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Ford ranger chassis problems

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kwschumm
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2003-10-24          67010


Anyone here have a Ford Ranger 4x4 pickup?

I have a 98 that has 5k miles left on the extended warranty and there are a couple of problems the dealer hasn't been able to fix. I'm wondering if anyone here has similar problems.

For one, there is an intermittent loud chassis groan when accelerating from a standing start on an incline while turning left. Since I have to make a turn like that every day when leaving our house I notice it all the time, but the dealer can never repeat it. I mean this groan is LOUD. It went away for a few months after they put a new engine in (under warranty), but it's back. Sometimes it goes away for a few weeks and sometimes it happens several times a day. Sometimes I think it may be the exhaust system binding up somewhere. Ideas?

The second problem is the rear leaf springs. They squeak like crazy when climbing in the truck, standing on the rear bumper, etc. I complain, the dealer lubes them, it's ok for a couple of weeks then the squeak starts again. Isn't there supposed to be some sort of isolation between leaves of the springs? Like a teflon or plastic strip to keep metal-on-metal contact from occuring?




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AC5ZO
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2003-10-24          67012


I haven't had a Ford for a while and I have not had your specific problems, but here goes anyway...

I would look at the body mounts for the groan. When you get this sound, it may not be simply the left turn etc. that is causing it but may include the general twisting that the turn causes on the frame and flexing at the body mounts.

I have had lots of leaf springs on many different vehicles. Some have squeaked and others haven't. On the squeaky ones I lubed them with oil. I had better luck with motorcycle chain lube lasting a bit longer, but since it is open, it will wear off. I have never seen a truck leaf spring with isolation pads. That doesn't mean that they aren't done, but I don't know anything about them. I have had Fords, Toyotas, GMCs, ...

I do tend to like the high performance polyurethane bushings that are sold for leaf springs. If you have some metal to metal contact at the mounting site, this may help and will last longer.

Now that I think about it, you should also check the bushings on your anti-sway bar on the front of your truck. That could make a groan if you twist the truck frame and the bushings are worn so that the bar is contacting metal. ....


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kwschumm
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2003-10-24          67027


Thanks for the ideas. I'll have to power wash the underside and crawl underneath to examine everything to see if I can see any trace of metal-to-metal contact. It has had the groan since new so maybe one of the bushings wasn't right from the factory. If I don't see anything I guess I'll start replacing bushings until it goes away (or not). ....


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AC5ZO
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2003-10-25          67040


If it has been doing it since it was new, I would start with a little silicone spray. I had an annoying noise on the H2 and it turned out to be the hood sliding over the rubber stops when the frame flexed. A little silicone did the trick.

Your problem seems to be more related to a specific configuration. Besides, the hood noise sounded like it was coming from up high. ....


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kwschumm
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2003-10-25          67057


My gut tells me this can't be fixed with something as simple as a shot of silicone spray. The chassis groan is very loud - it sounds like a steel building is twisting and collapsing. The groan easily drowns out the radio when it's playing loud. It's not reliably repeatable which makes it very hard to find.

I'm curious if anyone else with a Ranger has this problem. ....


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Peters
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2003-10-25          67067


Apart from the good advice that AC5ZO has given I would look at the lower ball joints (king pin) on the front end. Today most of these do not have grease fittings and will groan if dry or thump. I have a Volvo today with on bad one. As the second owner I traced it through warranty sheets and had existed from new. Even the high price mechanics could not find it.
It is a task to get them out and in without the special tools. Not always done without profanity. So I have had the new one for a couple of years listening to it slowly get worse. I have replace a number on older cars, but some as low as 50K, like on a Dodge Omni I inherited with the wife.
It is a little difficult to analyse from 2 thousand miles with out hearing. The play in the joint can be so slight that you do not see it with the standard wheel movement with the pry bar.
It will not always repeat so the mechanic will not necessarily hear it.
There are 360 degrees of failure so the joint can groan on stopping, one direction turn or acceleration after the brakes are released. ....


