two years....

[john112deere]

Realized driving home today that yesterday marked two years since I got the '09 Ranger. See original thread here

~39,300 miles on the clock now. As of 37,475 miles, I was averaging 19.8 mpg over the lifetime of the truck (yes, I've kept records of every fill up), with a best tank of 22.7 and a worst of 15.8.

Pretty much stock- all I've added is a LineX bedliner and a soft tonneau. No major repairs- warranty covered a few minor squeaks, and new window tracks to address some chattering.

Heaviest payload was the drivetrain to a '25 Dodge:


No pics of the heaviest trailer (just a hair over 3,000 lbs), but this was the most interesting:

Probably somewhere around 2800 lbs (??), but with maybe 40 lbs tongue weight.

It's a nice truck...but I pretty well stand by my initial opinion- options list aside, it's not as good a truck as my '97. I like it, and I fully expect to put 200k on it...but it's just not quite as nicely screwed together.

 

[Blue Goose]

I gotta ask....

With all things considered, would you do it again?

 

[DNFXDLI]

Time flies doesn't it?

 

[john112deere]

I gotta ask....

With all things considered, would you do it again?

A question I keep asking myself...

Truth is, I almost never need a truck- and most of the times I do, it's either 4x4 for snow, or something pretty light weight. I looked at a Subaru Impreza hatch before I bought this- and with a trailer hitch, there's really only one time in the last two years I'd have REALLY missed this truck's capabilities. That car was ~$4,000 cheaper, and got ~30-40% better gas mileage.

On the other hand...this truck also represents something more. I "survived" four years of engineering school telling myself that the payoff would come when I graduated and could buy myself a brand-new truck. I spent a lot of nights lying awake thinking about what it might be...and kept coming back to a Ranger. Seven months after graduation, I drove this thing home- the closest thing to exactly what I wanted that was on any dealer's lot in New England.


So, I guess...if I had it to do over again I'd probably do the same thing- but if that truck got totalled tomorrow, I'm not sure I'd drop the insurance check on another just like it.

 

[O'Rattlecan]

It's a really cool truck, Ian. It seems to be doing anything you throw at it which is the Ranger's best reputation.

Ryan

 

[racsan]

It's a really cool truck, Ian. It seems to be doing anything you throw at it which is the Ranger's best reputation.

Ryan

couldnt agree more, if i could afford a newer one, id probly do that. but i'll just keep what ive got together, so far its done all ive asked of it, and it hasnt always been within the g.v.w.r. limits.

 

[john112deere]

[grrr...]
Driving to the grocery store this afternoon, hear a slight noise. Don't think much on it. Leave the store, and hear an awful squealing. Turn out of the parking lot and realize it's me. Mostly gone by the time I got home, but I suppose it'll all have to come apart tomorrow (in the snow). Rear brakes were grabby as hell (as in ABS kicking in while I was slowing down to turn into my road, on sandy wet pavement), too- but that's just one of those charming Ranger traits I've learned to live with in soggy weather, so it could be unrelated.

*Oh, and when I rolled down my window to try to hear the noise better, it was still chattering. Guess I gotta call the clowns back on that, too. (I'd be happy as a pig in crap if they'd yank the electric windows for cranks, at this point.)

 

[fatherdoug]

[grrr...]
Driving to the grocery store this afternoon, hear a slight noise. Don't think much on it. Leave the store, and hear an awful squealing. Turn out of the parking lot and realize it's me. Mostly gone by the time I got home, but I suppose it'll all have to come apart tomorrow (in the snow). Rear brakes were grabby as hell (as in ABS kicking in while I was slowing down to turn into my road, on sandy wet pavement), too- but that's just one of those charming Ranger traits I've learned to live with in soggy weather, so it could be unrelated.

*Oh, and when I rolled down my window to try to hear the noise better, it was still chattering. Guess I gotta call the clowns back on that, too. (I'd be happy as a pig in crap if they'd yank the electric windows for cranks, at this point.)

That doesn't sound good!

 

[john112deere]

It's a brake thing- I'm almost certain. Just what, I don't know...40k miles of rural driving with a manual gearbox certainly shouldn't eat a set of brakes, but I guess anything's possible.

