Do Ford 4x4s suck?

[triumphrider-1]

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

He was not saying the ZJ was superior. He was saying the auto is better than the manual, in the aspect you were comparing them.

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.

The only difference I could see is the frontal area difference. The TTB has a lot more frontal area, making it like a bulldozer sometimes.

I usually do not carry any weight in the bed of my truck; haven't needed to yet.

Weight and tire type can make a big difference in how it drives in the winter weather.

 

[4x4junkie]

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.

Yeah, there isn't much difference between them in terms of durability. There are slight differences in performance potential though, favoring either one depending on what you're doing with it (TTB is better for high-speed running/jumping... extreme (competitive) rockcrawling tends to favor the solid, but 99% of your typical trail running/moderate (recreational) rockcrawling can be done just as well with either one).
Unlike on a solid axle, you can elevate the diff on a TTB for more clearance by setting up the suspension to sit taller. This will greatly reduce the tendency for it to plow in mud or snow.

You will however find big differences in quality of the aftermarket products available (such as lift kits) for the Ford TTB vs. a Jeep.
Jeep stuff has been kept more-or-less up to date with current usage trends, whereas the suspension industry seems to be stuck way back in the '80s on TTBs. A little bit of tinkering with things like spring rates (and fixing the out-of-whack steering geometry because drop pitman arms usually don't match up properly) can easily bring you up to date on a TTB however.

 

[firsttime4x4]

Can't tell it's in 4wd?

One thing you need to check is your 4x4 hubs. If they are auto lock then you may think that your truck is in 4wd, it might sound and drive like it is in 4wd, but it might not be. If you have a problem with one side not locking in then both sides won't turn. I had this problem on my 94 ranger. Everything did what it was supposed to (the trasfer case locking in and everything) but I couldn't get power to the front wheels. Turns out my passenger side auto lock hub was bad. But thing to do is covert from auto to manual locking hubs.

 

[AllanD]

If his WJ is a "limited" or a Laredo with the optional Diffs
It came with a Geroloc hydraulic differential from the factory

when not worn into uselessness by hard wheeling they are very nearly
the cat's ass for running in snow, and no not just any cat a hornay male
Snow Leopard literally looking for "some pussy" to stretch the metaphore
to it's limit...

I'm not sure what jeep called those diffs but I've had one in my hands, I was trying to figuire out a way to put one (a D44) into an F-150, but I was defeated by the different axleshaft lengths required to drive the carrier mounted hydraulic pump.

That all being said a 4x4 Ford will take offroad abuse for months and years that would break an XJ or WJ in a day.

a 4x4 with OPEN diffs is better in the snow than a 2wd, but only argueably better than a 2wd with a limited slip and chains

Hmmm I suppose that's why I have cable chains for my
front tires and real chain chains for my rears when the
weather gets "Serious".... Like crossing western Nebraska in January on my way to Wyoming.

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[Will]

We don't get tons of snow, but a few years ago we got 17". I headed out in my B2--real mud tires, both axles locked. First, at my neighbors, I had to stop to pull a pickup up the driveway. I went through the yard, a 25 percent grade, and got in front of the truck to pull it up. Real mud tires and real lockers blow the snow out of the way and get down to the ground and then pull. Then I headed for town. I made fresh tracks for the first mile. Then I passed an S10 Blazer--purple--abandoned in the middle of the road. Abandoned so long ago that there were no tracks behind it. It must have gotten bogged down at around 8". Then I encounted a Jeep Wrangler on 35" ATs that had slid into a ditch--the uphill tires spun and spun. Two open axles, or a limited slip and an open. Either way, no locker and you are screwed. I continued on to town. There are no other cars until I get to town. Then I encounter a police 4x4 F150 stuck. I pulled him out. Then I am going behind Enterprise car rental and there is a guy in a suit, the manager, stuck in a Gran Cherokee trying to exit the parking lot. He walked a few block to work and tried to take a rental home. There was no place to hook a strap to the rear of the Grand Cherokee. We had to tie it around something. I pulled him for a while but he never got anywhere that he could go. It was too much snow. I took him home. Then, I found some lady in a shitbox Lumina that had actually battled her way about a half block by pounding backwards and forwards against the snow. The car finally laid down to die. I used my whole length of winch cable to haul her car back to the driveway. It couldn't help so I couldn't just tow it.

