Bought Daughter a 2010 Ranger, She Paid it Off, Blew Engine, I Replaced Engine.......

[BKennedy]

Daughter dropped off their F150 at the dealership to replace the leaking plastic oil pan under warranty, and picked up the Ranger. Daughter will drive it to work for 2-3 days. This will be the final test. When they get the F150 back, I'll flush and change the Ranger's engine oil, and add the trans fluid conditioner recommended by 410Fortune. Then they can take it permanently.

 

[BKennedy]

Daughter has been commuting with the Ranger and they have been driving it around town. She is reporting it feels like it's got a little more power and no issues. Still doesn't like hills.

I'm going to have a mini-rant here. Used F150 was purchased from a dealership because they didn't want to get ripped off. They got ripped off. The dealership performed zero maintenance or repairs before they sold it. This has become very obvious their however many point inspection is total bulls%^t. The tires needed to be replaced a few weeks after purchasing, the brake pads are 80% worn, and the oil pan has obviously been leaking for a long time.

What a scam: Sell a used truck with issues, throw in an extended warranty. Then a few months later get same truck in their service department and charge the warranty company over $4,000 to replace the oil pan, valve covers and a bunch of related parts (TSB 24-2098). Then, have the gall to tell the customer they need new brake pads on a truck they just sold them with a estimate of over $1,100.

When they get it back we are going to replace the brake pads, and change trans and diff fluid, since there's no telling when any servicing was done. I'm used to the dealership my brother worked at for 28 years, where they perform maintenance and fix any issues with used vehicles before selling them. I guess I'm naive in thinking a major American vehicle manufacturer dealership would have integrity and want repeat business. If the truck wasn't already at the purchasing dealership, I would tell them to take it to a closer Ford dealership and let them get the $4,000 service job.

 

[Fix4Dirt]

Dang that sucks! When I worked for a dealer we always either serviced it and inspected it (there were times we missed small thngs but we made it right), or we told them we havent looked at it we did change oil or what not but its as is. At least that was my understanding as someone from parts dept haha.

 

[BKennedy]

I've noticed that integrity seems to have mostly gone the way of the Dodo in southern California. Businesses can get away with taking advantage of people simply due to the amount of people in the area. They would have been better off buying private party because at least then they would have had it looked over by a mechanic before purchasing.

 

[Turdle]

Brand loyalty cost companies. Days of past business model had a smaller board, less shareholders. Shareholder loyalty is new business model. All you overnight investors out there pulling early profits from your shares. You need to spend time working the company like grandpa did.

 

[Fix4Dirt]

I've noticed that integrity seems to have mostly gone the way of the Dodo in southern California. Businesses can get away with taking advantage of people simply due to the amount of people in the area. They would have been better off buying private party because at least then they would have had it looked over by a mechanic before purchasing.

That is true. There are few places still to my knowledge, most in the IE/SD area, then go north out of LA. As far as LA area dealers not sure, the one I worked for was in Burbank until 2024 when I left.

 

[Josh P]

Autonation is the absolute worst for this. They failed to grease the front drive shaft on a Dodge Ram 1500 during an oil change service that included grease too and Mopar tried to void the warranty on the truck. Lawyers had a field day going after both of them. What I learned from it is, I'll be a lifelong ex mopar customer who never steps foot on any Autonation lot, regardless of the brand sold there. They don't possess the skills to clean their own backside.

 

[Fix4Dirt]

Autonation is the absolute worst for this. They failed to grease the front drive shaft on a Dodge Ram 1500 during an oil change service that included grease too and Mopar tried to void the warranty on the truck. Lawyers had a field day going after both of them. What I learned from it is, I'll be a lifelong ex mopar customer who never steps foot on any Autonation lot, regardless of the brand sold there. They don't possess the skills to clean their own backside.

Thats the problem w/ the big commercialized ones in my experience. Since its such a large chain.

 

[Josh P]

Thats the problem w/ the big commercialized ones in my experience. Since its such a large chain.

The best service and honesty I've seen from a dealer is where my friend bought his F250. A small buy here pay here place.

 

[Fix4Dirt]

The best service and honesty I've seen from a dealer is where my friend bought his F250. A small buy here pay here place.

Yep! Im convinced in general the smalller the place the better the service.

 

[Josh P]

If it was me, I'd document everything extremely well and put the dealer out on blast, internet and the news. The dealer knew exactly what it needed and increased the profit margin by pushing it off to the extended warranty to pay for.

 

[Rick]

The trick is to fill a bucket with hot water to raise the pressure on the can. Otherwise it loses pressure as it gets cold while releasing refrigerant.

