Throwing in the towel... maybe.

[NotBudule2]

I'm guessing water intrusion.

"Water intrusion" can lead to "catastrophic membership failure" , Ive seen it first hand...
It can also be a problem if your in a sub looking for the Titanic...

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[Grandaccess]

Or gas in oil?
We haven't talked about that in awhile...

Lets not, I have 54k on the last oil change 67 total on the engine

 

[TxOTRRanger]

Or gas in oil?
We haven't talked about that in awhile...

This..............maybe???

Lets not, I have 54k on the last oil change 67 total on the engine

Don't do like Roscoe P. Coltrane and put water in the gas tank lol.

 

[TJC]

"Alternators and compressors should last 150k plus."

My 2005 Ranger alternator went out at 167K. And I had warning signs but didn't figure it out before it failed completely.

I noticed the battery charge light blink on then off a couple of times prior to the failure when I turned hard left entering a highway about 2 weeks before it failed. I thought it was the battery or a connection.

A month later it failed completely 125 miles into a 250 mile trip on Christmas Eve at 5:30pm. I limped into town (just barely), stopped at the Auto parts store leaving the truck running. Bought the alternator and headed to my nephews home 1 mile away. We had it swapped out in 30 minutes.

Drove over to my parents home and placed the truck on a battery charger. I successively drove back home 3 days later, and had to replace the battery a month later as well. It had given it's all to get me that 125 miles.

Still driving that truck...

 

[Gims04]

I'm going to try and respond to all the questions here,

First issue was the alternator. I was off-roading and got stuck in a hole. I didnt know the alternator is located at the bottom of the motor so the alternator was flooded. The intake was no where near the water and no water got into the motor, it was over a year and change after that the motor failed. At the time Ford quoted me $499 for an alternator and $800 for install. $220 was reasonable.

Second, the motor failed with 101k miles. Highway driving there was a sudden spike in temp and white smoke out of the exhaust. Head gasket. I was informed that when Ford repurposed the 2.3 they had to drill some cooling holes in an already thin cylinder wall to help with cooling. So apparently bad head gasket means warped motor because poor design I guess. I looked around everywhere for some that would rebuild the head and repair it but no one wanted to touch it. Motor i got was a reworked motor, just taken out of a total and made sure if it ran.

Third, on New Years Eve of 2015 I was driving through Houston to our new home in Austin pulling a trailer the transmission went out. The mechanic showed me the "trash can" that they removed out of the tranny. There is a cooling hole on the edge of a bushing in the transmission. This bushing slips on occasion and caused my transmission to overheat and that was that.

Currently I have a rebuild transmission and a reworked motor with 29k miles on it at install. Hope that helps everyone. I do regular maintenance on the truck and use always check for any issues. Just kind of tired.

 

[Dereku]

I'm going to try and respond to all the questions here,

First issue was the alternator. I was off-roading and got stuck in a hole. I didnt know the alternator is located at the bottom of the motor so the alternator was flooded. The intake was no where near the water and no water got into the motor, it was over a year and change after that the motor failed. At the time Ford quoted me $499 for an alternator and $800 for install. $220 was reasonable.

Second, the motor failed with 101k miles. Highway driving there was a sudden spike in temp and white smoke out of the exhaust. Head gasket. I was informed that when Ford repurposed the 2.3 they had to drill some cooling holes in an already thin cylinder wall to help with cooling. So apparently bad head gasket means warped motor because poor design I guess. I looked around everywhere for some that would rebuild the head and repair it but no one wanted to touch it. Motor i got was a reworked motor, just taken out of a total and made sure if it ran.

Third, on New Years Eve of 2015 I was driving through Houston to our new home in Austin pulling a trailer the transmission went out. The mechanic showed me the "trash can" that they removed out of the tranny. There is a cooling hole on the edge of a bushing in the transmission. This bushing slips on occasion and caused my transmission to overheat and that was that.

