by "Slant6" (slant-6)
Published 12/27/2017 at 15:16
by "Slant6" (slant-6)
Published 12/27/2017 at 15:16
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STARS: 9
I have owned the Ranger for 2 years now. I have done absolutely no maintenance to it in that time and it finally caught up to me.
Last week it failed inspection due to the upper and lower ball joints being shot. While in the shop getting those replaced the water pump failed.
Today, I get it back, drive around for an hour and the alternator is dead.
I bought it for $1200, put 30,000 miles on it and now I’m going to be spending over twice that to get it back. Yes I could have bought another car for that much, but I’m happy with the truck. Any car I buy for $2500 is going to need some work eventually and I’d rather put the money into something I already have and like.
And with all these parts replaced it should last me quite a while longer, at least for the year left I have in college. And when you look at how much Rangers sell for normally my initial cost plus recent repairs equal $3700, which is about the cost for a well sorted out one.
Also I’m building a solar car. You’ll hear more about it and the race this summer soon.
"BaconSandwich is tasty." (baconsandwich)
12/27/2017 at 15:37, STARS: 0
I look forward to hearing more about the solar car!
"Takuro Spirit" (takurospirit)
12/27/2017 at 15:37, STARS: 3
Looks like you were living on the... EDGE
"HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles" (hondasfordsvolvo)
12/27/2017 at 15:41, STARS: 0
I’d say that pretty cheap for a nice ranger like that. It’s never fun to drop a bunch of money on maintenance costs, but that trucks is worth we’ll over 2500 bucks that’s for sure. I’ve spent at least that much on the Galant and it’s still broken
"Slant6" (slant-6)
12/27/2017 at 15:42, STARS: 4
I have a lot on it now, but I’m going to wait until it’s all built before I release it. It’s going to be a big reveal. I’ll be working on the shell at an aerospace composite facility this semester.
"winterlegacy, here 'till the end" (winterlegacy)
12/27/2017 at 15:45, STARS: 0
Okay, you’ve got a Ranger I desperately want. Single cab, short bed, sport appearance package...
Is it an automatic or manual, and what engine?
"Slant6" (slant-6)
12/27/2017 at 15:46, STARS: 0
It really wouldn’t be that bad if things were more spread out. It’s just everything going at once that’s made it an ordeal.
I still love the truck. It’s perfect for me, a design student that does a lot of fabrication and moves twice a year.
"Slant6" (slant-6)
12/27/2017 at 15:50, STARS: 2
It’s a manual and 3.0. For my purposes I would have preferred a 4 cylinder at regular 2wd drive height, but I got a good deal on it.
Great trucks, really handy and trouble free until they have trouble.
"BlueMazda2 - Blesses the rains down in Africa, Purveyor of BMW Individual Arctic Metallic, Merci Twingo" (bluemazda2)
12/27/2017 at 16:01, STARS: 0
“Manual and 3.0”
You called?
"shop-teacher" (shop-teacher)
12/27/2017 at 17:52, STARS: 1
Such is life. Definitely worth doing the maintenance to it.
"Manwich - now Keto-Friendly" (manwich)
12/27/2017 at 18:28, STARS: 0
No maintenance at all? Not even oil changes?
"Danger" (dangerray)
12/27/2017 at 19:12, STARS: 0
At least you’re not dead from ball joint failure. I guess.
"winterlegacy, here 'till the end" (winterlegacy)
12/27/2017 at 19:14, STARS: 1
Great trucks, really handy and trouble free until they have trouble.
And once you have trouble you can never escape it. The woes of automobiles.
"BaconSandwich is tasty." (baconsandwich)
12/27/2017 at 19:37, STARS: 0
That’s awesome!
Some day I’d like to build an enclosed electric assisted tricycle. Imagine a cross between a recumbent bike and a record breaking enclosed bicycle.
"Slant6" (slant-6)
12/27/2017 at 22:50, STARS: 0
Yeah. Got a little lecture from my mechanic. Should have died a while ago.
Glad NC has comprehensive inspections.
"Slant6" (slant-6)
12/27/2017 at 22:52, STARS: 0
Enclosed bikes can get impressivly low drag coefficients. The sizing just works out for some slick forms.
"Slant6" (slant-6)
12/27/2017 at 22:53, STARS: 0
Well. Yes.
"TheRealBicycleBuck" (therealbicyclebuck)
12/27/2017 at 23:07, STARS: 0
The engine in mine is still running after 269k miles. While you are doing ball joints, go ahead and do the tie rod ends. One of mine let go at 65mph. It was a little scary, but we were ok. When I posted about it, someone else chimed in with the same failure on his brother’s truck. That one resulted in a rollover.
"Slant6" (slant-6)
12/27/2017 at 23:22, STARS: 0
They did a lot of front end components, tie rods ends being one of them. For the hour I got to drive it today it felt like a new truck.
I want to say I’ll keep it until 200k, (has 175k now) but realistically I’ll get rid of it first change I get out of school. It’s perfect for me now, I drive maybe 3 days a week and that’s just into town for supplies to to a bar for Trivia night, and I use it to get back home from school maybe 5 times a year. Next year I’m thinking of picking up an internship an hour away so I might trade cars with my brother and take his Fiesta.
"Manwich - now Keto-Friendly" (manwich)
12/28/2017 at 03:22, STARS: 0
Ah HAAAA!!!!