Ford Ranger $30k budget

Submitted: Monday, Oct 15, 2018 at 16:09
ThreadID: 137344 Views:6509 Replies:8 FollowUps:10
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My son is in the market for a dual cab ute, 4x4, manual, diesel, around the sub $30k mark, realising that at that budget it would give him a 2014 model or there-abouts. Nice to have's would be bullbar, towbar and canopy.

My problem (being a Toyota man - yes sorry) is that I have not followed the Ford Ranger as I did the Toyo's (where I would know which model/year Hilux to favour) Is for example a wildtrack so much better than XLS, what is XLS v XLT, etc etc.

This is his first REAL car and I would hate for him to miss out on model updates that Ford people amongst you may know.

And of course known little issues to look out for. Any advice I can pass on would be most appreciated.

Cheers,

CJ


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Reply By: Frank P (NSW) - Monday, Oct 15, 2018 at 17:03

Monday, Oct 15, 2018 at 17:03
It might be worth posting the question on newranger.net. It's a good Ranger/BT50 owners forum.

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Reply By: Member - nick b boab - Monday, Oct 15, 2018 at 17:20

Monday, Oct 15, 2018 at 17:20
I have a 2012 PX Ranger supercab (4 door) suicide doors IMO the best option if you're not carting around Xtra people . Paid around the 30k
Ex government with steel tray.
A lot will depend on what it's going to be used for , the later model you get the more chimes & such annoying gadgets.
Wildtrak are top of the line and I think you will pay a lot more for .
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Follow Up By: Les - PK Ranger - Monday, Oct 15, 2018 at 23:18

Monday, Oct 15, 2018 at 23:18
I agree, if just for a couple of people, the extra cab with suicide doors is a real winner . . . can put a fridge behind the pax seat, and storage of 2nd battery behind the driver.
Do this with my dual cab (back seat removed), but a lot nicer having an extra foot of tray, and better tub balance for loading too.
Having the whole side open up is nice for access.

My older PK XLT is at 185k now, apart from the terribly weak auto trans (rebuilt HD recently), it is going great.
I hope the PX had an auto upgrade to a different unit, assume it did going to the 3.2 5cyl.
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Follow Up By: Frank P (NSW) - Tuesday, Oct 16, 2018 at 08:31

Tuesday, Oct 16, 2018 at 08:31
Hi Les,

The auto in the current Ranger/BT50 is Ford's 6R80. The coding means 6 speeds, Rear wheel drive, and it's good for 800Nm input torque. It is based on a ZF transmission and is made under licence by Ford with some Ford modifications. The current engines deliver 470Nm, so in terms of its specs the transmission is not working very hard and has has a good safety margin. It is used in larger vehicle with larger engines in the US.

As I've said elsewhere in the thread, my experience with it has been excellent despite nearly 4 years of hard work.
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Follow Up By: Les - PK Ranger - Tuesday, Oct 16, 2018 at 12:53

Tuesday, Oct 16, 2018 at 12:53
Thanks Frank, I should have know this, back of mind I knew it was 6 sp, vs 5sp in the PK, so totally different box.

The auto place told me the PJ / PK auto box is the same one as in the Falcons (!!) and very weak.
He was surprised mine had done 6 or 7 Simpson crossings (plus a lot of other trips all over), inc 2 x off track to Geo centre and Hill, once going east - eest from near Poepell Cnr, that was such a stressful trip for mechanicals.
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Follow Up By: Member - nick b boab - Tuesday, Oct 16, 2018 at 13:05

Tuesday, Oct 16, 2018 at 13:05
Les : you never know when you may need a brown lemonade from the fridge while traversing The Simpsons LOL
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Follow Up By: Frank P (NSW) - Tuesday, Oct 16, 2018 at 13:26

Tuesday, Oct 16, 2018 at 13:26
Nick,

If you're going to keep the Coke in the rear door and out of the fridge, might as well keep it on the front seat or footwell where you can get at it without stopping to open doors! LOL
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Follow Up By: Les - PK Ranger - Tuesday, Oct 16, 2018 at 14:31

Tuesday, Oct 16, 2018 at 14:31
Looks good Nick, it's a plus having the fridge in the cab, where the temps are no doubt cooler for more efficiency.

I suppose with mine in the crew cab, there is more room for larger fridge (mine's Tecniice 45lt) and the door opens for easy access from the cooking area I set up under the main awning, accessible easily even in wet weather.