Since nothing was open, I went home. 12 miles. On the way back I found a Dodge Ram 4x4 dually in the ditch. The guy was skeptical when I produced a snatch block and shackle and started laying out a plan. But then a plow truck came by and pulled him out without so much as a hint of effort.

I say--what do you have for tread and do you have lockers?

 

[Blueranger99]

two years ago on the first day of bear season we got some snow. when i pulled up to park to go hunting my truck slid down over the embankment. it took me about 10 minutes to get back up on the road, i had the ground all ripped up. i backed up and waited till there was no traffic, gave er hell and popped er back up onto the road. thats when my wheels started spinnin bout puttin a locker up front. i believe that without my ls rear i would have needed someone to pull me out. if i would have had my first 4x4- 93 s10 blazer (with two open diffs) i would have been screwed.

truth is that ford 4x4s dont suck. some setups just do better than others.

 

[lone-wolf]

My 95 Ranger 5spd 3.0L is comparable to my friend's 93(?) Jeep Cherokee Sport 2 dr, 5spd 4.0L High Output. Both running 31s. My engine is definitely lacking though. His tires are lacking(retreads). My ranger doesn't rub with 31s and his jeep does.

Went out mudding the other day and we're pretty evenly matched.

 

[dangerranger83]

Keep telling your RBV snow/mud, etc.. stories. I like reading them.

 

[Jspafford]

Last winter... Found a nissan king cab pickup who slid through an intersection and went grill first into the bottom of a drainage culvert. The roads were ice covered. Seriously, there was no stopping unless going about 10mph. I was in the wife's Ranger. 1999 3.0L, 4R44E, Limited slip rear end with Yokohama Geolander AT Tires.

I thought what the hell... Backed up to the edge and hooked up. Started pulling...

Got him moving with some mild and controlled tire spinning.... Wife yells LOOKOUT! I look up to see a cadillac sliding through the same intersection the truck did heading right towards the front of her truck. I jam the truck into reverse and gun it. His truck smashes back into the ditch and the caddy came about 6 inches from the grille guard!!!

I got back to pulling him out... Got his back tires right to the crest and it hung... then I realised he wasn't even in the truck!!! This whole time I had been dragging it as dead weight up the hill. I yelled for him to get in and try backing up... He did, and that was all I needed to get him out. What a moron...

Anyway, you can keep your jeep... I'll keep my fords.

 

[tanbuddy]

Last winter i overheated my truck and blew the 4x4 the same week. My job is plowing snow, so i gotta get there no matter what, and my truck was still better than my other vechiles lol.
On the way some guy flags me down to pull out his neon totally sideways and front end off the road kinda in a ditch. So on 5 cly and 2wd i back up to him. i stalled the first time, then said wtf and hit it. I drug the ass of the neon side ways and then the guy in the car floored it in reverse he nailed my bumper when he got grip. My pintle hook put a huge hole in his bumber lol. He thanked me and then i went on to work and got in my F-800

 

[kris97ranger]

last winter i was comming home in about a ft of snow and there was a late 90s f150 2wd long bed about 4 ft into a ditch (almost on the snowmobile trail) and i stopped to ask the guy if he wanted a ride back to town ( its a small town maybe 200 ppl everyone knows everyone) and he asked if i could pull him out. of course there was some snowmobiliers there saying we would need to call 2 tow trucks once mine breaks and that itd never do it. so i figured i may as well try (and had to let them kno how good rangers really are) so i hooked up to him and pulled and he didnt move even with him in reverse so i backed up a bit more and gave it a bit of a jolt b4 i started pulling and he moved about 6" towards the road b4 i started sliding back and forth sideways on the road. we did this a few times then he popped back up onto the road and we went back to town. i drive a 97 ranger 4 litre 4wd and at that time it had about 450'000 kilometers on it. im still driving it and at the end of the month its getting 33's not bad cause i got it for 800 bucks
________
TeenageDreams

