If there's one thing that Aussie tradies are spoiled for, it's choice.
With the number of big, ladder-framed light commercial utes on offer, it's difficult for any single truck to rise to the top. One truck has done it, however; bigger and bolder than ever before, the Ford Ranger's popularity has escalated to the point that it's stealing the thunder of the previously unassailable Toyota HiLux. The Ranger name has only been used in Australia since 2006, but that doesn't mean that Ford is new to the party. Ford Ranger is really just a new name for the Ford Courier, a nameplate that was used in Australia since 1979.
Available in a range of sizes and body styles and priced from $37,130 for the Ranger Xl 2.0 (4X2) up to $90,690 for the Ranger Raptor 3.0 (4X4), the Ranger can serve as anything from a small, 4x2 single cab to extra and dual cab 4x4 utes with a choice of diesel engines and pickup and cab chassis trays.
At a minimum all Ford Ranger's have halogen headlights, cloth seats, and manually adjustable seats.
Other standard features depend on the variant but start with basic equipment including a vertically oriented multimedia touchscreen, and manual air-conditioning, cloth seats.
The Ranger features list then improves to include sat-nav, dual-zone climate control, a leather-accented steering wheel and power-adjustable seats upholstered in leather, wireless charging, heated seats, ambient lighting, a 12.0-inch touchscreen and more audio speakers.
The Ford Ranger is available in a range of exterior paint choices including Frozen White, Blue Lightning, Iconic Silver, Cyber Orange, Agate Black, Carbonised Grey, Rapid Red or Chill Grey – but some are variant-specific.
Since you’ve replaced the turbocharger and the boost controller, we can rule those out. But could the problem be something much simpler?
It’s possible that the plastic trunking that takes the compressed air from the turbocharger to the engine’s intake has split. When that happens, boost pressure is lost, the boost sensor detects the low boost and winds up the turbocharger to compensate and you have an on-paper overboost situation.
Then, once you’re beyond idle, the leak becomes even worse and the computer simply runs out of turbocharger capacity, at which point boost drops away. That’s preventing the engine revving properly and since there’s no sensor to tell the computer that the trunking is split and leaking, there might not be a fault code issued. Lots of black smoke from the exhaust is often (but not always) another clue that this is what’s happening.
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On this model, the sensor in question is located on the crankcase (not the cylinder head as many are). You’ll find it on the driver’s side of the crankcase, below the intake manifold. Replacing it involves removing the old one by screwing it out, and screwing the new one in. But there’s a bit of a process for this, and if you’re not familiar with this type of job, it’s probably one for the experts.
The sensor is located between cylinders three and four and it’s located pretty close to the manifold. The good news is that you don’t need to remove the manifold to access the sensor; you can get to it by going into the engine bay through the wheel-well.
Don’t forget that you’ll lose some coolant in the process, so that will need to be topped up with the correct type afterwards. Remember, too, that the new sensor won’t work unless you correctly reattach the wiring plug that connects the sensor to the rest of the car. This area can be pretty grimy and muddy in a vehicle like this, so cleaning everything off first is a good idea.
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Your mechanic is spot on. As far as the warranty laws in this country are concerned, there’s no difference in having the vehicle serviced by a Ford dealer or by a qualified independent mechanic. If there’s a problem down the track, it won’t matter who serviced the vehicle; a warranty claim is a warranty claim. Your peace of mind should be no different either way.
The only difference might be if Ford looks more favourably upon your case considering you’ve been a loyal customer and had the servicing done by your dealer. But don’t go to the bank on that, as it’s by no means a legal requirement, nor a widespread occurrence.
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There are several engine options available in the Ford Ranger, depending on which spec you choose: the 2.0-litre single-turbo diesel (125kW/405Nm), a 2.0-litre twin-turbo diesel (154kW/500Nm), a plug-in hybrid with a 2.3-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine (138kW/411Nm), along with an electric motor (75kW) and an 11.8kWh battery pack, a 3.0-litre V6 turbo-diesel (184kW/600Nm) and a 3.0L V6 twin-turbo petrol for the Ranger Raptor (292kW/583Nm).
At a minimum the Ford Ranger gets cloth upholstery, while higher grades get leather accents.
The Ranger cabin has a well-designed layout with a neat look and feel across all grades.
The floor is carpet (vinyl flooring is optional), there are plenty of durable plastic surfaces throughout the cabin, and higher grades get soft-touch surfaces.
Seats are comfortable in the front, less so in the back, but materials look and feel good quality and there is room enough in that rear row for three teens, or two adults and a man-child.
The Ford Ranger is a single-cab (two seats), extra-cab or dual-cab ute. with five seats: two in the front and three in the back.
At a minimum, the Ranger has premium cloth seats, while there are leather-accented seats in higher grades.
Seats are either manually adjustable or, in higher grades, power-adjustable.
The Ford Ranger is available in a number of variants and body types that are fuelled by diesel and PULP and so official fuel consumption figures can range from 2.9L/100km on a combined cycle in the dual-cab PHEV through to 11.5L/100km in the Raptor which has a 3.0-litre twin-turbo V6 petrol engine.
The Ranger has a 70-litre fuel tank or an 80-litre fuel tank, depending on the variant, so this ute's theoretical driving range starts from about 700km(in the petrol Raptor) through to almost 2500km in the PHEV variant, depending on the variant.
Ranger now comes with a box step for smaller-statured people reach things more easily in the tub.
Moving to the back, the tailgate retains its lift assist, and opens up to reveal a cargo area capable of taking a Euro palette for the first time. And there are now new box caps to help protect the fresh metalwork.
There are other innovations, such as a bedliner with moulded slots to help keep items in place, a 12V outlet, illumination under the box caps, load bearing aluminium side bars to secure items to, latching points on the box caps for accessories like canopies and cross bars, and external tie-down rails with sliding cleats for odd-shaped items.
Plus, there’s zone lighting available on higher-grade models, using the many LEDs around the vehicle for useful nighttime illumination operable remotely via the FordPass app.
Even the tailgate is a workbench, with two clamp pockets to secure project materials and a built-in ruler for convenient measuring.
Additionally, there’s a powered roller shutter for added security that's standard on Wildtrak and optional on other grades.
Finally, all Rangers offer a maximum towing capability of 3500kg. Payloads vary from 934kg to 1441kg, depending on model and grade.
The Ford Ranger is able to do the 0-100km/h sprint between 8.0 (in the twin-turbo petrol V6) and just under 10 seconds (in the four-cylinder variant), depending on the grade.