Looking to get a ranger!

[eric17mx]

My old 93 ext cab 4.0 auto ranger took me all over the mountains many times and it had 250k stock motor and tranny, i never had one problem, id get a bigger trans cooler though if you plan on wheeling alot or towing!

 

[Toms01PSD]

I'm putting another 5R55E in my 98 4x4 4.0 ranger. This while be the third transmission in it so far. It has 115k miles on it...

 

[PapaGeno21]

Is that an Auto or manual toms?

 

[Ranger Sport Honduras]

i believe thats the auto trans

 

[nate09]

yes thatd be an auto trans.

i own a 93 and love it. currently 213k miles on the motor with nothing more than general maintenance. the trans was rebuilt before i bought it, for what reason i dont know. ive been 7k miles on it myself and had no problems what so ever. even with 3.27s in the axles it moves pretty quick. i wouldnt hesitate to take it on a road trip or go wheelin with it. as for mileage, ive gotten anywhere from 15 (winter time) to 21 combined city/highway driving.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

A 4.0 auto will rape a 3.0 manual and then some.

The longer you are here the more I am convinced you are a troll.

How do they hold up in heavy wheeling? Both the engine, but more specifically the tranny?

I seem to recall PapaGeno has the same AW4 I have in my Jeeps, and they are bulletproof for just about anything you can throw at them. Does the automatic in the Rangers have the same ability the Jeep trannys do?

I can't really speak for the newer auto trans as I haven't had much experience with them. The old A4LD auto trans were kind of hit and miss. If you took care of them and put a good trans cooler on them, they were usually ok for awhile. If you didn't, they often did not last long. Newer ones are supposed to be stronger. Running an extra trans cooler is not a bad idea, however, because most auto trans do not like heat.

 

[eric17mx]

Thats what usually f's them up is heat, worst thing for a auto transmission is heat, ive been looking to replace the trans pan with a deep one the holds 2 more quarts and it also has a drain plug so no more atf to drain all over the place! My new one is a 5r55e and i think they are similar to the a4ld but the main difference it is computer controlled.

 

[adsm08]

Completely different beast. The 5R55 is much stronger for one. Its a lot screwier inside too. It has directional clutches, you can actually put the darn clutch plates in backwards. I don't think you could do that with the A4LD. The 5r55 is a much better transmission.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

Yep.

I see the resident troll is still hard at work talking about things he doesn't have a clue on.... (eric17mx)

 

[adsm08]

Yep.

I see the resident troll is still hard at work talking about things he doesn't have a clue on.... (eric17mx)

I gotta give him a few points for that post, he got the parts about heat and electronic controls right. He even got the trans ID right.

I'm not sure how much difference 2 extra quarts is gonna make. I'm also pretty sure that increases your risk of catching the pan on something.

But they are different trannies as far as I know.

A4LD= Automatic 4 speed, Low and Drive
5r55e= 5 speed rear wheel drive, rated to 550 Ft Lbs torque, Electronic control.

So yeah, just from that simple decoding of the nomenclature I'd guess completely different beast.

 

[Toms01PSD]

From my understanding the 5R55E is based on the A4LD with an extra gear. Not too sure about that though.

I'm thinking about replacing the transmission cooler (if you can really call that tiny POS that) with a larger unit in the same location. Heat really kills these trannys.

PapaGeno-it's an automatic.

 

[Original_Ranger84]

Common problem with the auto trans 3.0L Rangers. A gear change might wake it up a lil but I've never experimented, most of my trucks are manual trans.

You'll get the best performance out of a manual trans 3.0L if you upshift between 4,000 and 5,000 rpms to stay in the powerband. I wouldn't upshift lower than 3,000 unless I had to.

Really I regularly shift between 2,500 and 3,500 all the time with no ill effects. does just fine and I seem to get better mileage if I stay out of it... say running it around 2,500 I get the best mileage.

A 4.0 auto will rape a 3.0 manual and then some.

How do you figure...? I rape my friends 4.0L auto and my other friends 4.2L auto f 150 on a regular basis with both my 2.8L and 3.0L with 31's and 3.73's..

How do they hold up in heavy wheeling? Both the engine, but more specifically the tranny?

I seem to recall PapaGeno has the same AW4 I have in my Jeeps, and they are bulletproof for just about anything you can throw at them. Does the automatic in the Rangers have the same ability the Jeep trannys do?

If your going the wheeling route I highly recommend the 4.0L mostly because of the torque band. The 3.0L is an amazing engine but when I try and wheel it it falls on its face below 2,500 rpm's the 4.0L makes it torque down low and will do better in slow starts and crawling. The trannys well the M5OD (5 speed stick) is highly saught after cause it is heavy duty and stuff. The Autos I would have no idea other then the A4LD isn't very liked cause I only got sticks and the one auto I have driven was the worst experience of my life...

I personally have a 3.0L Extended cab 4x4 with the 5 speed manual, 3.73's, and 31" tires. and I average between 15 - 18 mpg city depending on the weather and traffic I have seen about 20 before. And anywhere from 20 - 25 mpg highway. Infact I pulled off 20 mpg with 1000lbs of wood pellets and an explorer axle in the bed on my trip home for break. Concidering the estimated mpg's is 18 city and 21 highway thats pretty good. I also pulled my brother out of the ditch and was screwing around in 2 ft of snow today... if you need a reliable truck for snow and stuff I would go with a 98+ ranger with IFS it makes SOOOOOOOO much difference in the deep snow.

 

[mud390]

My 03 with a 4.0L and a 5sp auto seems to be doing pretty well. It's got something like 65000 miles on the clock and is running strong. I haven't done any serious offroading in it, but the little bit of play time I had the truck gave me no problems.

Kris

 

[Toms01PSD]

My 03 with a 4.0L and a 5sp auto seems to be doing pretty well. It's got something like 65000 miles on the clock and is running strong. I haven't done any serious offroading in it, but the little bit of play time I had the truck gave me no problems.

Kris

That's also the SOHC 4.0, not the OHV 4.0 found in 2000-down trucks.

 

[mud390]

That's also the SOHC 4.0, not the OHV 4.0 found in 2000-down trucks.

My fault. I can't keep the two straight for some reason. Disregard my previous post, unless you are looking for that vintage.

Kris