The frame was rotted clean through all over the place behind the cab. The mounts that the rear leaf spring shackles attach on to were completely rusted off. The frame between the shackles and the bumper was so decayed that the bumper could have fallen off by simply standing on it and jumping up and down on it. The cross members of the frame under the bed rotted off and my spare tire fell off as did the fuel recycling filtration system that was also mounted to the frame. Once those parts of the frame are gone your spare tire and the filter system have nothing underneath to mount to. Both had to be discarded. I chose to have the frame repaired at a machine shop. The mechanic found that the frame is a two piece riveted together behind the cab. He had to blow out the rivets and replace the entire rear half of the frame with a better frame from a salvage yard. This cost me $800 to do. It has now been three years since then and my frame is now reaching a critical point again. I've chosen to scrap the truck. The cab mounts are almost crumbled free from the frame. They really made these Rangers out of some really cheap steel. If you go to a salvage yard it is absolutely full of Rangers that had the exact same problem. I asked at the salvage yard if they had a Ranger with a good frame on it and they laughed and me and said "good luck." They were right. I looked at a hundred Rangers and you could pull chunks of rusted steel off with your hand.
Put this thing up on a rack to get it inspected and the frame broke in two! Worst POS I have ever seen! Never will by Ford again! Had a Dodge Caravan with over 200K driving on same roads and no frame damage on it!
This just tops off a really bad experience. The transmission on this POS blew at 35K miles; Ford replaced it.; the original equipment tires were unsafe; the truck may catch fire at any time and the speed control is faulty. Basically, I have to walk away from the vehicle - to repair it you would have to repair the entire frame.
Purchased this vehicle from a private seller. Noticed rust on the frame but that is very common in the Northeast. Shocks needed replacing so the vehicle was put on a lift. It was then that a crack in the frame just in front of the driver side rear tire was discovered. Upon further checking a smaller crack was discovered on the passenger side same area. The frame is so rusted that a person can pull on it and actually move it. While tapping the frame with a hammer it went through in a couple of places. According to my mechanic there is no fix for this without replacing the whole frame and the vehicle is unsafe to drive.
- mplourde,
North Grafton, MA, US
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A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
The frame was rotted clean through all over the place behind the cab. The mounts that the rear leaf spring shackles attach on to were completely rusted off. The frame between the shackles and the bumper was so decayed that the bumper could have fallen off by simply standing on it and jumping up and down on it. The cross members of the frame under the bed rotted off and my spare tire fell off as did the fuel recycling filtration system that was also mounted to the frame. Once those parts of the frame are gone your spare tire and the filter system have nothing underneath to mount to. Both had to be discarded. I chose to have the frame repaired at a machine shop. The mechanic found that the frame is a two piece riveted together behind the cab. He had to blow out the rivets and replace the entire rear half of the frame with a better frame from a salvage yard. This cost me $800 to do. It has now been three years since then and my frame is now reaching a critical point again. I've chosen to scrap the truck. The cab mounts are almost crumbled free from the frame. They really made these Rangers out of some really cheap steel. If you go to a salvage yard it is absolutely full of Rangers that had the exact same problem. I asked at the salvage yard if they had a Ranger with a good frame on it and they laughed and me and said "good luck." They were right. I looked at a hundred Rangers and you could pull chunks of rusted steel off with your hand.
- Alex T., Uhrichsville, OH, US