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AC5ZO
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2003-10-25          67071


If the groan is that loud, I am sure that you are correct about the silicone.

I am still inclined to believe that it has something to do with the suspension. I don't know what kind of front springs that has, but if they are coils, look for a coil that is not straight and might be hitting some frame metal when it is compressed. You can cure this sometimes by rotating the coil or replacing it. I don't think this has torsion bars, but if so, they pass through frame elements and can make sounds there. The antisway bar is still a possiblility.

The fact that it is not reliably reproducible probably means that it is a combination of steering linkage and suspension. But, it could be suspension alone, since the action of the A arms changes with a wheel in a turn.

Peters is right, this is pretty hard to diagnose from afar. I have found some pretty wierd body squeaks before, but I was right there. A very loud groan is not likely to be a "body squeak." ....


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Chief
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2003-10-25          67076


Hey Ken, my wife's care is a 95 Ford Taurus. The car was making a horrible creeking/groaning noise when turning. I got up underneith and found that the steering linkage ball joints were making the noise. They have the rubber grommets on them but no zirk fittings for greasing. I had it at the dealer fixing another screw up they made and they injected some lube grease into the rubber grommets and it quieted down the ball joints. Very poor design. Unless Ford offers a pickup with a Cummins or Catarpillar engine, will be the last Ford I EVER buy. What a piece of junk! ....


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AC5ZO
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2003-10-25          67079


They call those joints on the linkage, "rod ends." They could be making noise, but I would not settle for just squirting some grease under the rubber. If they are to the point that they make a growling sound, it is probably time to replace them.

I have personally never had a problem with a rod end failure. We do select HD units for our racing buggys, but I think we use Chevy units on the VW linkage. ....


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Peters
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2003-10-25          67082


I have replaced the odd rod end in my day. The last was a Ford F250 I owned. I was a work truck and although low miles was a rig pig truck in Northern Alberta. The dust of the desert is bad but I think the fine mud of the rocky foothills has to be the worst at least for wear.
When you drive the roads in spring as the frost comes out of the ground there is nothing but mud all over the car. The mud is light and fine and get down into every hole in the car or truck. After I got the truck I clean about 2 inches of mud from the bottom of the inside of the doors. ....


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kwschumm
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2003-10-25          67084


It's not only hard to diagnose from afar it's hard to diagnose right here! The worst thing is that I can't MAKE it happen. It comes and goes. Sometimes it happens a few times a day but I've had it go a couple of months without hearing it at all. These are all good suggestions. Since I drive on dirt roads all the time the bottom of the truck is pretty filthy so I can't really see anything through the layer of dirt. Pressure washing and going over the entire suspension with a bright shop light is probably the best first step. The tip on coil springs not being seated properly is a good one, and easy to check. The groan is probably in the front end - it actually sounds like it comes from under the driver so maybe it's engine or tranny mounts. ....


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TomG
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2003-10-26          67116


I had a vibration in my F150 at a specific speed. Myself, a flock of mechanics dealer and otherwise and even friends of mechanics couldn't track it down.

The dealer service manager finally took a ride with me. Took him about 10 seconds after we hit the vibration to say 'drive-shaft, that's the only thing it could be' and he was right. Don't know what that says about the techs that worked for him though. It proved to be a time that dealer shop rates were worth every penny.

Since it's a warranty issue I'd sure document that occurred under warranty and would spend more time getting satisfaction from the dealer than trying to figure it out myself. A drive out to your place by someone who really knows their stuff doesn't seem unreasonable at least to me.

....


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Peters
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2003-10-26          67122


I am wondering about the lower front arm links as Kens description is typical of the type of noise they make and the way it happens.
My current Volvo, initially would only make the noise after turning right on an incline comming out of the drive way and then the first left turn as we headed down the road.
The older 74 Volvo I replaced both lower links over time and the first made the metally moan on some stops. As the second one when it only made a sound as I released the brakes. I had to take the first to the resident expert in old Volvos Ed Schramm in Walley B.C. to figure out what this strange sound was.
....