 

[410Fortune]

Glad the ranger is working well! Leaking oil pan should have been fixed and a good dealer would have put new brake pads on it

 

[BKennedy]

Glad the ranger is working well! Leaking oil pan should have been fixed and a good dealer would have put new brake pads on it

A good dealer would have also replaced the tires, since one was out of round. They noticed vibration during the test drive so the dealer put it on the alignment rack and said they fixed it. No way they didn't see the oil pan leak, since it's all the way around and the back side of the pan was soaked. They also moved the vibration from the front to the back, which means they knew it had a bad tire and moved it to the rear axle to hide it.

 

[Fix4Dirt]

A good dealer would have also replaced the tires, since one was out of round. They noticed vibration during the test drive so the dealer put it on the alignment rack and said they fixed it. No way they didn't see the oil pan leak, since it's all the way around and the back side of the pan was soaked. They also moved the vibration from the front to the back, which means they knew it had a bad tire and moved it to the rear axle to hide it.

 

[BKennedy]

Plot twist.

The extended warranty they got with the truck is through Sunroad Auto Group, the same company that owns the dealership.

The warranty authorized the work, including everything in the TSB, and a few minor things like a loose wire in the hitch plug and bad tire monitors.

This has me wondering if they underwrite their own extended warranty, or if a separate company underwrites it.

 

[Fix4Dirt]

Plot twist.

The extended warranty they got with the truck is through Sunroad Auto Group, the same company that owns the dealership.

The warranty authorized the work, including everything in the TSB, and a few minor things like a loose wire in the hitch plug and bad tire monitors.

This has me wondering if they underwrite their own extended warranty, or if a separate company underwrites it.

:scratch:

 

[BKennedy]

I still have the Ranger at my house as they haven't sold the BMW yet. I drive it weekly and have grown fond of that little truck. It's simple, comfortable and easy to park in narrow spaced parking lots. Been driving it to most of my outings just for ease of parking and to put miles on it. Starts right up everytime and runs/idles smooth for a 2.3. Two windshield notes and the neighbor kid asking if I want to sell it, but it's a keeper.

It's gutless in low RPM, but has just enough power to do what it needs to do once you get used to it. Just needs more throttle off the line than everything else I drive. It's not a highway truck by any means, but it cruises along around the speed limit without a care in the world. It rides smoother than my Silverado, even with the oversized older AT tires. If I was keeping it, I would go down at least two tire sizes, maybe a little larger than OEM. Ice cold AC.

Still need to swap out the leaky trans pan gasket. I'm not seeing that the oil pressure sending unit at the filter adaptor is still leaking. I'll address that when I swap the trans pan gasket.

I'm glad I took the time and effort to swap engines. It felt good to save it, and it was the practical choice. Thanks again to 410Fortune for all his 2.3 and Ranger knowledge.

Good little truck. Total cost to swap the engine was around $1,100-1,200. I could sell it tomorrow for $8,000.

 

[410Fortune]

Boom
We love rangers

I tell people all the time I could build whatever I want
I chose to build these because they are dollar for dollar the best vehicles on the road

You are welcome I learned a lot from your engine swap thread too

I just saved another 2006 4 banger by replacing its transmission, this time I used the trans from an 07 3.0 and swapped bellhousings. First time I’ve done that

Another traffic Corp 4 cyl ranger reporting back for duty!

Keep up the good work!
We can always get you another one
The duratec 4 banger can make big power thanks to ford later Ecoboost and of course mazdaspeed

The only thing better than a ranger is a sport Trac which is still just a ranger underneath

 

[Rick]

I still have the Ranger at my house as they haven't sold the BMW yet. I drive it weekly and have grown fond of that little truck. It's simple, comfortable and easy to park in narrow spaced parking lots. Been driving it to most of my outings just for ease of parking and to put miles on it. Starts right up everytime and runs/idles smooth for a 2.3. Two windshield notes and the neighbor kid asking if I want to sell it, but it's a keeper.

It's gutless in low RPM, but has just enough power to do what it needs to do once you get used to it. Just needs more throttle off the line than everything else I drive. It's not a highway truck by any means, but it cruises along around the speed limit without a care in the world. It rides smoother than my Silverado, even with the oversized older AT tires. If I was keeping it, I would go down at least two tire sizes, maybe a little larger than OEM. Ice cold AC.

Still need to swap out the leaky trans pan gasket. I'm not seeing that the oil pressure sending unit at the filter adaptor is still leaking. I'll address that when I swap the trans pan gasket.

I'm glad I took the time and effort to swap engines. It felt good to save it, and it was the practical choice. Thanks again to 410Fortune for all his 2.3 and Ranger knowledge.

Good little truck. Total cost to swap the engine was around $1,100-1,200. I could sell it tomorrow for $8,000.

A small turbo would wake it up.