 

[AllanD]

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?

a 1998-up Grand cherokee is factory equipped with a hybred diff originally called a GerOLok, which is a hydraulic automatic locker.

Some Grand Cherokees are equipped with THREE (one in the T-case)

They are "nice" in the snow and operation is "transparent" to the
driver.

But they are less than capable in a real offroad situation

a garden variety 4x4 with open diffs at each end is really still
a "two wheel drive" because if you lose traction under one wheel
on each axle you are just as immobilized as a 2wd spinning one tire.

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[slammer67]

...... 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?

When I bought my 95 ranger the 4x4 was not working - it was the factory auto hubs, with an open diff, if only one is bad, you get no front wheel drive. I swapped to manual hubs so I know for sure if it's locked in and that first winter we had several snow storms like 12"+ and the ranger did awesome, just needed some weight in the back for traction

 

[Bondo]

During the spring 2 years ago I went down to the swamp in my chopped up 88 BII checking out potential firewood. My 88 has an auto tranny with manual hubs and decent treaded BFG Trailmaker II's for sneakers. My woods trail skirts the edge of the swamp then turns uphill following my property line and back toward the back yard. As I passed my line that goes DEEPER INTO the swamp, I had a momentary loss of sanity. "I wonder how deep that really is?" "I should give it a try", I says to myself.

I spun the wheel and motored off toward the evil black goo. It wasnt very long at all before I discovered that it was very deep indeed, if it has any bottom at all. It was too late, the front end nosed in and I couldnt move an inch in either direction. I was 10 feet short of chain to hook the come-along to the nearest tree behind me. "Oh that figures", I muttered.

Muddied and slightly bloodied (long story), I trudged back to the house to get my daughter and my 86 BII. My 86 has a manual tranny and auto hubs, but the engine is pretty tired I must say. We pile in the 86 and head back into the woods, and all the while Im hoping the black goo hasnt digested my 88. We arrive to see the 88 still visible and get the chain hooked up, and I go over the fine details of the extraction with her. "It should come out with a quick snap or two once I get the nose up", I said. (yeah, that sounded good at the time) Seven or eight good snags does nothing. With a little more speed and violent snapping action and my front tires grab. "Dont stop now" Im thinking. Thankfully, she likes to sling mud too because she didnt let off till the branches were smacking her in the nose. "FREEDOM!"

Once the laughing stopped and everything was stowed away, we proceeded to wheel around those woods for hours. We kept our distance from the bottomless evil black goo though.

Ford 4x4s are awesome.

 

[JohnnyO]

Ford vs. Jeep. Snow. What really matters is what do you have for tires and what do you have for limited-slip or lockers? Also weight distribution.
Had two Ranger 4x4's, both with limited-slip rears. Now on my second Sport Trac, the first with limited-slip, the second with traction control and no limited-slip is available.
The first three were beasts in the snow but they had tires that were up to the job too. The Rangers needed weight in the back, the Sport Tracs do not, or at least I don't detect any difference with it or without it.
My new Trac came with Goodyear all-season tires that were just...friggin'...awful...in snow, to the point of being dangerous. They wore out so I got Firestone A/T's based partly on snow performance recommendations posted at TireRack.com (also partly based on the oddball size it takes and there aren't a lot of choices out there). We'll see how they do this winter.

With the possible exception of a Jeep CJ/Wrangler, Fords are simply built a lot stronger. And even on those Jeeps the axles are kinda weak unless you manage to find one with a D44.