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kwschumm
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2003-10-26          67126


The problem is fully documented - I've reported it to two different dealers at least six times during service calls and the response is always that they couldn't hear it. And on the days those service calls took place the truck wasn't doing it. Then, when I picked the truck up, the noise would always resume. Very frustrating. ....


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Peters
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2003-10-26          67162


Ken if it is the lower ball joints then the noise in my finding is sparatic. Like I said the 940 Volvo requires you to turn right and stop to force the link into the slack position and then pops the next time you turn left. You never heard it other than that.
I would try backing up and turning in either direction and stopping hard. Then trying the same while travelling forward.
You need to cock the rifle before you can drop the pin. It took a lot of analysis on the 940 until I determine what it was and could make it repeat and this is someone that has seen it a few times before. ....


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kwschumm
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2003-11-19          69140


The dealer may have found a fix for this problem, and if so it's a weird one (to me at least). I discovered that this troublesome chassis noise happened frequently for the first few minutes after starting out on a cold day. So Monday night I parked the truck in the dealers lot, and on Tuesday morning I went to the dealer to demonstrate the noise. Voila - we could actually reproduce it! The dealer had an experienced mechanic who said he thought it was the clutch pilot bearing. They used a "chassis ear" (whatever that is) to narrow it down to the clutch area. They replaced the clutch pilot bearing, disk, pressure plate, and throwout bearing and the noise seems to have disappeared! If i don't hear it again in the next month or so I'd say it's cured. An interesting problem, at least to me. ....


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funchy
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2004-06-15          88645


I'm not trying to scare you, but I'd be really persistent with your dealer till the problem is solved. Little noises can cost lots of $ to fix sometimes.

I have a '99 Mazda B3000 (a Ranger in disguise). My problem started as a weird intermittent clunk noise. It was really infrequent and it would seem to be worst when I did a rapid change in speed. Turns out some steel pin inside the rear gearbox sheared off mysterously, trashing the gears and costimg me $1300. I made the mistake of waiting months for the noise to become more frequent, and I think this is why the gearbox became un-rebuildable.

I don't think my problem is the source of your noise, but I feel they should find and fix the problem now. ....


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kwschumm
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2004-06-16          88652


This noise did appear to be the clutch pilot bearing. Since they replaced the clutch I haven't heard a peep from it. You are aware of the three rubber plugs at the top of the manual tranny aren't you? They dry out and fall out and allow oil to leak out and dirt to get in. It's best to replace them with metal expansion plugs (freeze plugs). ....


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grassgod
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2004-06-18          88791


Sounds logical Ken. I have a 99' ford ranger with 90 k on it & it is as quiet as a mouse, But it has an auto tranny in it. I even tried taking left & right turns on incline's after I read your pole. Nothing! Sorry :( I tried for ya :) ....


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kwschumm
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2004-06-18          88803


My 98 is anything but quiet. It has more squeaks and rattles than a model T. Definitely will be my last Ford. ....


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yooperpete
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2004-06-18          88809


Ken, sorry to hear that you aren't happy at all with your Ranger. As far as I know, Mazda designed the vehicle and builds the components for Ford. Am not sure if Ford assembles them or not. I agree it is Ford's fault for reselling them. Ford is hurting its reputation by doing so. ....


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kwschumm
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2004-06-18          88811


IIRC there was a "Chicago" plant sticker in the window so I assume they are at least partially assembled in the US. At 80k miles this truck has had a new engine, clutch, crank sensor, fuel pump, fuel tank, charcoal canister assembly, two complete driveshafts, fan motor, the transfer case has been resealed twice for leaks, radio has gone out twice, electric window has failed, tailgate broke and has never latched right since, lots of groans, squeaks, and rattles and more stuff that I can't remember. And I maintain it well and drive like a grandmother. Ford lost big on the extended warranty with this POS. ....


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yooperpete
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2004-06-18          88813


Ken, with all that trouble, I'm surprised you haven't taken it to the back 40 and shot it. Didn't lemon laws take effect on vehicles built in 98 and later? Michigan has lemon laws, but isn't it federal? I would be allot more hostile than you are!! Can teach you tips about about outrage if you like. ....


