New Tug From Ford
- Thread starter Bushman
- Start date
The 3.2l, 5cyl diesel is from the Transit vans, it has had a lot of teething problems from them shoehorning it into the ranger, hopefully this is overcome by the time the Everest is released. I also hope have sorted their electrical issues out, although the latest one at work is more of a dog than any of the others, as far as electrics go. If I were to look at one I would want to manual, I am not overly impressed with the indecisive auto in my Ranger.
The torsion bar rear suspension may also be a limiting factor in people's decision to buy. I think we in Australia, will be getting some second rate ideas hitting our markets with the death of Aussie built cars. I know we have not had Aussie built 4wds, however, we did seem to have some input as to what suited our conditions, this will change as the productions ceases, IMO.
The torsion bar rear suspension may also be a limiting factor in people's decision to buy. I think we in Australia, will be getting some second rate ideas hitting our markets with the death of Aussie built cars. I know we have not had Aussie built 4wds, however, we did seem to have some input as to what suited our conditions, this will change as the productions ceases, IMO.
@crackacoldie the Everest has Coil-spring Watt's linkage rear suspension,
I agree with your thoughts on the manual over auto for exactly the same reason.
I preferred the manual I sold a few months back to the auto I have now. 20/20 hindsight
I agree with your thoughts on the manual over auto for exactly the same reason.
I preferred the manual I sold a few months back to the auto I have now. 20/20 hindsight
So the auto in the ranger isnt all that great ? I must say I've been spoilt by the Merc box in my Jeep for the last 7 yrs, it is so smooth and doesn't miss a beat. I will have to take one for a good drive and see, may have to review my wish list as I find the auto's nowadays to be great, was always a manual bloke even for trucks but after the Jeep and using an Eaton auto in the trucks, I'm a convert.
To the contrary Cracka Ford Australia have expanded their AU R&D staff and they have more input into Asian/Chinese / Sth African Fords than ever.
The below is my opinion and like all opinions it may be wrong.
I would never buy another Defender I had one which was a not a good vehicle. It came with numerous minor oil leaks, worst windscreen wipers I have ever used and worst of all the transfer case failed at a critical moment while in 4WD. I have owned two Suzuki 4WD, Toyota HiLux 4WD and two Pajeros. I have also managed a small fleet of 4WD field vehicles, mostly Toyotas and drive 4WD fire trucks. They all have been more reliable and much more capable 4WDs than the Defender, they of course had problems, but nothing like my Defender 110 turbo diesel.
However, my biggest concern with Defenders is safety and stability. Defender 110s have a well deserved reputation for falling over, due to their high centre of gravity and large body roll. The Australian Army had a major problem with the Defender 11os having accidents, most accidents were due to their instability. They have few safety features and handle in 4WD worse than large Rural Fire Service trucks due to their inherent body roll. Rangers, Landcrusiers are way in front of Defenders (my personal preference is for a Pajero). You often hear of Defenders lasting a long while, this is because they are well maintained and this takes more work than most 4WD. Don't forget to check those leather diff seals.
Apologies to those Defender owners who are happy with their 4WD, and I hope your good luck continues. I don't want to start an exchange on this issue, but feel a value of this forum is to let others know of both our good and bad experiences. My Defender was a bad experience and when it rolled (4 times ) down a hill in the Capertee National Park after the transfer case failed it really scared me. I am biased against Defenders as one hurt me, so be gentle with me.
I've read a few stories where a some auto Rangers owners were unhappy with the turbo lag on occasions, such as coming in to a roundabout and then moving off without stopping. Personally I haven't experienced anything like that so unless Ford have actually done an up date to newer production cars I'm not sure what the problem is and how widespread it is. In the Aussie Ranger Forum this is a subject that doesn't seem to come up much any more. Frankly, while this is the first diesel vehicle I've ever owned I have driven fleet vehicles that were far worse and downright dangerous in some situations and I'm quite happy with it as far as the auto and turbo are concerned. If my Falcon RTV had the same 6 speed auto as the Ranger there's no way the wife would be able to convince me that I don't need the RTV any more. Having driven both a number of times on Darwin/Adelaide/Darwin trips I find nothing lacking from the auto in performance, particularly in over taking road trains. The only concern I have is the temperature it gets to while towing but it is supposedly still within allowances so I'll be having the auto serviced far more regularly that the Ford requirement.
