusts his Ranger to get the job done.

Well, that’s great to hear. I’ve had excellent luck with my Fords, much better than any other brand. I’m confident this Ranger will be no different. The extended warranty just gives added piece of mind. I take good care of my vehicles, but I don’t just buy them to look at ?

 

[Dhouse]

I’ve got a 2019 Ranger with 104k miles. No transmissions issues, truck has been rock solid for me and I have no complaints. Had an exhaust gas sensor go bad at 64k miles that made me think the transmission was failing - I’ve spent too much time reading this forum. Took the truck to my normal dealer, they had the truck for 24 hours and it hasn’t had an issue since.

I have had all of my service done by the same ford dealer, and followed exactly what the book (not the dealer) recommends.

Almost all of my miles are highway miles as I drive 50 miles a day. But it has been worked pretty aggressively. Towed a 7500lbs boat for a couple thousand miles - once on an 8 hour trip. I’ve done a decent bit of disaster relief work with it, once loaded it down with 2600lbs of batteries in the bed - only went about 10 miles and that was about 9.9 miles too far with that kind of weight.

I know this forum is full of people having issues with their trucks, but mine has been rock solid and I can’t imagine I’m the only one that trusts his Ranger to get the job done.

That's great to hear. I have about 44k miles now and haven't had any trouble either. My warranty is out so I get a little nervous. I just got the Fitz stick and the PPE pan. I'm going to go ahead and change the filter and pan, and just hope for the best. I've been a Ford guy for over 25 years and have had good luck with all of them.

 

[30coupe]

I had 89k+ on the F150 with no issues, so I don’t fear the 10r80.

 

[Garrabrant19]

So you’re still on the original transmission fluid and filter?

Yes sir.

 

[got3fords]

My father was big on Chrysler products, had a valiant and then a 63 belvedere wagon, both iirc had the slant 6 , he gave the 63 to me as my 1st car and I promptly totaled it. Then he had IIIRC a Gran Fury wagon with a 383 V8 which was pretty fast, followed by a Volare which was a piece of junk. The early Valiants had style.

Did any of those Chryslers have the push button transmission? We had one when I was a tot but don't remember the model.

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