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kwschumm
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2004-06-18          88819


I suppose the dealer knew how to play the game and I wasn't aggressive enough. The lemon law covers the first 24k miles. In that period the vehicle was relatively trouble free, except the chassis groan discussed here, the crank sensor, one driveshaft, and the tailgate. None of that seemed to me to be lemon law material especially since the dealer seemed to be working hard to satisfy me and repairs were always done in a day. The engine had developed an internal knock (piston slap or wrist pins) at about 20k miles and the dealer kept stringing me along for the next 10k miles telling me that the new (rebuilt) engine was backordered through Ford. They finally installed the new engine at 30k miles, and at that point the truck was outside of lemon law coverage. BTW, the rebuilt engine has also developed a similar internal knock - apparently the 4 liter V6 engines used in these trucks have a history with that. With all the problems I can say that the truck has left me stranded only one time, when the crank sensor failed in my driveway. At this point the truck is only worth about $5k so I'll keep driving it and hating it. Next time I buy a new vehicle I will be MUCH more aggressive though. Live and learn. ....


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grassgod
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2004-06-18          88847


You know whats funny about this ken, Now the rolls are reversed. A short time ago I was complaining about the lemon deere I owed & you were defending, Now, I own a simular item that I have had vertually no problems with that you have. First I'd like to say that there is always a lemon in every batch of every item. Ford is no worse then deere & I love Ford. I own 4 ford trucks. 2 gas & 2 diesel & they have held up well to the abuse my crew & I have put them threw. I dont think those dirt raods you often travel help any either but I am sorry to hear ya got a bad egg :(! ....


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grassgod
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2004-06-18          88848


You know whats funny about this ken, Now the rolls are reversed. A short time ago I was complaining about the lemon deere I owed & you were defending, Now, I own a simular item that I have had vertually no problems with that you have. First I'd like to say that there is always a lemon in every batch of every item. Ford is no worse then deere & I love Ford. I own 4 ford trucks. 2 gas & 2 diesel & they have held up well to the abuse my crew & I have put them threw. I dont think those dirt raods you often travel help any either but I am sorry to hear ya got a bad egg :(! ....


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kwschumm
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2004-06-18          88850


I agree that every manufacturer makes a lemon now and then.

This 98 Ranger actually the third Ford we've had. Prior to this I had a 1990 Ranger that was a great truck until 60k miles when the heads cracked. Fortunately the extended warranty covered that. Dealer said their was a casting flaw in the 2.9L V6 heads and that cracked heads were common on that engine.

My wife drives a Taurus SHO - everything on that thing has broke except the engine. Of course it has a Yamaha engine so it doesn't count.

I can't figure out why Ford can't make a good engine anymore. Heck, with the new PowerStroke problems it seems they can't buy good engines either. ....


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cutter
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2004-06-19          88875


My company ride is a 2002 Ranger 4x4. It replaced my '98 S10 that in my opinion was a much better truck. The Chevy had a more comfortable interior, better ride, better fuel economy, was more user friendly and in 100k miles the only repairs were two sets of front wheel bearings and a control module for the intermittent wipers.

This Ranger knocks when you start it, the interior is all cheap and cheesy plastic, the radio buzzes when the heater blower is running, it bucks and rolls when you hit a pothole, the motor growls when you accelerate and is overall a piece of cheap tin. Keep in mind, my personal vehicle is a Ram 2500, so I have no reason to be biased to either the Ford or Chevy. ....


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grassgod
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2004-07-28          92117


Ken - did you ever resolve that loud noise issue? ....


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kwschumm
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2004-07-28          92119


Yes. The dealer got a new service manager who had heard this noise before - the clutch pilot bearing! It sounded to me and everyone else who listened to it like it was in the chassis or suspension somewhere. They replaced the clutch before the extended warranty was up for the cost of $50 deductible plus a clutch disk. Now that this noise is fixed it's on to the other squeaks and rattles, the worst of which is in the leaf springs. ....


