Going from '12 Mustang to '11 Ranger - rust and handling concerns

[thegoodjuju]

Hey, all! I'm having some second thoughts about completing the purchase of a Ranger I've had my eye on, so I figured I'd come ask people who have experience with Rangers!

I LOVE my blue 2012 V6 Ford Mustang. I've had it for two years now, and it holds a lot of sentimental value. It's just a really great car. But recently I bought my first house and moved from the city to the rural outskirts of the county. Not out in the boonies, but nearby houses have lots of space between them, there's lots of cows, etc. My house is on a heavily wooded acreage on the side of a ridge, so my driveway is about a quarter mile long uphill about 300 ft above the valley below. My Mustang makes it up, but it's a pretty rough ride. I'd be stuck in the snow, but we only get one or two snows a year. I figure a truck would be better, plus it'd give me hauling room for my eventual landscaping and gardening (I really wanna get into permaculture and basic homesteading).

I also really love to hike and do outdoor activities like kayaking and biking, so I figure a truck is just all around better. I drive 60 miles of highway and interstate a day to and from work, and 160 miles every week to see my family, so realistically most of my drive time will be spent commuting. The Ranger is lower mpg, but the cheaper insurance equals out to the increased money spent on gas. Now, I've considered keeping my Mustang and getting an old Ranger or F150 early 90s beater truck for hauling and weekend recreation, but it'd cost about an extra $600 a year to keep liability insurance on it. So. :/

Anyways, I've had a hard time the past couple of months finding a low mileage good used pickup with manual transmission and 4WD. I've really only been looking at Dodge and Ford, but the Ranger is my favorite due to its size. I can still use it for a pop-up camper, hauling my bike and kayak, etc. while still being able to park downtown and comfortably drive around the city. I was looking for blue, but I have found a nice gray 2011 Ford Ranger Sport not too far from me.

I checked it out and I have some concerns. Moving from my current car to a truck is a big adjustment. My dad is a mechanic and has taught me good car maintenance habits (though I don't know a whole lot about cars, just the basics). I'm really wanting to make sure I get a quality truck that I can take care of and run it up to 300k+ over the next decade, and I want to do a lot of my own maintenance and stuff when possible. Dad told me to avoid anything from up North due to salt, but most Rangers I am finding seem to have a CarFax history that starts in Canada, then to the Northern US, then moves to the South. :/

TL;DR - I'm probably buying a manual 2011 Ford Ranger Sport with 40k miles, and I want to keep it for a very long time, but I have some concerns about rust and overall handling and fuel efficiency. This truck has only had one owner previously and no accidents and is in excellent condition, but the underside has me iffy and it's from Ontario and somehow made it down here to Tennessee. There's rust, but I don't know if it's an abnormal amount or not. My dad said avoid anything flaky, but that some surface rust is normal. The dealership I am working with is run by good, honest folk. I had the manager come out with me to check the underside. He's completely replacing a VERY rusted muffler, and parts of the frame had some pretty bad rust. Nothing flaky, but enough to where he said "I don't like this, you can do better." I explained to him that this truck was perfect in every other way, and so basically I signed all the paperwork (but no trade or down payment) and this week he is replacing the muffler and having the rusty parts of the frame sanded down and coated in a protective sealant. He said when I came back next week he'd get it lifted and me and him would inspect underneath again. Rust elsewhere seemed to be surface only and didn't rub off, and none around the engine bay. Some on the rims.

So my questions are:
- How much rust is too much? And is sanding and a protective coating enough?
- How should a Ranger handle? My Mustang handles wonderfully, and the test drive on the Ranger seemed clunky, and turning the wheel involved both hands instead of one like on my Mustang. Also the clutch was way high. I'm 6'1" and fit comfortably but had to keep lifting my leg for the clutch pedal.
- Since I will be driving so much on the interstates and highways using this truck as a daily driver during the week, and for hauling and outdoor adventures only on the weekends here and there, is there a way to get better fuel efficiency for a 2011 Ford Ranger Sport with tires or mods?
- No power windows or locks... is this normal? And the rear doors have a slight stick to them and you have to kind of give it a small tug to get it open. Like that on both sides. Is that normal?

Thanks for all the help!
CLICK HERE for an imgur link to photos of the truck, including some of underneath.

 

[rusty ol ranger]

First of all welcome to TRS

How much rust is too much? And is sanding and a protective coating enough?
The newer rangers tended not to rot as bad as the older ones. Seems anything 93+ seems to hold up good. Sanding/undercoat is a good idea, and will help to a certain extent, but if you bought something with rot holes, and not just surface (which, sometimes sanding will uncover holes)
Then youre gonna be in for some repairs, however, being an 2011 i wouldnt worry

- How should a Ranger handle? My Mustang handles wonderfully, and the test drive on the Ranger seemed clunky, and turning the wheel involved both hands instead of one like on my Mustang. Also the clutch was way high. I'm 6'1" and fit comfortably but had to keep lifting my leg for the clutch pedal.

Its a truck, its not going to handle like a stang. Not sure what you mean by "clunky", but if youre refferring to it being a bit "clumsy" compared to a stang thats normal. If youre having to use both hands to turn the wheel that would indicate power steering issues. The clutches are self adjusting hydralic and shouldnt be an issue unless its flat out shot

- Since I will be driving so much on the interstates and highways using this truck as a daily driver during the week, and for hauling and outdoor adventures only on the weekends here and there, is there a way to get better fuel efficiency for a 2011 Ford Ranger Sport with tires or mods?

Change the plugs and keep your foot out of it

- No power windows or locks... is this normal? And the rear doors have a slight stick to them and you have to kind of give it a small tug to get it open. Like that on both sides. Is that normal?