@yabbietol , Over the years I have heard many horror stories about nearly all the brands, used a Defender often and for many miles in the military and never had a problem though some did as well as rolled them, but it was usually driver error. Anytime loosing the drive can be scary but more so on hills out bush, been there and have the white hair to prove it......excitement is a FWD Isuzu truck with 5,000lts of AVCAT in the tank, as I drive thu the washaways I wonder what sort of baffles the tank has ????? Slush box auto which was marvelous if I used it manually, was a great off road unit albeit scary following normal FWD's........refuelling choppers way out in mountains.
I think I have been smiled upon my old Landy, G60 Patrol, FJ55 Cruiser and my Jeeps have all been trouble free, they might have known I can't afford big bills but I can afford a box of matches, vehicles know these things.....................
I wonder with auto/turbo problems in some vehicles if the operator knows that certain CRD's have a brake switch boost dump , so foot on brake and giving the throttle a tickle won't help spool up the turbo, the gate is opened and the boost is dumped, makes for a bigger lag on take off and most CRD's will have a lag before it all kicks in.
@PhilD probably find an extra auto cooler will do the trick, I fitted one to mine and on these 40deg days over the hills my temp runs around the same with or without the van on the back.
I look forward to the road report when someone gets one of these new Fords.
I think I have been smiled upon my old Landy, G60 Patrol, FJ55 Cruiser and my Jeeps have all been trouble free, they might have known I can't afford big bills but I can afford a box of matches, vehicles know these things.....................
I wonder with auto/turbo problems in some vehicles if the operator knows that certain CRD's have a brake switch boost dump , so foot on brake and giving the throttle a tickle won't help spool up the turbo, the gate is opened and the boost is dumped, makes for a bigger lag on take off and most CRD's will have a lag before it all kicks in.
@PhilD probably find an extra auto cooler will do the trick, I fitted one to mine and on these 40deg days over the hills my temp runs around the same with or without the van on the back.
I look forward to the road report when someone gets one of these new Fords.
5000l of flammable cargo is just plan scary even on level ground. We fill our firetrucks right up when possible to ease the sloshing, they do have baffles, but still slosh a bit, especially when ½ full. In the new trucks at least the brakes work when loaded not like the old petrol Bedford fire tankers.
I also think the new Fords may be interesting, a lot depends on how good the suspension is and what the auto gear box is like.
I was a sceptical about autos in 4WD 10 years ago, but now as I am older and slower I like them. I am into my second auto 4WD. I will need to wait at least 4 or 5 years before buying a new vehicle so if the Ford is good it may be a contender also depends what happens with new model Pajeros in 2015.
For cars and sloshing tanks you should have tried early 1970's vintage Falcon GT's that had the 36 gallon tank, no baffles. Could be fun on a wet & winding road with half a tank and spirited driving. Having a baffle in a 4wd tank though can be over-rated. Had one in my very old Range Rover that pulled a spot weld out of the tank and involved an hour in 45 degC on a dirt hwy to get to it and seal it up.
I know wandering again but you blokes have brought back the memories.......roaring up to the intersection in the Beddie Fire Truck and back down thru the gears for the corner, full load of water and blokes onboard, one more downshift, gear stick comes out, hanging on for dear life as we hurl around the corner while the off sider put the stick back in the hole....lol,lol,lol......fellas behind reckoned we looked like the Keystone Cops.....
Holy sh$t was the cry as you threw the old Ford thru the Kiama bends with half a tank of fuel onboard........also if one tank on the Cooper S didn't run.
The tanker was good when full but since I was only going to pump about 3000lts out I was wondering about the baffles, we were in good tough FWD country ( Batemans Bay or Brindabellas)and the thought of 2000lts getting a big slosh up as I rock an rolled thru the washaways and creeks did have me worried , all was good but I was going to just dump the fuel if it tried to kill me.
Oh and on topic, never had a WDH when I hooked a trailer up to the tanker either, just plenty of fire extinguishers.
PS:....................No I'm not wrong thread..lol,lol,lol,lol.