Currently I have a rebuild transmission and a reworked motor with 29k miles on it at install. Hope that helps everyone. I do regular maintenance on the truck and use always check for any issues. Just kind of tired.

Ok the background helps. Still once all those people touch it not everything is always perfect. Is there any warranty left on any work performed that could help you?

 

[Gims04]

Ok the background helps. Still once all those people touch it not everything is always perfect. Is there any warranty left on any work performed that could help you?

Nope. Tansmission is the o ly thing currently covered under warranty and as far as I know it isn't going out... yet.

 

[Jason B]

American "Quality". Buy something new from a non American manufacturer.

If you are looking for a mid-size PU, that leaves Tacoma and Frontier. Their track record isn't so great lately. I rather take chances in a Ranger.

 

[OCL]

I wouldn't touch a turbocharged Tacoma. The Frontier is super nice and V6 powered so that's a plus.

For your '19 engine failing due to head gasket failure, this was indeed a thing on the first iteration of the 2.3 EB up to early 2020. Hard working or modified 2.3's and the smaller EB's were prone to gasket failures. Ford redesigned the block to eliminate the cylinder cooling slots in order to give the gasket a better sealing surface. This seems to have worked since the 2.3 has since gained a reputation for reliability. I would confirm if your donor engine is 2020 or newer so you know it's got the improved block design.

The transmission also makes sense as the early 10R80's were prone to that especially if it's a hard working truck. Sounds like you tow so that's extra stress on that older design. Again, Ford revised the transmission in '22+ to address it.

Your Alternator drowned due to a deep water crossing. They all do that and there's nothing you can do about it except avoid water crossing that are above your axle line. In general, you want to follow this rule on any vehicle anyway. It's just not healthy nor safe. Anything above the axle line gives water a chance to enter the cab and cause other issues later. It looks cool on YT but I would never do that on my truck unless I'm ok with dealing with possible consequences.

 

[RangerBill]

For your '19 engine failing due to head gasket failure, this was indeed a thing on the first iteration of the 2.3 EB up to early 2020. Hard working or modified 2.3's and the smaller EB's were prone to gasket failures. Ford redesigned the block to eliminate the cylinder cooling slots in order to give the gasket a better sealing surface. This seems to have worked since the 2.3 has since gained a reputation for reliability. I would confirm if your donor engine is 2020 or newer so you know it's got the improved block design.

The head gasket issue never was an issue with the 2.3L in 2019+ Rangers. It was solved before being used in the 5G Rangers.

 

[RedlandRanger]

The head gasket issue never was an issue with the 2.3L in 2019+ Rangers. It was solved before being used in the 5G Rangers.

Thanks for clarifying that - This was my understanding as well.

 

[Dr_Strangelove]

Talk me off the ledge - or push me off the cliff.

Nobody wants to be in a sunk cost fallacy with their vehicle, I get that. I'm guessing with the information you've provided that the vehicle is paid off. So my perspective is assuming this fact.

Whenever I'm in this position I picture myself beginning making payments to myself. Median car payment on a $45,000+ vehicle is over $700/mo right now with current interest rates. If the plan is to buy outright - imagine handing yourself the lump of money right now.

For how long is it reasonable to maintain the Ranger with that sort of cash flow? $700+/mo or lump payment?

There is no guarantee that a new truck will treat you well, anymore. Take a hard look at what is happening on the other sides of our fence - it's not just Ford. Toyota is in a world of hurt right now with their V35A V6, for starters. I Do Cars Youtube Channel just tore down a 2026 re manufactured failed engine from Toyota, his 3rd one, and he suspects that the engine not strong enough to handle its own torque and is twisting itself putting odd wear patterns on single surfaces of main bearings and thrust bearings.

Long and short of what I'm trying to say - trucks are more expensive than they've ever been right now. Before jumping into an expensive payment one way or another, If I were you, I'd go through a personal 3 month cool-off period while I research the competition.

