03 ranger 4x4 = VERY SCARY; 2011 ranger 4x2= fun??

[Ramblin Fever]

Seriously!

No joking.

Had a company 03 ford ranger 4x4k for over 300k miles, was given to me to drive at around 150k miles or so; from that moment on, truck terrified me in any type of slippery condition.

Tire/tread type didn't matter, didn't matter how much weight was put in the bed, just overall a very scary truck to drive....always white knuckled during every snow-storm, or the least bit of slush.

You'd barely touch the brake, truck felt like it would lock up and slide, or barely start to turn a corner, truck would instantly be headed for a slide. Fleet mechanic could never pin-point the problem, or A problem, just always said it was an issue with light weight trucks.

Yesterday, company decides to retire the old ranger and issue me a new one, this one is a 2011 Ranger 4x2, same cab, same otherwise model, with factory issued basic highway tires.

Colorado's eastern plains receives worst snow-storm in over 60yrs; I drove this truck in over a foot of snow/ice all the way home 50 miles, didn't scare me once. VERY surefooted, no slipping, no feeling like the world was coming to an end at every corner.

WHAT's the difference????? Why would a new 4x2 feel soooo much safer? I seriously felt like butter relaxing in the seat all the way home in comparison to boiling sweaty forehead/palms in the old truck.

 

[Colt45ws]

The new ones have Electronic Stability Control for one thing.
The characteristics of your old one almost makes me wonder if it didnt have some sort of ABS issue..(or did it even have ABS?)

 

[Ramblin Fever]

Originally Posted By: Colt45ws
The new ones have Electronic Stability Control for one thing.
The characteristics of your old one almost makes me wonder if it didnt have some sort of ABS issue..(or did it even have ABS?)


Yes....it had abs....I did end up removing the abs fuse, hoping it would help the situation....it did, but only ever so slightly.

It always DID feel like something would just lock up and not allow any type of gripping to take place; but no one believed it was an issue but me, I knew something wasn't right with that truck.

Loved the comfort features of that truck, but HATED it on anything slippery....don't know how to describe it, but it was always pretty pitiful to see low-down front wheel drive cars have superb grip and I'm sitting in a 4x4, IN 4 wheel doing 10mph SLOWER then everyone else and still be the one to slide.

 

[Nick R]

I'll take FWD over RWD in snow anyday.

 

[d00df00d]

Chassis technology has come a long way in 8 years. That goes double for Ford, given that they have been improving in leaps and bounds in that time.

By the way, it's not actually surprising that those "low-down front wheel drive cars" had an advantage. They have most of their mass on their driving wheels, and their lower centers of gravity would be hugely helpful when cornering.

Regarding your old truck: did 4WD mode lock the diffs?

 

[Colt45ws]

Originally Posted By: Nick R
I'll take FWD over RWD in snow anyday.

Nnnnope.png


It does almost sound like the diffs were locked or had a limited-slip. But a LSD clutch would have surely worn out.
I suppose it does not take much clutch action on slippery surfaces, but still, 300k miles?

 

[Ramblin Fever]

yeah....it was an old tired out truck; engine ran good; tranny was the 4th or 5th one, but for the kind of work we do with them....have no complaints, other then the fact it was scary to drive.

I'm NOT giving lash to FWD cars, trust me, I've had some very good ones in my day. An old 83 Honda hatch-back that refused to ever get stuck, and a 95 Kia Sephia - both were non-stop in snow, as long as they had the clearance.

Simply saying that I was the only vehicle on the road with plenty of other cars/trucks around me that had plenty of grip, but that 4x4 ranger couldn't even turn corners, it was past being scary.

I've had 15yrs of ownership of a 4x2 Isuzu Rodeo suv that you'd swear had 4x4 capabilities; truck out does anything I've ever driven, but is also suited to very aggressive A/T tires when needed too.

I honestly have no idea what features that older 4x4 ranger had with it; it was the XLT 03 Ranger 4x4 supercab/4dr 4.0L

 

[eljefino]

Sounds like "something" in the 4x4 system, maybe an auto hub wasn't disengaging, and the transfer case was dragging, so you had some binding trying to make the front axle go the same speed as the rear.

Sometimes ABS is disengaged in 4x4.

I had a beat up 94 b4000 4x4 where the rear-only ABS never worked since I got it. In fact the light was blown/ disabled.

Handling got better (from D- to C-, I'd say) after I did some front end work: tighten wheel bearings, shocks, track bar (ball joint at pitman arm wore out). But this was the handling of doing 50 on a two lane road, hit a series of complex bumps, fight to keep it going straight.

 

[NHGUY]

I would say that the alignment must have been off,or something was bent,like the frame.If all 4 wheels arent going in the right direction,it can be a loosy goosy situation when on a slippery surface.You wouldnt hardly notice it on dry pavement though.

 

[01rangerxl]

Since 1998 the 2WD and 4WD Rangers have used separate front suspensions. The 2WD uses coil springs, the 4WD torsion bars. The torsion bars provide room for 4WD components, but sacrifice some handling abilities. My Explorer with the torsion bars was always much more wallowy than my coil spring Rangers, but it was also an Explorer (there are a variety of torsion bars for varying stiffness and ride height).

Also in 2010 ESC and 4 wheel disc brakes became standard on the Ranger. 4 wheel ABS has been standard since 2001.

My guess: Old truck was already a bit loose when you got it. Worn out shocks, sway bar bushings, saggy t-bars, maybe ball joints. Even if the company was replacing the tires, I bet they were cheap ones and tires alone will not fix a suspension problem. The new truck has a new suspension that's a more surefooted right out of the box because of its different design.

I'm glad you like the new truck.

 

[antonmnster]

Something HAD to be wrong with the alignment. I'm the last person to say that 4wd is necessary, but it just doesn't sound like all 4 wheels were pointing the same direction.

I had an e36 BMW for 7 years that was also totally spooky on slippery surfaces. I lived with it for years until I replaced rear trailing arm bushings and finally had a reason to get a 4 wheel alignment. It made all the difference in the world.

I lived with a car for years that could barely go in a straight line at 50 mph if it was wet. After I got my act together it was perfectly stable at 90mph in several inches of snow.

 

[MNgopher]

Sure sounds like something was out of whack on that older truck. With 300k on the clock, likely a combination of several things out of kilter just a little. Bet it was a good feeling to not have a handful anymore! Likely one of the last ones out of the plant in St. Paul. Odd to not have a Ford plant here anymore...

(Still chuckling at the comment about the chassis technology being improved from the old truck. Ford invested virtually nothing in this platform for a very, very long time. Minor improvements, yes, major overhauls, ummm no. And that isn't necessarily a bad thing).

 

[Ramblin Fever]

I do know that older ranger had re-alignments every year; it was never actually out of alignment, except when the tie-rods were replaced.

Not sure what it's issue was, but I do know over the course of the 3yrs I drove it; it did have new wheel-bearings, ball-joints, tie-rods, shocks and a hoist of suspension work done on it.

It had more interior comfort features then this new ranger does; however...can't say I"m going to miss it. Maybe now I can get rid of these blisters on my hands from holding the steering wheel so tight - that truck seriously was very very scary to drive.