Beating a Dead Horse

[Stewie]

I recently aquired a 2002 Ranger Edge pickup. Let me say that is was against my better judgement. I haven't owned a Ford product in 35 years.
I have not had good luck with them in the two that I owned.
I picked it up as a second vehicle from my nephew. I paid him what it was going for in trade on a new Ranger.
I have owned it about a month.
In that month I have replaced, Front brakes, upper and lower ball joints on passenger side, Both rear axles, emergency brake cable. Just to pass the mandatory safety check. I did a tune up with Ford parts, wires, and plugs, and replaced the blower fan resistor and plug assembly which is apparently broken on most Ford products. Because of the issues with the front end I had to replace a badly worn tire.
Yesterday I noticed the clutch pedal was a little low and it was hard shifting.
I took it to the shop and found I had a leaking slave cylinder which is "inside" the bell housing. (great engineering from Ford) So the trans has to come out to get at it.
While the thing is apart "you might as well replace the clutch" says the technician. Oh and that will be 385 for the kit.
Now I am well over 5500 dollars in the Truck. Luckily the body is very solid, but I am now wondering if I am beating a dead horse. This is exactly what happened when I bought my last two Ford products, which kept me away from them for 35 years.
Now I am contemplating selling it and cutting my losses. The only other major components are Trans and engine, and if they go it will be scrapped.
Is this common to the Ranger/Mazda pickups? Or am I just unlucky with Fords.
It has well over 200,000 KMs on it and it was driven mainly on the highway as a commuter vehicle, 40 miles each way for the past 6 years that I know of.
Now go easy on me guys, because I really am upset with this scenario, and this was what I feared most about buying this truck.
Oh and to qualify it is my first truck and like I said I have no experiience with Ford in many years.
I have been dealing with my local mechanic whom I trust, and his recommended Transmission shop.
Mainly using Motorcraft parts.
What do you all think?

 

[Jason]

I think it has a ton of previous use at over 200k and I am not shocked. Plus, we don't REALLY know how well it has been cared for up until now. No matter what the nephew says. When you stack up the km's, things break.

 

[pillen140]

Its not because its a ford its breaking down, its cause its been used! brakes and stuff are a MAINTENANCE item. and ball joints wear out on any vehicle, and the tire is from the that. and blower motors are problems for almost all makes and models. the slave cylinder i will admit is a bad design, and it sucks to replace, but after that, they ARE good vehicles, and it will be worth your labor.

 

[BlackBII]

Sounds like you had to do a bunch of Maintenance to me, which is common on a truck with that many miles..aside from the Slave cylinder. Those are prone to failure.

But...why'd you replace the rear axles????

And, taking the Tech's word for replacing the clutch is just crazy..and 385 for a kit? Get real. A new clutch kit runs 90-110$ from most auto parts stores, and 50-90$ for the slave. (US $)

Don't worry about the 3.0 and M5OD going...they will last forever.

 

[EERNGER]

Its always easiest to blame the company who built the truck for any and all of its problems. But in reality, what you are dealing with is a truck which needed upkeep and most likely its previous owner let it slide, and that usually tallies up a to-do list for its next owner. The best thing to do is not to throw yourself off a cliff about it. Once you replace the clutch/slave cylinder, you are pretty much going to be in the green for alot of driving ahead of you. Your truck has a well proven drivetrain and 3.0L's are about as rock solid as a v-6 can get, i have seen many of them with over 400,000 km's on them, so i don't think your going to have an issue, and that manual trans is fine, especially after you have done the slave cylinder replacement. Bottom line, keep it. You have already invested 5,500 into the truck, you will only loose that money if you sell it. get the tranny fixed up and you will be smooth sailing.

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

Well over 200,000 is a fair amount. Things wear out. And if your paying a shop to do your work it's going to cost you. If the body is good/excellent I'd put the money in, when the motor/trans/rear go, replace those as well. You will know what's been done to the truck and should get another 250,000 without any more major expenditures. Over time you will have other things wear out but not so costly.
Along with the slave and clutch, also replace the rear main bearing seal. It seems to go on me right after I r+r a trans.

 

[Explorin94]

Not to sound mean or anything and if you take this the wrong way I apologize. You just bought a vehicle with over 200,000 kms. When you looked at this vehicle you should have asked the then owner about service intervals and maintenance on it. Most of what you had done is regular maintenance on the vehicle, the slave cylinder being one. Now if you did both rear axles then they shouldn't have went so early, or was it the axle seals? Emergency brake cables are normal for the year and mileage of the truck. If that slave and other parts minus the brakes have lasted that long just think how long the parts you just put on will last. With preventive maintenance and being proactive with the truck it will last you another 200,000 plus. Buying a vehicle with that many miles is always a crap shoot if the maintenance has been done. But that is what you should have asked before you bought the truck. As far as I'm concerned every vehicle that you buy with that many miles has it share of problems reguardless of the manufacturer not just Ford.

 

[backroad101]

Like the title says I am beating a dead horse but everything you have done are maintenance items on a high mileage truck which sounds like it was not properly maintained by the previous owner. What do you expect? Were your previous 2 Fords new or used? What is the story behind them?

