I've owned my ranger 1 year. Picked her up July 2, 2010 and my family and I have invested a TON in it. Tell me if you think this is over the top.

Prices are rounded

Front Hubs 4 sets $1000 Dealer
4 Shocks $250 Me
4 Tires $550 Me
Drums Twice $1000 Dealer then me
Fan Clutch $500 Dealer
Plugs and Wires $50 Me
All Ball Joints $200 Me
Tranny $1100 Tranny Shop
Waterpump $180 Me
Fuel Pump $550 Dealer
PCM Update $150 Dealer
Rear Axle Seals $20 Me
Rear Wheel Bearings $50 Me
Windshield $400 JNPhillips

Total: $6000
Vehicle Cost $14,900
Gas $400 Monthly
Does not include mods

Does this seem excessive?

 

if you did your drums twice, that seems excessive. same with the front hubs. everything else could be just worn out, how many miles on the truck?

i need to fix my damn drums too, but i have an expo 8.8 with discs bout ready to go in, just need to get plates for the bigger u bolts and i'm good to go.

 

some reason my ebrake locked on after i paid to get them done. then i did them myself and didnt have that issue. Hubs kept going i dont know why the Timkens are going strong. My mileage is at 113,364 got it with 65,900

 

Yeah drums is a little exessive

 

Well i've had mine for 2 years and all i've only got $4300 in mine not counting mods or gas.

To me it seems like alot of money has been put into yours,but i don't drive mine as much so thats probably why i dont have much invested.

Did you put balljoints on yourself? mine were like $500 lol

 

yea i did them myself. all moogs

 

I figued so because of where you work and everything lol

 

you've put on more miles in that year than i have in the past 5 years haha.

i got my truck @ 66k, and almost at 91k on the OD, but i have motorswapped a few k's ago.

 

you still have body miles lol. I drive alot.
work is 10Mi to and from 5 days a week
Girls house 4 days a week 20 miles
Parents every sunday 90 miles
School 10miles to and from 5 times a day
yeah i do drive a lot

 

a little excessive, but daymn $400 a month on gas? i think you need to lighten up on the skinny pedal

 

5 times a day for school! F that lol

 

thats alot of driving

 

yea im not waiting around in between classes when i just go back to my place to relax

i filled up sunday and im going to need to fill up tomorrow

 

You need to stay at school instead of driving home after every class. 50K miles in a year is crazy!

 

I've got you beat by about a grand. That is a lot of driving.

 

RF is blocked at school!

 

You could have saved so much money doing the fuel pump yourself, not hard at all! And like said above most of those repairs are typical wear and tear from the previous owner and yourself. Truck should be good for awhile unless your engine goes from all the driving!! lol In the 5 years I've owned my truck I probably have 10g in maintenance and repairs.

 

It's a truck, it gets driven like one, used like one and repaired like one. Stuff wears out over time. It sat at the dealer for 2 years before i got it.

 

Very excessive and it is kind of mental to drive 50 miles a day just to go home...maybe buy a magazine? I've had mine 4 years now and haven't put hardly anything into it, and it's used like a truck, 95k miles now. Tires, brakes, CV shafts and a pinion seal.

 

Your post was quite interesting to me because I've keep a record of my maintenance and repair items since new, and I've had to do work on most of the items you've listed.

Your prices (that you paid) are not excessive - you seem to have gotten quite a break because you've managed to do a lot of the work yourself.

I've had my truck since new in late 2002 - it's a 2003 model and presently has ~ 460,000 km (about 287,000 miles) on it.

So I went back to my records and compiled a comparision list to yours, as follows:

Item ----------------------Date Replaced ----------------------------------Mileage

Front Hubs . . . . . . Pass Side . . .Apr 2009 . . . . . . . . . .313,000 km/195,000 mi
. . . . . . . . . . . . . ..Dr Side . . . . . Nov 2010 . . . . . . . . . . 415,000 km/257,000 mi
Shocks . . . . . . . . .Still On Originals
Tires . . . . . . . . . . .First Set . . . . Dec 2006 . . . . . . . . . .172,000 km/106,000 mi
. . .. . . . . . . . . .. ..Second Set . . Nov 2010 . . . . . . . . . . 415,000 km/257,000 mi
Drums . . . . .Still On Original, shoes replaced x 4, approx. every 100,000 km or 60,000 mi
Fan Clutch . . . . . . First time . . . .Jul 2006 . . . . . . . . . . 142,000 km/88,000 mi
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . Second time . . Mar 2011 . . . . . . . . . .437,000 km/271,000 mi
Plugs and Wires . . About every 2 - 2 1/2 yrs . . . . . . . . . . every 150,000 km/90,000 mi
Ball Joints (all) . . . .Nov 2010 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .415,000 km/257,000 mi
Transmission . . . .Still On Original -, tranny filter/fluid changed each 50,000 km/30,000 mi
Water Pump . . . . . Sep 2009 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 350,000 km/217,000 mi
Fuel Pump. . . . . . .Original
PCM Update . . . . N/A
Rear Axles and Seals (all) . . Nov 2009 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 360,000 km/223,000 mi
Windshield . . . . . Original


In looking at my own schedule of repairs, I noted that many of the items seemed to wear out (for me, at least) at the approximately 300 - 400,000 km (185,000 - 250,000 mi) mark, and, significantly, at around the 6 or 7 year mark.

