3rd Jun 2002, 14:15

I can sympathize with Ranger owners. I own a '94 4.0 liter V6 4x4 and have had nothing but problems with my front disc brakes. I have literally replaced the brakes on this truck 7 or 8 times. What happens is I will be driving along when all of the sudden I start hearing metal on metal in my brakes. The interior brake pad somehow crumbles and disintegrates. I have taken the truck to the dealer, to Midas, and have even done the brakes myself all with the same result. Being a Mechanical Engineer I know a little about machine design and, in my opinion, the caliper slide scheme on these trucks is a very poor design and may part of the problem.

Also, I have had to replace the torque converter, oxygen sensors, and catalytic converters in this truck.

In short, I will not be buying another Ford!

21st Oct 2002, 15:49

I have a 96 ford ranger, (86k) and have to have the catalytic converter replaced because it is cracked. Anyone else have this problem? The mechanic I took it too said he saw the same thing on several other rangers in the past week.

Just curious.

29th Oct 2002, 20:52

I have a 96 Ranger 5 Speed and have been it's only owner. I have had few problems with it.

I have had strange occurrences with the wipers working on their own and the washer fluid spaying. Also I have had the door buzzer go off when I am driving down the road.

The converter was changed out due to a leak. This was all covered under warranty.

I have creaks and such, but this is a truck. It is getting older and I drive it everyday. I love my truck and would not give it up. I would buy another Ford.

15th Nov 2002, 14:53

I have a '97 Ranger XLT 2x4, 4.0L V6, manual 5-speed transmission. The only two problems I've had with it is the body/frame or front-suspension creaking (never have been able to isolate where it's coming from), and the front-left brake caliper slide froze. The dealer told me the had to pound on it with a hammer and re-machine part of it (that it would have taken weeks to get the proper replacement parts, due to some sort of part-number/warehousing problem!)

I also have a '94 Ford Bronco: its only problem was a open-circuit in the Anti-Lock Brakes (ABS) Hydraulic Control Unit (HCU) valve (front-left inlet port.) A new replacement from the dealer would have been $1200, so I bought the shop manuals (~$100) and a used replacement HCU from a '93 Bronco ($125) in a junk yard, and it works fine now.

22nd Jan 2003, 10:15

I own a '96 Ranger 2.3 Manual. So far the problems I've had was the door buzzer continuously going off while driving down the road, replaced the alternator, and brakes. My 2nd gear in the transmission has gone out of sync, so anywhere above 3200 RPM will make it grind, and all the gears are starting to get harder to change into, though I've had the trans oil changed to make it run smoother, but no luck.

The truck is at 120k though, so the problems I'm having are expected. I've had no serious mechanical problems though some parts of the design of the truck could be better, especially with the suspension in the vehicle. The rear end is way to light for the gear ratio on the bottom end at take off. This of course causes 1st gear to be a pain having manual. A set of 50k tires will last at best around 35 to 40k. Aside from what has happened I've enjoyed driving this truck. I'm even considering buying a newer model.

17th Mar 2003, 18:17

I own a '92 Ranger and I love it. It is easy and fun to drive. It has always been a great truck. It has 330,000 miles on its original motor. It knocks a little, but that should be expected. It has always been hard to shift into 1st gear. It seems like most of the people have nothing good to say about their Ranger, but I like mine.

There has never been anything major gone wrong with mine, so I think all you Ranger haters are wrong.

4th Apr 2003, 20:03

I have a '96 XLT 4 cylinder, 5 speed. The only options on it is a rear slider and power mirrors. Have had the truck since October 2002 and haven't had any major problems yet. I have had the wipers work for no reason and the interior light is very sensitive - there's no traditional linkage on the door so I'm not positive how it works? I do find that 1st gear can be too powerful for such a light vehicle, but it makes spinning the tires easy, which is fun. I was a true Chev boy, but this truck is making me consider a F150 for when I get rid of it.

14th Apr 2003, 13:38

I have a 98 Ranger 4x4. I have the standard cab, 5sp and 4.0L. It seems to operate very well, a few quirks. I think Ford needs to learn from others how to build a front end (mine squeaks, but that is due to design flaw in not being able to lube the tie rod ends).

At 88K miles, AC still blows cold, no rust anywhere (I live in the rust ridden Midwest) and 4wd kicks right into play when called for.

I like it for what it is. I have a friend that has a 93 Supercab Ranger 4x4 with 230K on it and you can't tell it from a new one. Looks as good as the day he took it off the lot and he didn't have to replace his clutch until 220K miles.

11th May 2003, 00:12

'96 XLT 4 cylinder, 5 speed. The only problems I've had are the wipers coming on randomly and the interior light used to stay on whenever it wanted.

The interior light drained the battery several times and I finally pulled the fuse. I later found that by spraying WD-40 or penetrating oil into the latch mechanism on the door and then operating it several times fixed the light. It has worked flawlessly for months now.

28th May 2003, 21:17

I have a 96 extended cab with the 2.3 liter 4 cylinder and the 5 speed manual transmission.

I have had no major problems until 145,000 miles when the transmission quit. The input shaft stripped all its teeth off.

I also have had the door light/buzzer problem, I just disconnected the switch in the door.

Since this was my second Ranger (previously had a 92 4.0 v-6 with 5 speed) that has had transmission problems, I probably will not buy another Ranger.

P.S.-The transmission in both failed while driving down the interstate at 70-75 mph. Not a good feeling.

8th Jun 2003, 14:46

I'm another Chevy man gone bad. Living in the Gulf Coast area of Texas, you have got to have A/C. My 81 Chevrolet A/C was not working at the time and I happened to run across a 96 Ranger XLT (reg cab, 2.3 litre, 5 spd manual trans) with 93,000 miles for $2000. The guy was trying to buy a 4th delivery vehicle and was overextended on his credit. Well, I did not like Fords at all, but this one had a/c, looked great, and got good mileage (My Chev got about 13 mpg in town if I was lucky), so I jumped on it. He owed 2400 by the way.

I've also had problems with the wipers - once I turned them on intermittent, they did not want to go off - but that eventually fixed itself. I like the way my Ranger drives, handles, etc, just wish it had more power... but I'd give it an "A-" grade without hesitation.