Holy sh$t was the cry as you threw the old Ford thru the Kiama bends with half a tank of fuel onboard........also if one tank on the Cooper S didn't run.
The tanker was good when full but since I was only going to pump about 3000lts out I was wondering about the baffles, we were in good tough FWD country ( Batemans Bay or Brindabellas)and the thought of 2000lts getting a big slosh up as I rock an rolled thru the washaways and creeks did have me worried , all was good but I was going to just dump the fuel if it tried to kill me.
Oh and on topic, never had a WDH when I hooked a trailer up to the tanker either, just plenty of fire extinguishers.
PS:....................No I'm not wrong thread..lol,lol,lol,lol.
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I love your story of gear stick coming out.
I was young and gullible in the 1970's and joined my local brigade in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney. I learned much and was often scared. The Bedford fire truck use to scare me most of all.
Going down the very steep Narrow Neck track/Fire-trail in Blue Mountains my first time driving the Bedford fire tanker off road. Just before we go down steep slope brigade Captain gets me to stop and all the crew get out and hang off the back. The Captain tells me to toot horn if I think we are going over the edge and they will jump off. He then puts his big foot against the gear stick and said I he will hold it in, but if it pops out and cant get it back in, he will go out the passenger door and I should try to hit the cutting to slow up and if I can get out and leave the truck as well. I was terrified. We crept down the hill into the Megalong Valley without incident. I was told later that was it my local driving test and I could drive the tanker any time I wanted and we would get me a truck licence sometime in the future.
@PhilD I thought the "lag" issue at roundabouts and the like in the Ranger was less about turbo lag and more about the response of the electronic throttle set-up? Can't say I'm 100% sure how this all works, but I can certainly feel in mine that it has a moments hesitation, which can be quite uncomfortable I agree...
Having said that, you can get some plug in module that completely eliminates it... Have read about them but don't know anyone with one as yet, however all the talk is that you fit one of these and the "lag" seems to disappear??
Having said that, you can get some plug in module that completely eliminates it... Have read about them but don't know anyone with one as yet, however all the talk is that you fit one of these and the "lag" seems to disappear??
@MichaelB, I think you're right on track there, and its the only thing I'm dissatisfied with.
After having manuals in my last few work vehicles I really liked the auto for a change.
When it was new, I thought the lag or whatever it is was nonexistent.
But now I've done nearly 10000ks its noticeable when I'm in a hurry.
I could see it being a PITA for city drivers.
Ill be trying to get it tuned? out which apparently, can be done.
After having manuals in my last few work vehicles I really liked the auto for a change.
When it was new, I thought the lag or whatever it is was nonexistent.
But now I've done nearly 10000ks its noticeable when I'm in a hurry.
I could see it being a PITA for city drivers.
Ill be trying to get it tuned? out which apparently, can be done.
From what I've read elsewhere, dealer techs can do an ecu tune/reset to fix the "lag" but I'm thinking the box will re-learn the same issue.
If all else fails I will install a windbooster I think they're called.
If all else fails I will install a windbooster I think they're called.
I was hoping that Ford would bring these out(Ford Edge), they look better in the flesh than in a picture, heaps of these getting around in China lately
With the memory of what happened to our Ranger earlier this year ( http://www.expandasdownunder.com/threads/px-ranger-limp-home-mode-but-no-fault-code.5263/ ) the last thing I would be doing to a car still under warranty would be to mod it with something that either left a software trace of itself or was physically there to be seen by the Service Department. The effort that they put in to isolating even the existing non-factory electrical additions they most certainly would have tried to get out of agreeing to a warranty claim if they could have proved it was our fault. Six weeks in their workshop, 2 new ECU's tried, numerous sensors swapped out and back again, a set of injectors with associated parts, freight costs, man hours and finally a new fuel pump would have amounted to considerable expense.
Whether the issue that some people have with the auto is turbo related or the throttle set-up I have yet to hear that Ford have actually stated that there is a problem at all and I doubt that they ever will. The issue that some people are commenting on isn't universally happening to every auto owner and I do wonder if the adaptive part of the auto has some influence on the issue. With both the Ranger and my RTV I do feel a difference after the battery has been disconnected for a while and the system is reset and then the auto goes about re-learning what my driving style is like and even that has a wide range of possibilities.
