Broken Axle = New Truck

C

Chester

New member
So I'm racing my engineer home after work at 3:00 AM and a rear axle breaks! Managed to wrestle it off to the side of the road, what a ride! :shock:
Get it towed to the dealer and just for kicks look at some new rigs. I should know better...
They are making deals on '13 models. We found a relatively Plain Jane F150 4X4 with a 365 hp, 420 lb.-ft @ 2500 rpm (!) 3.5L engine and tow package. It has a GCWR of 15,100#, towing capacity of 9,400# (that ought to handle a 22 footer) yet gets better fuel mileage than the 207 hp 4X4 Ranger I broke.
Funny how things work. A couple months ago we put new premium tires on the old rig and two weeks ago bought a lifetime wheel alignment plan for it.
In a few days the dealer will have a clean, babied low mile '06 Ford Ranger for sale. :wink:
 
Ford Ranger axles are really cheap in comparison to a new truck. Unless you just want a new truck, I'd just have the axle replaced and be done with it. It probably had a QQ problem when it went out the factory door as the Ford 8.8 is a very sturdy rear end and shared in the Shelby Mustang, the very F-150 you are looking at, the Explorer, and a number of other vehicles. I'd even call it rugged for what it is built for and way overdesigned for some of the things Ford puts it in. How much they offer you for a trade? I always feel like their trade in offer is like a kick in the gut.......
 
It's possible though not probable the Truetrac limited slip differential I installed contributed to the axle failure. The nub on the end of the axle the C clip holds broke cleanly off. Nothing to do with torque or weight loads.
We worked the $1,800 repair bill into the deal so essentially it was paid for with pre tax-retirement money. We got about $10,000 for the trade, that is where the real negotiation was. They have other Rangers on the lot with $15,000 asking prices that aren't as nice as our trade in. Thing is their Rangers have been just sitting for months, not selling at all.
Our Ranger had become too small as grand kids have entered and kids have reentered our boating activities.
 
Chester,

I love it!!!! Nothing to do with the truck, but yes, as the kids have kids, they want their kids to enjoy the boating they did as kids (note: 4 "kids" in one sentence.)

When our kids were young and single, the boat was a bore, but they went along. Now, it turns out they enjoyed it. I do enjoy pointing that out to them. Yes, it's not nice, but then I took a lot from them.

Boris
 
I'm on a mission to turn my 3 year old grandson into a boater. The other day he asked his parents when they were going to buy a pick up. "Why a pick up?" they asked. "To tow the boat" he answered!
 
Chester":ap61pa6x said:
It's possible though not probable the Truetrac limited slip differential I installed contributed to the axle failure. The nub on the end of the axle the C clip holds broke cleanly off. Nothing to do with torque or weight loads.
We worked the $1,800 repair bill into the deal so essentially it was paid for with pre tax-retirement money. We got about $10,000 for the trade, that is where the real negotiation was. They have other Rangers on the lot with $15,000 asking prices that aren't as nice as our trade in. Thing is their Rangers have been just sitting for months, not selling at all.
Our Ranger had become too small as grand kids have entered and kids have reentered our boating activities.
Click to expand...

I think you are onto something on your failure. I used to recreationally race chevelle's, nova's, and other various chevy cars back in the day. Every axle failure I ever had was on the very spot yours failed. It is really common and I think it absoluetly has to do with hp and torque trying to shoot the axle right out the tube. The bracket I eventually moved to when I had a 500 hp motor didn't allow c-clip axles because of this. Also, fatigue comes into play when driven hard over time.

Congrats on the truck. Those new pickups are great. And, it is really nice having both the boat in tow and the grandkids. For now though, I am keeping my 521 cubic inch 1978 4x4 F-250 ford I rebuilt from the ground up. The gas mileage isn't the best, but it does tow duty very well. Plus, it get more looks by far than the C-Dory....
 
521 cubes? That should just about do it.
I was thinking that F150 could pull the Ranger and C-dory.
Your F250 could pull the F150, Ranger and C-Dory.
That would get some looks!
 
Frankly kids, I'm disappointed no one called me out for my little fish story where I claimed to be racing. Thought it would spice up the story and maybe get a few bites.
Besides, it wouldn't have been much of a race, she was driving a Toyota and I wouldn't have needed to use much throttle...
 