So it seems that this last year of expensive repairs for you seems to be linked to the age of the vehicle, perhaps, rather than any other factor.

BTW, I've also had to repair/replace any number of things that you didn't list (e.g., A/C compressor, thermostat housing, radiator and so forth . . ., and you've certainly listed things I didn't have to touch), but I think, in comparing the items that are the same, that certainly many of them tend to "group" together, resulting in some rather high end costs (to complete the repairs) that for you, unfortunately all seemed to come together last year.

Don't know if this helps you in determining exactly what you wanted to know, but I certainly found the numbers/dates etc., rather intriguing.

P.S. Don't even worry about what anyone has to say about "excessive miles" - no such thing really - if that's the amount you drive, that's the amount you drive, for whatever purpose; work, pleasure, "just because" or whatever reason you want or don't want.

It's your truck and your "dime" for gas and repairs - no one can tell you you drive "too much" or "too little" - Just My Opinion.

 

on my old 02.. well i had basically the same truck. bought it with 30k, sold it with 115k

other than oil and regular fluid changes.. i did

4 wheel bearings
front brakes once
3 front pinion seals
air filters

thats about it. lol. But i will say, it needed a trans bad

so yes, it does seem excessive imo. Expecally with how much you drive, i would have expected alot less to go. My friend has a 07 chevy van that he got when it was new. It now has 150k and its had 1 set of tires, new pads and rotors, and fluid changes. still runs good.

 

I put in approx $600 when I did the lift, replaced the wear-out stuff, i.e. hubs, brake stuff, etc, nothing else; cheaper when it was already apart.
Had the truck for approx 4 years now and other than the stuff above nothing… FORDs are great trucks !

 

THIS. Well put together. this helped thank you sir

 

hey, 04 Ranger Dave,

I was reviewing this thread and came up with a couple of more thoughts that might be relevant to your question - concerning the frequency/cost of your repairs that occured in the last year.

- As a used vehicle, a lot of the problems that you encountered with your truck could have had their roots in how it was used by the previous owner(s); how hard it was driven, how it was treated, etc.; as well, you stated that it "sat" for a couple of years, and we all know that in many ways that's even harder on a vehicle than being driven every day - and I can't believe that the dealer would just let it sit all that time - it could also be that it was used as a "go-fer" vehicle, and I'm sure there were numerous and various potential buyers test driving it, and we all know about the wear and tear on a truck when it's used like that, with all kinds of different drivers/driving styles.

- You seem to be a conscientious and aware owner - can see that in the records you keep and your work qualifications, so you would undoubtedly jump right on top of things that aren't 100% and fix them - things a less knowledgeable owner may not be aware of and may not address (e.g., push it back, do the repairs later, or maybe not even care about, or do at all); end result is that naturally, in your first year of ownership, repair costs could be higher because you were basically correcting everything "wrong"/bringing the condition of the truck up to your standards (of safety, appearance, whatever); higher standards often = higher repair costs: example, paying more for premium parts, upgrades, fixing up things that some one else would just ignore or delay, etc.

- Repairs tend to group together; we all know about this; e.g, worn out tie rods and an alignment and a new set of tires all at once, or new calipers as well as brakes and rotors, parking brakes and shoes and drums and a spring kit and wheel cylinders even though you only were lookiing at brakes to begin with, and so on . . . in many cases you're doing more than just one thing, often unexpectedly.

So you also have to look at your repairs in the sense of the "groupings" that may have led to them; often these types of things are just a series of "bad luck" events - I remember in one case that happened to me years ago: went over a pothole that led to dented rims, a blown tire and alignment issues (it was a big pothole!) = end result big $$$ for replacement/repairs, all unexpectedly.

- Finally, the true costs incurred have to be looked at over the mileage and time "life" of the vehicle, short term you will always spend/incur costs that seem high - the true cost is how it factors out across time. We all know of people "cheaping out" because they plan to sell their vehicle and perform "just barely" or cosmetic repairs that won't last 6 months after they're done; also, we all know of people who go for premium parts because they plan on keeping their vehcles for a long, long time. So in that respect, if the repairs you've performed means that you don't have to address them for another 4, 5, or 6 years, then they won't seem excessive at all.

It seems to me that your overall $ costs for repairs seem to be in line . - as a certified tech, you are definitely in a position to acquire and install parts at costs that are much, much lower than the average consumer; the dealer prices listed don't appear to be that far out of line.

The other question, which I believe is: Whether you had an "excessive" # and type of repairs in just one year?, is not so easily answered. We've all heard of or know of the same repairs being done on vehicles with less mileage and age; we've all heard of or know of vehicles that are years and miles over what you have that haven't needed those repairs.

My overall take is that if you get another 5 or 6 years out of those parts, then it's been worth it. The frequency/# of things you done in just the last year - just chalk it up to your individual truck - it needed those things done at that time; at least that's how I look at it, and that's how I look at any repairs on my truck.

Sorry for the long post - got kind of carried away with the topic

 

Do all the work yourself...having work done at the dealer is where you spent too much money