 

[TxOTRRanger]

Nobody wants to be in a sunk cost fallacy with their vehicle, I get that. I'm guessing with the information you've provided that the vehicle is paid off. So my perspective is assuming this fact.

Whenever I'm in this position I picture myself beginning making payments to myself. Median car payment on a $45,000+ vehicle is over $700/mo right now with current interest rates. If the plan is to buy outright - imagine handing yourself the lump of money right now.

For how long is it reasonable to maintain the Ranger with that sort of cash flow? $700+/mo or lump payment?

There is no guarantee that a new truck will treat you well, anymore. Take a hard look at what is happening on the other sides of our fence - it's not just Ford. Toyota is in a world of hurt right now with their V35A V6, for starters. I Do Cars Youtube Channel just tore down a 2026 re manufactured failed engine from Toyota, his 3rd one, and he suspects that the engine not strong enough to handle its own torque and is twisting itself putting odd wear patterns on single surfaces of main bearings and thrust bearings.

Long and short of what I'm trying to say - trucks are more expensive than they've ever been right now. Before jumping into an expensive payment one way or another, If I were you, I'd go through a personal 3 month cool-off period while I research the competition.

I agree with you Adam @Dr_Strangelove. That is very good advice, and also true. New trucks aren't what they used to be quality wise, and new vehicle prices in general are through the roof.
My thoughts fwiw.

 

[got3fords]

Nobody wants to be in a sunk cost fallacy with their vehicle, I get that. I'm guessing with the information you've provided that the vehicle is paid off. So my perspective is assuming this fact.

Whenever I'm in this position I picture myself beginning making payments to myself. Median car payment on a $45,000+ vehicle is over $700/mo right now with current interest rates. If the plan is to buy outright - imagine handing yourself the lump of money right now.

For how long is it reasonable to maintain the Ranger with that sort of cash flow? $700+/mo or lump payment?

There is no guarantee that a new truck will treat you well, anymore. Take a hard look at what is happening on the other sides of our fence - it's not just Ford. Toyota is in a world of hurt right now with their V35A V6, for starters. I Do Cars Youtube Channel just tore down a 2026 re manufactured failed engine from Toyota, his 3rd one, and he suspects that the engine not strong enough to handle its own torque and is twisting itself putting odd wear patterns on single surfaces of main bearings and thrust bearings.

Long and short of what I'm trying to say - trucks are more expensive than they've ever been right now. Before jumping into an expensive payment one way or another, If I were you, I'd go through a personal 3 month cool-off period while I research the competition.

I recently watched a Dave's Auto episode where he talked about a toyota engine, not sure which one, that a lot were failing very early. The one he was tearing down seized before it even ran.

 

[GrannyDoToo]

A little background, when Ford killed the Ranger in '11 I was begging for them to bring it back. I had a '94 that was the best truck I owned, and I loved it. In Jan '20 my eldest passed and we recieved life insurance money. It enabled me to purchase my '19 XLT. I love it and like to think that my daughter bought it for me. But now here I am...

with 111k on the truck, in the last year I have replaced the alternator (expensive), transmission, and had to put a new motor in it. While driving yesterday - Oct 12th - with my kids on a four hour trip, my compressor just went out. Highway driving, windows down and or cracked, rain outside in Houston, and two kids and a dog. I was over it. I have already put 13k into the truck and I haven't even started my dream build. I am feeling down about my truck because I have sentimental ties to it but just want it to be as good as my 4.0 back in the day. Talk me off the ledge - or push me off the cliff.

Well I gotta say it's time to
Move on. I have a 2019 4x4 four door with 90,665 miles. Ac quit working a couple months ago. I paid $2000 to replace compressor and other mechanical. Worked ok , but started blowing warm after a couple weeks. Mechanic wants $1700 to complete all air system actuators. I put that on hold since summer in Phoenix is over. A few weeks later I start getting rear end noise. Differential is got a lot of metal pieces in it and replacement will cost $4,000 to $5,000. Im tired of this rig!!

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