Still, if I ever get another 4WD it will very likely be one of the extra cab models, the Ranger or Dmax perhaps.
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Follow Up By: Member - nick b boab - Tuesday, Oct 16, 2018 at 22:10

Tuesday, Oct 16, 2018 at 22:10
G:Day Frank P : That Coke bottle is my "Rain" drinking water .
Its very surprising just how cool the water stays in the back doors .
Cheers Nick b

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Follow Up By: Gbc.. - Wednesday, Oct 17, 2018 at 16:41

Wednesday, Oct 17, 2018 at 16:41
Most importantly you can fit a 40 pounder in one side and a bottle of single malt in the rear door pockets of a PX ranger just perfectly. ‘Designed in australia’.......
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Reply By: Gbc.. - Monday, Oct 15, 2018 at 17:33

Monday, Oct 15, 2018 at 17:33
When it comes to fords they all get the same running gear and safety gear in the px1. Model differences is largely interior trim and wank factor as opposed to hilux which gets short changed on important safety gear in the workmates. I would beg him to consider an auto, they are that good. I know guys who bought the manual then traded for the auto. There was a small run of XL’s with the 3.2 engine which did not allow the diff lock as an option. Mine is one of them. Obviously a locker is a good thing. The traction control off road is pretty impressive.
Mine is 5 Y.O, 140 kms, 3.2 auto XL. Work vehicle, tows big weight on and off road. It Laps the work up no problem. Apart from suspension nothing has been done on it. It got a lead frame assembly under warranty at about 60 km. We changed the gearbox oil at 100km on advice and it was in good condition. I tow in sand a bit so we were worried about the box heating up. No need as it turns out. People towing in high range in soft sand cook them pretty quick but it wouldn’t matter what brand they drove.
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Reply By: noggins - Monday, Oct 15, 2018 at 18:13

Monday, Oct 15, 2018 at 18:13
Last year we went away for a few months with another couple, we have a PX1 XLT Ranger and they have a 'Yota D4 Hilux.
All his Mrs did was complain about :-
1; the lack of power ,( where I was cruising at around 90 Kph and in 5th his was still trying to sort out which gear to drive in ) both vans were of equal weight ( give or take 50 Kgs @ a weighbridge when leaving )
2: Uncomfortable seat and had to use cushions.
3: Noisy motor even under a load and slight incline.
4: rear end sagging excessively when van was on with 260 Kgs on hitch
All I heard was
"We shoulda bought a Ranger like yours"

I'd be getting an early PX2 auto with low Kms, either a dual cab ( for 4 people ) or an extended cab ( for 2 people)
The extended cab will give more tray space as the tray is longer than the dual cab so a lot would depend on what his demands for it are.

As for pulling power a lazy 5 cyl will do the job better than a flogging 4 cyl would.
There are some that say a good 4 is equal to the 5 but my mates D4 had an ecu tune and still slaved at any small hill.

ron
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Follow Up By: Greg J1 - Monday, Oct 15, 2018 at 19:40

Monday, Oct 15, 2018 at 19:40
Nothing like a whinging unsatisfied wife to make your day noggins. Especially if it’s your mates wife hey.


Lol what a story to tell around the campfire.

I love telling my story around the campfire about the only 2 vehicles we seen on the canning in 2016 with broken suspension was a Mazda bt 50 and a Ford Ranger. And that’s the truth.


Cheers Greg
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Reply By: Frank P (NSW) - Monday, Oct 15, 2018 at 18:14

Monday, Oct 15, 2018 at 18:14
I have a Mazda BT50 XTR, a Ranger stablemate. That is one model below Mazda's top, the GT. I think it represents best bank for buck.

The current Rangers are designated PX. PX1 is 2011 to sometime in 2015 (early, I think). PX2 is 2015 to present

Ranger's Wildtrack, I think, is a bit of a suburban poseurs truck. It's nice, has lots of appointments and bling and gadgets if you like that sort of stuff, but it may bring the boy grief when he gets in the bush and starts making the truck do what it's designed to do.

Next down is the XLT, which in that year model is comparable to Mazda's GT. Then comes the XLS. IMO the XLS would be the better value.

By late 2014 most of the bugs in the PX1 had been ironed out.

If you want to spend a bit more and are thinking of the XLT, then perhaps try to find a PX2 XLS instead. PX2 appeared sometime in 2015, I think, and are a significant development over the PX1.

Must it be a Ford? In that 2014 era, the BT50 and the Ranger are almost identical in running gear. The Ranger is a bit better appointed but you'll pay a significant premium over the Mazda for a vehicle that in day to day touring and 4WDing performs the same. Get a Mazda with an ARB Delux bar and that ugly front is fixed.

However, Mazda did not get the improvements that Ford built into the PX2, so if you're thinking of stretching the budget to an early PX2, then I'd suggest the Ranger.