I'm betting some road sand got stuck up in somewhere, but that's a hopeful guess. Another possibility is the silly little dust shields behind the front brakes. Both rotted off and started scraping on the rotors on my '97 Ranger...but never anywhere near this loud- or this early in the truck's life. (Worthless things anyway- Ford wanted $119 apiece, so the RF of that truck went a couple years and at least 10k miles without one, and no ill effects.)

 

[clutch]

just did a search on Autotrader for Subaru's: '05 and newer, less than 60k miles, less than $15k, w/man. trans, within 100miles of my loc. found one, and it was white with creme interior, yuck. I'm bummed I put my Ranger in storage this winter, and now it ain't snowin'! (yet)

 

[john112deere]

just did a search on Autotrader for Subaru's: '05 and newer, less than 60k miles, less than $15k, w/man. trans, within 100miles of my loc. found one, and it was white with creme interior, yuck.

Some people really like Subarus. I'm not one of 'em. Good cars for what they are- Mom loves hers- I just can't get excited about 'em at all.

At least around here, though, they're about the only car you'll find with AWD and a manual gearbox.

 

[clutch]

yeah seem to be worth their weight in gold around here, I got my diesel but it get's like 14 mpg, and diesels well over $4.00 a gallon. I'm partial to the Forester, maybe I can find a ladyfriend with one

 

[john112deere]

I'm partial to the Forester

I can say with absolute certainty that a Forester is the kind of car you can drive 90+ mph with your mother in the back seat, and not hear a word of complaint.

 

[clutch]

just have to say it again:



just kidding, I'm anxious to see what replaces the Ranger... I'm hoping for something Escape like but with a 6' bed, I could go either way on the transmission,
oh and sorry if I hi-jacked yer thread.

 

[john112deere]

It's a brake thing- I'm almost certain. Just what, I don't know...40k miles of rural driving with a manual gearbox certainly shouldn't eat a set of brakes, but I guess anything's possible.

The honeymoon is over.

On the bright side, I've had a fair bit of practice tearing Ranger front discs apart to free pads that rust stuck. It's less fun in the snow than at other times of year, but at least it was almost above freezing.

 

[racsan]

i dont mind the cold if the wind isnt blowing. 20 degrees isnt bad for me if theres no wind. ive worked in damp 38 degree weather with wind that made me more cold than a calm 20 degree day. finnally got some snow here, not much, enough to get the leaf blower out & toss some weight in the back of the truck. front hubs locked now also. on brakes: last year when i got my wife a used blazer, it would eat a set of pads every 3,000 miles! put new rotors, calipers (and another set of pads) on this spring and its been good ever since, not sure if i had calipers hanging up or if it was just crappy rotors. might have even been a combination of the two. but its alot older than your truck, a '97 with 188K on it.

 

[john112deere]

It was warm (30-ish) but there's a cold front blowing in and at times it was snowing hard enough to lose bolts and tools in it.

At any rate- this truck is doing the same damn thing my '97 did. The pads get bound up in their "slides" and drag. Not a caliper thing, 'cause even with the caliper off there's too much drag on the rotor. Tear 'em down, wire-brush everything, put on a little grease on it, and button it back up. (This was a little different- it was just the bottom of one pad, and by the wear on the pad has been a problem for a while.)

I did this often enough on the '97 that a large C-clamp is still part of my standard-carry tool kit. Only cooked one set of pads/rotors- the first time I had a problem.

On that truck I always figured it was cheap aftermarket parts...this is wearing what it left the factory with.

*It occurs to me that there are actually a lot of nuisance things I always attributed to age on the '97 until I realized this one did 'em rolling off the lot. Irritating on the '09, but even more impressive for the '97- it developed even fewer bad habits over the years than I'd always assumed.

 

[john112deere]

Inside pad from the left front.

Note how much more of the tapered part is worn off on the bottom of the pad (at the top of the frame):


Harder to see in the side view, but with the pad in hand I could see the taper (top of pad is now at the top of frame):

 

[Fordzilla80]

You're not the only one Ian. A few months ago my brakes started squealing something fierce, and upon inspection, I realized that not only were the pad surfaces unevenly worn, the pad surface on 4 front pads had at least 2 cracks. The shims had also given up the ghost and had fallen from behind the pad and were scraping the hub section of the rotor. I checked the caliper slides to see if they were moving freely and they were, so I don't really know why the pads had uneven surface wear. I need to pull them back apart soon though to make sure the new pads aren't doing the same thing.

I love Rangers, but my 03 has been a royal pain in my rear since the get go.