Our trip to the Michigan Assembly Plant 10/22/18

[Jim Oaks]

Some of you know that fastpakr and I went to the Michigan Assembly Plant this past Monday for an event involving the 2019 Ford Ranger.

Here's a link to the write up I did about that experience:

https://www.therangerstation.com/ford-celebrates-the-start-of-ranger-production/

 

[bobbywalter]

great article.


with many aspects of the company it is family oriented..

its why i take certain things personal. making it hard for the fan base to utilize the powertrains starting in the mid 2000's is a great irritation for me. hopefully my son in law will land a permanent gig there. still waiting on that. he has been bouncing around various facilities the last few years.


still..26k for a 2wd...not bitching yet...just have to wait longer...

 

[Craig0320]

Man that looked like a blast going there. It looks like Caleb was engraving his name in the drivetrain . To some rangers are just trucks but to others they are an extension of ones personality. I was raised in ford rangers. From diapers to an adult and owning one now. It truly is a way of life. God Bless you Jim and everyone on this forum for the knowledge and passion that is given daily. I hope it goes another 20 years and beyond.

 

[Ranger850]

Have to admit, watching the videos and reading the article, I'm ready to see it in person.
Did every ranger have the same hood, I've never noticed the double humps.

 

[Captain Ledd]

Kinda neat that they put a 2wd locker option in.

I put a rear locker in my 2wd, awesome upgrade and has gotten me out of a number of jams. I'm doing a 4x4 swap because I found several occasions where I actually had more traction than clutch (loaded bed btw), since I'd be adding a t-case I figured why not go for it.

Looks like a really nice truck, though I thought MY engine bay was packed for a 4 cylinder.... yikes.

 

[Uncle Gump]

I don't see one of these in my driveway anytime in the near future... but I like it.

Once I wear out my current truck... The short comings (if any) will be figured out and corrected. Joe Public has a way of bringing those issues to the surface, despite all of the validation and durability testing Ford does. When I'm ready... these will get my first look.

 

[Assassynation]

Great write up! I don't mind the continuation of the T6 design. The international market is about to get a lot more business in aftermarket. If someone wants the Raptor Ranger, then all they have to do is a few clicks of the mouse. I wouldn't be surprised if an international company made a "Raptor in a Box". lol

 

[91stranger]

Why the heck were they idling through the off road course? I would be giving it a lot more throttle than what they were doing. I know they don't want you to abuse it but you need to see what it can do too. The article was nice and interesting beside the guy idling through the course lol. I like the rear diff locker. That is a must on any ranger. One wheelie peelies aren't fun lol

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Why the heck were they idling through the off road course? I would be giving it a lot more throttle than what they were doing. I know they don't want you to abuse it but you need to see what it can do too. The article was nice and interesting beside the guy idling through the course lol. I like the rear diff locker. That is a must on any ranger. One wheelie peelies aren't fun lol

Rolling trucks isn't showing anyone what they can do. Generally people crawl thru stuff like that.

If they had a mud pit I would agree with you, hammer down.

 

[adsm08]

Why the heck were they idling through the off road course? I would be giving it a lot more throttle than what they were doing. I know they don't want you to abuse it but you need to see what it can do too. The article was nice and interesting beside the guy idling through the course lol. I like the rear diff locker. That is a must on any ranger. One wheelie peelies aren't fun lol

You know the locker will auto disengage above 5MPH, right?

 

[91stranger]

You know the locker will auto disengage above 5MPH, right?

Nope, didn't know that. That's a poor design if it disengages above 5 mph. This should have an option for a locked rear end for racing then.

 

[Uncle Gump]

You know the locker will auto disengage above 5MPH, right?

I don't know how this works exactly, but vehicle speed vs. wheel speed had to play into engineering criteria for this feature. I would also think there is an algorithm that looks at several parameters before disengagement. If not... it would be a pretty useless option.

 

[fastpakr]

Nope, didn't know that. That's a poor design if it disengages above 5 mph. This should have an option for a locked rear end for racing then.

All factory electronic lockers that I can think of over the last couple of decades had a maximum speed restriction like that.

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

So what is the reasoning for the 5 mph limit on factory e-lockers?

 

[fastpakr]

My interpretation was always that it's enough to get the vehicle through any reasonable terrain while simultaneously preventing slamming a high speed wheel into a high traction object. Self preservation for warranty purposes.