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Lefty1
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2004-07-28          92160


Sounds like the Fords from the 60's. The suspension in the front end and the shock towers all squeeked. ....


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grassgod
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2004-07-28          92166


interesting! ....


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77simplicity
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2006-01-29          123715


If this problem cant be fixed you should sell the truck and buy a chevy S10. One of my friends owns a 1992 chevy S10 rolled it 4 times it has a cracked block starter is bad 492000 miles and still going. As for the ranger i dont know what to tell you ive never had this problem before yes i had sqeeky seats in the scottsdale but that didnt mean anything serious good luck with the ranger. ....


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kwschumm
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2006-01-29          123722


The tractor gets paid off in July. After that the Ranger is getting dumped and I'll probably buy a Toyota Tacoma. No more Fords or GMs for us. ....


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oneace
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2006-01-29          123724


Here in PA Ranger and Explorer Suspension mounts rust to pieces and eventually let the springs fly both front coils and rear leafs. JUNK ....


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grassgod
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2006-01-29          123725


i have 3 toyota trucks & they wont let you down! Does anyone know hoe to turn off the "check engine" light on a 99' ford ranger? ....


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kwschumm
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2006-01-29          123726


Check engine light means there is something wrong with the emissions control system. I think you can reset it via ODBC II, but if the problem isn't fixed it will come back on. My 98 had some trouble with the vapor recovery system. Dealer kept replacing the gas cap but it didn't fix it. Turned out to be a check valve in the canister. The easiest fix is a piece of black electrical tape over the light :) ....


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oneace
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2006-01-29          123727


You can unhook the neg. (-) battery terminal. If the problem was intermittent the light will stay out. If it is a problem then the light will go out for a while but in about 2 to 10 miles the light will come back on. Try going to a Auto zone or Advanced Auto parts. They will scan your car for free and give you the DTC (diagnostic trouble code) and an idea of what it might need. In many cars now the entire system is hooked in to the check engine light. If you have a trans problem the light will come on as well as a few other systems. Except SRS and ABS. The will always have they own lights. ....


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grassgod
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2006-01-29          123733


Thanks Ken & Tony! I will go to advance auto parts tomarrow. If I wasnt selling it I would just use the tape but the light seems to have been an issue with potential buyers. How hard is it to change that valve in the canister? ....


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kwschumm
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2006-01-29          123739


If the code scanner shows a problem with the vapor system it's often just the gas cap. I have no idea how hard it is to change the canister since the dealer did it under the emissions control warranty on mine. Usually these are accessible and not hard to change. I think the check valve was part of the canister assembly, but am not 100% sure of that. ....


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grassgod
Join Date: Apr 2004
Posts: 566 ct
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2006-01-29          123741


ok, thats good to know. I am curious to see tomarrow what code comes up. ....


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kwschumm
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2006-01-29          123742


I'll be curious to find out what the problem is. The light on mine will probably come on right after I place the ad to sell it. ....


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grassgod
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2006-01-29          123745


lol....I hear ya Ken...kinda like Murphy's law right? I will post tomarrow what the code came up as. ....


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oneace
Join Date: Mar 2004
Posts: 1490 south central pa
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2006-01-30          123796


Allot of times is an o2 sensor before any thing. Let me know. ....


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grassgod
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2006-01-30          123798


Went to advance auto parts today, they pluged there hand held unit in & it said "no problems detected" So I am going to unplug the light behind the "check engine" beind the dash tonight. ggrrrrr! ....


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oneace
Join Date: Mar 2004
Posts: 1490 south central pa
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2006-01-30          123800


Try disconnecting the battery first and drive it for a couple days and see what happens. You can actually get in trouble in some states by unhooking the check engine light. Also allot of your smaller service stations will plug in the scanner for nothing too. If the light is on theres will find the code. ....


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grassgod
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2006-01-30          123801


I did disconnect the battery already & the light came on fairly quickly after ....