Myself, I was very picky in what I wanted. I was buying a second vehicle, not replacing my daily driver (though it seems I drive the truck more now). I started looking in March 2009 and did not buy until Dec 2009. The guy I bought it from drove it 8-10k miles a year, did awseme maintenance on it and kept all the records. Since I have had it, (other than the accessories I have added) the parts I had to replace are the 3rd brake light bulb, a lower ball joint, alternator and IAC. I have also changed the oil twice and flushed the coolant once. I will need tires before winter

If you don't want to do all this work, buy brand new and trade in when the warranty expires. If you want to change your opinion on Ford, buy a 2010 Ranger (or any Ford) new off the lot, keep it properly maintained, then status back in 8-10 years. Otherwise, expect to have to do work on a used truck.

.

 

[kimcrwbr1]

Let see now you have most of the bugs worked out of it work it. If you sell it now someone else will benefit from your labor. Keep up on the PM (preventive maint) and see how she fairs out. Depending on how bad it was abused time will tell if it is running good now and holding fluids I say give it a chance. Not being too critical now you know what too look at when buying a vehicle or have a mechanic look at it before you buy for an assessment. A good mechanic will give it a good once over and worth the money if your not able to see the problems beforehand.

 

[Captain Ledd]

I've got about 330,000km (converted from 205,000 miles). And we've rarely had to replace a thing. However, we are now replacing things left and right. Things eventually break and wear out, no matter what.

Don't ever take it to the Stealership, they don't do anything but charge you ridiculous amounts and do shoddy work.

 

[Stewie]

Thanks guys I was hoping that you would say that. I am not anti Ford. I guess I have always owned blue bowties, and I have restored 3 69 Z/28s. I currently drive a 2010 Equinox,and my garage car is a 68 Camaro. I felt I needed a second vehicle. I live in a GM Town, but most of the guys I know swear by their Ford trucks. As for the axles, they were worn at the seal and were tearing them up. They were beyond repair according to my tech. They won't pass the safety if they are leaking.
I realize I have done quite a bit of maintenance that was probably needed, and I now have a pretty good running truck. Most of the big stuff has been done and as I said before the body is really good with little or no rust. The air works good and it has cruise.
I really wanted to hear if these trucks were prone to a lot of breakdown issues.
I knew I would catch it by asking these questions on a Ranger web site but up to now the advice has been right on.
I have been a firm believer in these types of sites where people get together and bring their experiences and knowledge to help others.
I have doen a lot of "other" things to it that I didn't mention. I detialed under the hood and I have even replaced the hood bumpers.
I am very picky when soemthing doesn't work and I either fix it or get it done.
I will give it a few more months and see how it goes.
Thanks for the help guys.

 

[r1hatman]

It's just maintenance of an older vehicle. I traded for my 83 last year and really didn't do anything to it except drain the tranny and put new fluid and a filter and oil change, and it has driven problem free with some hard wheelin for over a year, now the tranny dying, that's just life. It's got over 280,000. miles. I have had all types of vehicles and I must say out of all of them Ford has caused me the least problems. If you look at it with a defeated mindset then you will always be negative toward that particular brand. It's just the cost of owning a vehicle. No vehicle with over 100k is going to be maintenance free. Murphy's law! LOL

 

[srteach]

My first Ford Ranger was a 2.5L with the M5D trans (which you have). It was over 350,000 miles when it kissed a deer. I'd still be driving it if I could have missed that damned deer. You should have very little problems after you catch up on the maintenance issues.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Thanks guys I was hoping that you would say that. I am not anti Ford. I guess I have always owned blue bowties, and I have restored 3 69 Z/28s. I currently drive a 2010 Equinox,and my garage car is a 68 Camaro. I felt I needed a second vehicle. I live in a GM Town, but most of the guys I know swear by their Ford trucks. As for the axles, they were worn at the seal and were tearing them up. They were beyond repair according to my tech. They won't pass the safety if they are leaking.
I realize I have done quite a bit of maintenance that was probably needed, and I now have a pretty good running truck. Most of the big stuff has been done and as I said before the body is really good with little or no rust. The air works good and it has cruise.
I really wanted to hear if these trucks were prone to a lot of breakdown issues.
I knew I would catch it by asking these questions on a Ranger web site but up to now the advice has been right on.
I have been a firm believer in these types of sites where people get together and bring their experiences and knowledge to help others.
I have doen a lot of "other" things to it that I didn't mention. I detialed under the hood and I have even replaced the hood bumpers.
I am very picky when soemthing doesn't work and I either fix it or get it done.
I will give it a few more months and see how it goes.
Thanks for the help guys.

They make a thing called a speedi-sleeve, it is a thin walled tube that goes on your axleshaft and gives the seal a new surface to run on. They usually run about $40 apiece, quite a bit cheaper than a axle shaft. We use them for everyting here where I work and they work very well, we run into shafts on older equipment that are discontued.

Those Rangers are not really known for many issues, that they continue to outsell GM after 12 years of the selling same truck should say something.

 

[robertc1024]

You beat me to the speedi-sleeve post. Those things work great. I'm surprised your mechanic wouldn't have done that before making you shell out for new axles.