Do Ford 4x4s suck?

[dream1994]

Dont get me wrong I love my 94 ranger. but the 4 wheel drive on my wifes2000 jeep grand cherokee seems far supererear to my ford. When I first bought my ranger I could not even tell if it was working in the snow. It was. I was just wondering why this was?

 

[big91explorer]

Umm, old ranger vs. a newer SUV?

You've got to be kidding right? Put some weight in the ranger, and get it to weigh as much as the jeep, and then see.

My explorers are AWESOME in the snow, partly because they are so heavy, my old lifted 91 explorer with 32" mudders was an ANIMAL in the snow. even my stock 94 does really well, just doesnt have big enuff tires.

The suspension and 4wd system on your ranger are pretty good.

 

[feellnfroggy]

Differnt drivelines man, Your talking about TTB versus solid axles and 4.0 v-6 or smaller versus inline6 4.0 Two totally differnt aminals. And yes the weight factors in alot. Is the ranger 5 spd or auto and the jeep? Does one have manual transfer case and one dont? What kinda tires are one each of them? What sizes? What gearing? Theres alot that will really make one stand out more than the other.


Find the weak parts that you dont like about the rangers 4x4 and MODIFY!!! POst pics.

 

[Mudhound]

"and Modify" he says. Heh. The only thing that I have kept on my Ranger for the 4x4 is, umm,....give me a minute....Oh, yeah. NOW I remember. I kept the engine cradle. At least the parts that went/are going in are 90% Ford, from one year or another. Yeah, I own a couple of Jeeps, too.

 

[Blueranger99]

i believe the rear makes a difference. does your ranger have an open rear or lsd? my ranger is a beast in the snow, even better if i got weight in the bed. the other year i took it offroad in 10 in. of snow with factory size uniroyal liberator at's and it went through it like it was nothin. wheeled better than my cousins 97 cherokee sport with the same size tires. i think rangers are great. just my opinion.

 

[dixie_boysles]

my ranger did AWESOME through the sand! everyone i talk to syas their ford does fine in 4x4

 

[_Kyle_]

Coming from Jeeps previously, they do pretty decent off the line and with some mild upgrading. But once you go deeper and further into it, it becomes even more expensive and becomes not worth it, which is my issue now.

I don't think the WJ has any special 4 wheel drive system like the WKs do, the weight probably just helps is a ton. I know my ZJ is a beast in the snow.

 

[MAranger]

A grand cherokee with quadratrac and an auto is GREAT for wheeling. Fulltime, seamless 4x4. A manual ranger is a bear to wheel compared to an auto jeep! Where I have to do clutchwork crawling rough stuff...because the low range in rangers with stock gearing is still too fast...A grand with an auto would be left foot braking, and the torque converter allows slow, controlled crawl.

As out-of-the box wheelers go, the ZJ gets the upper hand. I don't know why they ever changed a thing! the 4.0, 5.2, and the rare 5.9 in zj's are all solid motors. Weak spot is in the trannys.

My father has a 98 ZJ limited w/ the 5.9...it hauls! limited slip Dana 44's front and rear.

 

[dangerranger83]

My 83 4x4 ranger kicked a full size 98 dodge 4x4's ass gettting through 3 ft. snow!! The dodge sank and the ranger went through it without weight in the rear end. Plus we had just bought the dodge 6 months earlier brand new then got rid of it 3 years later.

 

[Jspafford]

Is this a serious question?!

A grand cherokee with quadratrac and an auto is GREAT for wheeling. Fulltime, seamless 4x4. A manual ranger is a bear to wheel compared to an auto jeep! Where I have to do clutchwork crawling rough stuff...because the low range in rangers with stock gearing is still too fast...A grand with an auto would be left foot braking, and the torque converter allows slow, controlled crawl.

As out-of-the box wheelers go, the ZJ gets the upper hand. I don't know why they ever changed a thing! the 4.0, 5.2, and the rare 5.9 in zj's are all solid motors. Weak spot is in the trannys.

My father has a 98 ZJ limited w/ the 5.9...it hauls! limited slip Dana 44's front and rear.

Your comparing an auto jeep to a manual ranger and the complaining about the ranger saying the gears are too high? Get it in an auto. Your not comparing apples to apples.

 

[MAranger]

pardon my blasphemy!!!!

you just conceded that an ZJ is superior. So, I guess we agree.

There was no question to be taken seriously, only an opinion offered.

I'm not complaining, my left leg does after a few hours of technical wheeling!

 

[billet03]

well all I know is my truck does great off roading or in the snow, and yeah weight does play a part in snow, I didn't have any weight added just my mud tires and we had around 10" of snow las year, I was going every were in 2wd, my cuzine got stuck off roading in his geo tracker I went out obviously put it 4wd and got him, he looked at me then looked down at my tires and said i was wondering why you were doing so well ouit here. oh and lower your psi a little to widen the foot print of your tires that will help some.

 

[tanbuddy]

If you cant tell the difference bn 2wd and 4wd in a normal amout of snow, eather u have steel belts comin out of all 4 tires or your auto hubs arent locking.

 

[dream1994]

I think I understand a little better. someone said something about TTB versus solid axles is there that big of a dif. And how much weight do you guys carry around in the back.

 

[dangerranger83]

My dad cut a tire open and put 120 pounds of concreate in it so far and the tire doesn't slide around in the bed. Hes going to put one more 60 pound bag of concreate in it before this winter.