Life of a 2005 Ranger

[captaingeek]

Hi all - have had a 2005 Ranger XLT for a few years now. Got it at about 40K. No major problems. Its got about 65K now.

After I first got it, belts were making lots of noise in the wet weather. Took it in to Ford and they replaced the idler puller. Seemed kinda weird when the truck hadn't even hit 50K yet.

Around the same time they wanted to replace the rear brakes. OK but again seemed a little premature.
And the power steering fluid. OK - actually did make the steering lots smoother.
And do a brake fluid flush. OK. What the heck. I thought these fluids were supposed to last 100K these days...

Fuel cutout switch was faulting, they replaced that. Odd 1 in a million problem.

After market warrenty is over so it wont be going to the dealership anymore.

So its been raining like crazey here, and the belt squeek is back.

It sat for a few days while it rained, started it up on a cold rainy morning, the belts / idler were very squeeky. Sounded like it was running a little rough. Check engine light came on.

Do these trucks hate rain or somthing? Do they eat idler pullys? Do you think I already need a new ilder and or belt already? Check engine light being on should I be concerned? or do you think it just flagger cause it was running a bit rough? Yeah I know "you'll need to check the codes." I ordered a $30 code reader on ebay...

Anyway the trucks been great. Just using this thread to track the trucks life and of course would love to hear any thoughts or comments.

 

[captaingeek]

Also while I was on ebay am thinking about adding some fog lights.

 

[straycat]

Just put on a new belt, Bro!!!! I am on my second belt and still have the original idler pulley. My belt don't squeal in the rain. I have 73,00 miles on my 99 Ranger. If it starts to squeal I will replace the pulley. I paid $20.00 for my belt a Discount last September. The squeal went away as soon as I put it on and started the truck. It was just time to replace it. I lubed it up and that only helped about 5 miles, so it was time for a new one!!!

 

[straycat]

Also while I was on ebay am thinking about adding some fog lights.

I added mine some years back. Very easy to do. I put them on the back as well.

 

[p38fln]

In my experience, it has never been the idler pulley making the squeak - it's always the belt itself. Change the belt and I bet you the squeak disappears.

Invest in a decent code scanner that can read live data - find out why the check engine light came on.

 

[captaingeek]

thanks guys. im thinking about using the stock fog light locations.

 

[Original_Ranger84]

Yeah the pulleys don't fail that often, I replaced all of the pulleys on th front of my truck and the belt still squeeks when its wet, and its also a fairly new belt... I'll never buy another carquest belt again.

As for the brakes 50K is pretty good, I think I replace mine every 20K or so...? And if the fluids needed replaced it was probably a good idea most places won't go through the trouble of brake and powersteering fluids unless it is really needed.

 

[adsm08]

Idlers go, but it's uncommon and they rarely make a squeal when they die. It's usually more of a rough, rubbing sound, metal on metal kinda stuff. Belts squeal.

 

[captaingeek]

shoulda known it was too good to be true. received a $29 code reader off ebay. doa no good. am i missing somthing? just plug and play right? im so sick of getting junk from ebay. guess im back in the market for a code reader / reset tool. any suggestions?

Ford OBDII Reader OBD 2 Code Check Engine Fix from superchargertuning.

 

[Sunk]

http://www.google.com/search?rlz=1C1CHFX_enUS369US369&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&q=code+scanner+3030#rlz=1C1CHFX_enUS369US369&q=code+scanner+3030&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbo=u&tbs=shop:1&source=og&sa=N&hl=en&tab=wf&biw=1366&bih=643&bav=on.1,or.&fp=4902f885a984d5ed

What I have, works great though I only payed $42 (I think) about 6 months ago.

 

[captaingeek]

i sent it back in the their going to send me another. lets hope that one was just DOA.

anyone ever have to replace the rubber hose that's in between the filler and the tank? some jerk sliced mine. its a clean cut and im thinking of trying to fit a peice of hard pipe in between the cuts. i suppose an aluminum pipe and a couple of hose clamps would work. any other ideas? havn't been able to find the rubber hose online or easily available.

 

[straycat]

i sent it back in the their going to send me another. lets hope that one was just DOA.

anyone ever have to replace the rubber hose that's in between the filler and the tank? some jerk sliced mine. its a clean cut and im thinking of trying to fit a peice of hard pipe in between the cuts. i suppose an aluminum pipe and a couple of hose clamps would work. any other ideas? havn't been able to find the rubber hose online or easily available.

Great to hear that you are getting a new one. Hope it works out, Bro!!!

 

[captaingeek]

hey all! i figured out why the code checker wasn't working... it was because the cig lighter / obd fuse was blown. replaced that and it worked great. wrote down the codes and will need to look them up. i reset the cel and it even seems like the engine is running smoother. im going to leave it go for now and see if they come up again. will check the codes meaning soon.

its a Ford OBDII Reader OBD 2 Code Check Engine Fix for $26.99 on ebay from a superchargertuning. these guys are great!! even helped me figure out the fuse was blown after i returned the last unit cause i thought it was defective. it wasn't! just needed to replace that fuse.

http://myworld.ebay.com/ebaymotors/superchargertuning/?_trksid=p4340.l2559

now onto some fun stuff.

going to start looking for a wire harness adaptor for a nice sony head unit here as well as adding fogs.

anyone else install a single din head unit in the double din space? going to have to do some research on that.

more to come.

 

[wr250rdr]

its really simple and is just like installing a single din in a single din. get the kit from a local car audio store or order it from crtuchfield or al and edds.
and you get a bracket that snaps into place and gived you a shelf and fills the space, so all you are left with is a single din mounting hole.

i would avoide the autozone/walmart brands of adaptor kits. i have had bad luck with them fitting like crap. but i know people who have used them and sware by them. so its a shot in the dark

 

[captaingeek]

thanks for the tip!!