Update to discuss the new rig's fuel consumption.This post isn't to brag but to note improvements in vehicle efficiency.
The best our '06 4.0L 4WD Ranger would get at 70 mph was just under 19 mpg.
Here are figures from a few weeks ago when the rig had about 800 miles on it, not broken in at all;
60 mph = 22.7 mpg
65 mph = 21.9 mpg
70 mph = 20.3 mpg

Coming back from getting a new canopy installed today I hit the counter when I got back on the freeway, after a Costco stop, with plans to see what the mpg would be at 60 and 70 mph.
The mileage shown at 60 didn't seem possible when I got to the 70 mph speed limit sign so's I kept it at 60 all the way home.
14 freeway miles with a couple two lane and small town miles thrown in was 27.1 mpg.
I also set the counter to see what the mpg would be after fueling, crawling around Costco looking for a parking spot, city traffic to the freeway and the above trip..
The mileage with town driving was 24.5 mpg.
Dunno if this is a fluke so any new findings will be posted.
The rig does have pizza cutter tires which look geeky but offer better mileage than wider and more aggressive tires.
 
I just found out that Ford quit building Rangers after 2011. Yes, I'm up-to-date, and everyone else was aware of it.

Those comments over, anybody have an idea why?

Boris
 
journey on":6cuwz3pf said:
I just found out that Ford quit building Rangers after 2011. Yes, I'm up-to-date, and everyone else was aware of it.

Those comments over, anybody have an idea why?

Boris
Click to expand...

"We're investing in F-Series because the small truck segment has steadily shrunk from almost 8 percent of total industry sales in 1994 to 1.9 percent of industry sales in 2012" DiMacro wrote yesterday. That single statement is a painful reminder why Ford finally killed the Ranger in 2011—and continues to tease prospective buyers on their website, asking them if they have "considered a Ford F-150 or a Ford Escape."

Read more: Reddit Reminds Us Why the Ford Ranger Is No More - Popular Mechanics
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Visit us at PopularMechanics.com
 
my brother has a newer ford ranger diesel, he loves it and speaks very highly of it...but he lives in Argentina.

Enjoy that new truck smell :)
 
With the f150 getting better gas mileage then a smaller ranger why would anyone buy one? Now with the diesel the power and gas mileage may be high enough to go back to a ranger sized truck. I owned a 95 4.0 ranger and just lover it. Owned two 2003 4 door rangers and lover both of them. I would love to see more small diesel trucks and cars in the US>
 
Wow Chester, the last payment on my Nissan Frontier will be made in 7 days and I've been looking at the F-150's and the Tundra's. But I was planning on holding on to my Frontier and enjoying no car payments for awhile. Now with your report on the great mpg's you're getting on your F-150, it's making it harder to stay with that plan. Thanks a lot... :x :wink

Peter
 
Isn't Dodge...er...Ram selling it's diesel 1/2 ton now?
GM is gonna have a diesel midsize soon too.
Next year the F150 will lose 700 pounds and offer a 2.7L Ecoboost engine.

I'm really bugged about those fuel readings I got yesterday, they seem too good to be true. I'm almost temped to go out and put some miles on just to confirm them. Oh well, it'll be driven soon enough. I'll report back later.
 
I get almost those same numbers with my '09 Sierra 4x4 Crew with 5.3L engine.

It has an automatic switchover to 4cyl operation under certain conditions. It is amazing to me how barely perceptible it is.

My best run was from Statesville to Raleigh, NC one time at 23mpg.

This is all according to the onboard computer mind you, which, depending on which internet forums you read, is a bunch of crap.
 
I hope you aren't actually relying on the computer readout of fuel consumption. You may be sadly disappointed. Only thing that counts is miles on the odo and reading on the fuel pump when you fill up. The computers, unless you are really lucky over predict mpg by 10 to 15%. Seems to be pretty consistent amongst my trucking buddies and on the internet forums for various marques.

My dodge diesel indicates 26 mpg not towing that is an actual 21 at 60 mph. Towing the Dory it shows 18mpg with an actual of 15 at 60 mph. Though my computer does over predict, it is useful for giving me relative MPG as I travel and tow in different configurations and loads, so I like it.

Still good for the behemoth torquey truck that it is.

Just something to consider when reporting mpg. If you were using odo and fuel used at the pump, then the new rig is a super performer.
 
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