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hardwood
Join Date: Dec 2002
Posts: 3583 iowa
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2006-01-30          123803


If someone started building Ford Falcons again with maybe the addition of electronic igniton and absolutely no other light blinking gadgets and especially with real brakes instead of those death trap brakes we have now I'd stand in the rain waiting to buy one. I'll admit they weren't much, but you could fix one yourself with a screw driver and a pliers. Oh for the simple life again. ....


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grassgod
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2006-01-30          123807


I hear that Frank! ....


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kwschumm
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 5764 NW Oregon
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2006-01-30          123824


I'm not gonna give up on the gas cap idea yet. Here in Oregon they don't trust the citizens to pump their own gas. The gas jockey's sometimes don't get the gas cap on tight and the light goes on. Tighten it up and drive it for a hundred or so miles and the light goes back off. On my Ranger *every* time the check engine light has come on in 100k miles it's been the gas cap or gas vapor recovery system. Is your light on all the time? Or does it go on and off? I'm wondering if there is any correlation between fill-ups and the light going on. Make sure the gas cap is tight and drive it 100 miles. If it doesn't go off then you might spring for a new cap just to see if it helps. ....


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grassgod
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2006-01-30          123825


Ken - it has been on steady for a few weeks now non stop. it goes on as soon as I start it. I suppose I could replace the cap & see what happens. The fuel cap in this ranger is not the threaded type but just the type that clicks & locks into place. Once it is in its locked postion you cant turn it anymore to the right. Maybe the cap is worn just enough to allow the sensors to go off. It appears to be the original cap as it has that plastic that connects to it so that you cant loose the cap. ....


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steve4300
Join Date: Dec 2004
Posts: 71 NH
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2006-02-14          124522


ok I have a 98 ford ranger 4x4 xlt exstended cab, offroad model, Both painted bumbers rusted out, as a matter fact the front fog lights fell out due to rust. The rear tailgate is also rusted, The rest of the body is in good shape. The 3.0 siezed at 80 thousand, the rearend went around 70 thousand. the check engine light has stayed on sense changing engine. Now it need a front wheel bearing assembly(around 200 dollars). Oh by the way my throw out bearing did make noise, but when I changed out the engine I also changed out the clutch ,plate, and bearing. My dealer said they where having proplems with the vender of the throwout bearing because of this proplem. His recomadation after market, no proplems yet.
Will I get rid of this truck no, no payments and I don't put many miles on this truck, I bought a cube van for my company to replace this truck. So for around 1500 I will have a like new truck. I got lucky engine and rearend from totaled truck with only 20 thousand on it paid around 1100 for the 2. When I bought my van and my wifes jeep I bought the extended warrenty, good so far, it has at least covered the 500 dollar bill to fix the alarm on the jeep. ....


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kwschumm
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2006-02-14          124529


The fun never stops with my 98. In the last few months, the transfer case shift motor is going bad (dealer wants $500 + labor but I can probably fix it with a 10 cent bushing), drivers side window regulator is bad and I pressed the cruise control accel button one day and the three-button cluster mounted to the steering wheel just snapped off. I hope I can keep it duck-taped together for another six months. ....


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grassgod
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Posts: 566 ct
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2006-02-15          124535


Well, I finally got the engine light off on mine! I changed the PVC valve & gas cap (thanks Ken!) then took a paperclip & stuck it in the center hole of the computer outlet & whola...its off & I have drivent he truck about 1120 miles since & it is staying off! ....


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kwschumm
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2006-02-15          124547


That sounds like a cheap fix. The gas cap must be a common problem. ....


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wingwiper
Join Date: Jun 2004
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2006-02-15          124549


The Gas Cap is a very common problem, most fuel tanks require a Pressure to build up for proper operation. When the cap leaks or doesn't seal tight or even if someone pumps gas when the engine is running,, Check Engine lite will come on. Misfiring of spark plugs is another. Sensors are fool proof as of yet. If the lite comes on and STAYS on it usually is something stupid, if it FLASHES, pull over ASAP and call a Wrecker. ....


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