I've had my BT for 100,000 hard km. It spends its life at max weight and when we tour we add another 2200kg hybrid van behind so it is not too far below GCM. It has never let us down. We've just returned from a 16000km half lap, 12k of which was desert and outback dirt. The truck did not miss a beat.

A lot of people replace the OEM water to oil transmission cooler with a conventional air to oil cooler, particularly if towing. I did that, having experienced an overheating transmission when towing in hot weather.

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Follow Up By: Frank P (NSW) - Monday, Oct 15, 2018 at 18:22

Monday, Oct 15, 2018 at 18:22
And I second GBC's comments in his reply - try to talk your son into an auto - they are fantastic. Don't worry about loss of engine braking - that's a thing of the past - and you can manually shift if you want to.

CSeaJay, in your opening post you asked about weaknesses - in the newranger.net forums you read a fair bit about dual mass flywheel problems and input shaft seal and bearing problems. And you also read about problems peculiar to the auto, so I wouldn't dodge either based on what you read. But my experience with the auto has been excellent, from towing in hilly and mountainous areas to extended outback hot weather touring to serious 4WDing on High Country tracks.
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Reply By: CSeaJay - Tuesday, Oct 16, 2018 at 10:32

Tuesday, Oct 16, 2018 at 10:32
Thank you so much Frank Les Gbc and Ron
Clear honest advice, helps me heaps, it reminds me of the forum of old!!
All comments noted and all helpful
Cheers
AnswerID: 621616

Reply By: 9900Eagle - Tuesday, Oct 16, 2018 at 11:02

Tuesday, Oct 16, 2018 at 11:02
CJ, I have a 2012 px space cab that has given excellent service with no faults at all.

I has over 80000 towing K's on it and is now a long way over the 100000k mark, I would go and have a look at the speedo but I am a long, long way from the vehicle.

The auto box is strong but a couple of things can cause problems. The first is the lead frame where the gear control valves stick, this seems to have disappeared now and most of the older ones have been replaced or they never have the problem, the second one is if the torque converter fails it puts metal through the box and it is all over rose for that box.

I couldn't be happier with mine and I hope it keeps going as is, for a long time to come, as we are going to do a really big trip next year.

As quoted earlier, register on the newranger forum and ask there, you ill also see where problems and perceived problems are less and less. Many complain about a problem but many times it comes down to not reading the owners manual front to back.
AnswerID: 621617

Reply By: Winner W - Tuesday, Oct 16, 2018 at 11:53

Tuesday, Oct 16, 2018 at 11:53
I got a PX Wildtrak auto 6 years ago this week. It is now at 188000km. Solo Simpson crossing, Cape York and OTT twice, tows a big boat regularly, lots of beach and bush bashing farm trips, countless dirt roads and corrugations. We love doing dirt roads and remote travelling. Wife loves driving it as she says it drives the same as her 2016 Exceed Pajero.
The Wildtrak has the Best drivers seat for me personally in any car I have rented and owned and thats a lot of them and apart from the big motor the seat was the main attraction for me. I can drive 12 hours straight and my back doesnt kill me after 30 mins like other cars I have had .
Those leather seats clean easily . The heated seats are awesome in the Simpson in winter when you are soaking wet ...
The reverse camera is nice to hook up the boat and to avoid prams in the shopping centre or gumtree stumps on the farm...
It has had a hard life. Still dust free after 6 years and no rattles which can drive me nuts.
It still drives like the day I got it and I just enjoy it every time I get into it.
It has almost 500kg on the back permanently and my economy in city is about 10l per 100km.
Beach driving takes it up to 15 l per 100km and the same with the 2 ton boat in tow.
Extended Ford 6 year warranty expired last week and they fixed everything without arguing every time but I always service it at same dealer.
My Ranger had common faults that was fixed every time so its not perfect but no brand is.
My oldest son sawmine being tortured and was so impressed he got a 2015 Xlt PX 1 Ranger manual which is a nice drive too. 3 years later he has had minimal faults .
My second son almost also went the same route but 3 months ago he got a 2018 BT XT auto which is really nice too and was a much better price and looks than the XLS Ranger with the ugly nose and tubs tie downs. The Bt 50 is almost identical in the way it feels and drives .
Last week I had a brand new XLS auto Ranger as a loan car and it really is nice and smoother than my 6 year old one but my Wildtrak seat is still the best .
I plan to drive it for another 6 years or so then maybe the NewRanger will have a V6 td in it by that time for me to upgrade to.
There are good dual cabs in all brands for all tastes but my first Ford has been an absolute pleasure.
Happy car hunting
AnswerID: 621619

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