Yes, rangers are known for being basic. No power stuff got rarer as time went on but yes those basicish trucks still
Exist. Cant really help with rear doors, maybe sticky from never being used?

 

[don4331]

So my questions are:
- How much rust is too much? And is sanding and a protective coating enough?

Rust is too much when it flakes off. Personally, I wouldn't have even noticed the rust you are talking about, but I am in Great White North and I think ours look like yours the day they roll off dealer lot*. Sanding it might actually be worse than just applying a coating like Por15 - the treatment Ford used quickly formed an oxidized finish (it a little more complex chemically than rust -Fe2O3), that prevented deeper penetration. If you sand off the treatment, you should really apply something similar, then a surface finish otherwise you will have more problems in future. I learned the hard way when I made my long box supercab and had to retreat everything where I had removed the stock finish (can't weld to rust).

- How should a Ranger handle? My Mustang handles wonderfully, and the test drive on the Ranger seemed clunky, and turning the wheel involved both hands instead of one like on my Mustang. Also the clutch was way high. I'm 6'1" and fit comfortably but had to keep lifting my leg for the clutch pedal.

The torsion bar front suspension of the Ranger doesn't compare to the Mustang's. It is also a foot taller - it isn't going to handle the same...
And the clutch has a "truck" position that you will have you lift your leg for. You don't often have to speed shift a truck.

- Since I will be driving so much on the interstates and highways using this truck as a daily driver during the week, and for hauling and outdoor adventures only on the weekends here and there, is there a way to get better fuel efficiency for a 2011 Ford Ranger Sport with tires or mods?

How radical do you want to get?

Replace the tires with narrower ones, lower it (remove rear lift blocks/crank out torsion bars), remove front driveshaft, replace the 4x4 knuckles with edge ones and remove the front axle, remove fuel tank skid plate, replace 4.0 with 2.3, swap the 8.8 differential for a 7.5", etc.

- No power windows or locks... is this normal?
Power lock and windows would almost be considered abnormal. Most of these were sold as cheap transportation. The regular cab XL Rangers don't always come with a/c, especially if it came down from Canada!

And the rear doors have a slight stick to them and you have to kind of give it a small tug to get it open. Like that on both sides. Is that normal?

I'd check the latches - might need a slight adjustment - what ensures firm close in cold of Ontario, might be sticky in your warmer climate. The latch mechanism is cables also and the are prone to stretching - and kind of PIA if stretched as you need to get the door open to get the panel off to replace them.

*OK, my buddies '74 Vega had rust on it in the dealer lot, but we have come a long way from there. My '98 has had the fine layer of surface oxidization for 15+ years on the frame and I can't find anywhere that it is progressing. Tailgate is another story.

 

[adsm08]

I agree with Don on pretty much all of that.

I wouldn't worry about that thing for Rust one bit. If you are worried you can always pull the bed and POR15 the rear of the frame now, before anything really gets started. Beyond that just keeping it washed after driving in snow or mud will go the farthest.

It isn't going to handle like a Mustang. It just isn't, and there isn't anything to do about it, within reason. When I still had stock sized tires on my Ranger it would hang with similar year Mustangs through most turns, but it was a hairy ride.

Same with fuel economy. It can be improved, but you will likely spend more money on the changes than you will ever save on fuel.

Power window and locks were common, but still an option on a Ranger. A manual trans truck would have been more likely to be low-optioned. I wouldn't say having manual windows or locks would be normal, or abnormal. It just is what it is.

The rear doors on these trucks were a problem. The cables stretch, the latches can stick, which can make the cables break, and the change in climate could have affected the correctness of the door adjustment.


And the clutch is what it is as well. I hate the Mustang clutches, they never feel right to me, but I have driven a Ranger for most of my life.

 

[rusty ol ranger]

When I still had stock sized tires on my Ranger it would hang with similar year Mustangs through most turns, but it was a hairy ride.

Dude, no offense, but theres no way any stock, ass end light, twin I beam equipped ranger is going to hang with a foxbody in the twistys.

Unless the guy in the fox couldnt drive...

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Dude, no offense, but theres no way any stock, ass end light, twin I beam equipped ranger is going to hang with a foxbody in the twistys.

Unless the guy in the fox couldnt drive...

We had my brother's Mustang in the black hills last fall (for the Sturgis Mustang Rally) My brother in law was following us in his second gen Sport Trac. He tailgated us pretty much the whole way as we did the speed limit thru the twisty windies and when we got all done commented that he would have thought the Mustang would have outhandled his Sport-Trac.

My brother was like "we are on vacation in the mountains, I was just enjoying the drive". There are critters on the roads at times, we have seen fatality accidents where people slide off a turn... there is no fun in that.

Magazines had a Brembo brake equipped (fancy tires, stiffer springs and I think different struts over a normal GT) '11 Mustang holding almost a full G on the skidpad... I suspect a Sport Trac is somewhere below that.

 

[rusty ol ranger]

We had my brother's Mustang in the black hills last fall (for the Sturgis Mustang Rally) My brother in law was following us in his second gen Sport Trac. He tailgated us pretty much the whole way as we did the speed limit thru the twisty windies and when we got all done commented that he would have thought the Mustang would have outhandled his Sport-Trac.

My brother was like "we are on vacation in the mountains, I was just enjoying the drive". There are critters on the roads at times, we have seen fatality accidents where people slide off a turn... there is no fun in that.

Magazines had a Brembo brake equipped (fancy tires, stiffer springs and I think different struts over a normal GT) '11 Mustang holding almost a full G on the skidpad... I suspect a Sport Trac is somewhere below that.

I mean, a 1st gen ranger isnt a bad handling machine, it beats my dentside

But a fox handles like a go kart in comparison