Hi all,
Since Rock Auto has transitioned to no customer service phone number, and after reading through over 20 complaints out of 110 pages on the BBB, I was wondering if anyone knows of another source for Motorcraft parts?
Rock Auto seemed to have been a good source back in the day but for whatever reason has dropped the ball completely the past couple of years.
Aftermarket parts are hit or miss( mostly miss ) for my 2000 Ranger 2.5L . Unfortunately Rock Auto and eBay seem to be the only sources for Motorcraft parts I can find, and I don't trust either one.
So any links or suggestions to better options would be greatly appreciated.

 

https://parts.ford.com/

https://ford.oempartsonline.com/

https://www.oemford.parts/

 

Thank you for the links.

 

Keep in mind that as these trucks age, Motorcraft parts will be harder to find. They either will be discontinued soon, or have already been discontinued. What is left will be leftover parts, and only a few sources will have them, and that's usually the companies that specialize in new old stock parts and they almost always know what is discontinued and tend to charge higher prices for these parts.

 

Yep, and that's the issue. I don't mind the price increase as long as it's not outrageous, it's basic supply and demand. But the outright price gouging for shipping is out of hand with most sites. One of the 3 links posted above has a Motorcraft PCV valve for $10 and change, I would gladly pay that rather than take my chances with a $2 China crap PCV from Autozone.
But the shipping cost for the Motorcraft is just under $8 for standard FedEx ground, almost as much as the part. There's no way it costs that much to ship a PCV valve. I've heard Rock Auto is also terrible with shipping costs, but it's a non issue since there's no way to contact them when they ship a defective or incorrect part.

So far I've only been able to find a Motorcraft oil filter, and air filter at decent prices and normal or free shipping.
I've tried to use a Hitachi IAC valve only to clean and reuse the old one because the new Hitachi never worked properly. When the timing belt snapped I had to use aftermarket parts and the timing belt tensioner broke during installation under spring pressure and broke the rear timing cover. I ended up using the original belt tensioner and using epoxy to fix the timing cover.
The reason I made this thread is because I understand that many of the parts we need are now discontinued, but in most cases there were already parts manufactured, so they're out there somewhere. It's just a matter finding them at a decent price without getting screwed too badly on shipping.

 

When I bought my 2000 3.0 flex fuel ranger over 4 years ago in pieces, I spent about $1500 in parts from Rock Auto and it was reasonable shipping and fast. Over the past year when you order a mailed delivery part, it takes 6-10 days to get it. They use some DHL mail shipping, and the package goes all over the place before its delivered. It still pays to shop around for the best price if you can wait for the parts you need. I have also gone to a couple u-pull it yards and gotten parts off rangers several times. There are a lot out there, I check craigslist and Facebook as well as scan the roads I drive for rangers for sale or just sit by someone's barn. For what it's worth I have a rockauto code good till March 31, 2023, for 5% off 225715622147138896.

 

There used to be 10 to 15 local junk yards in my immediate area, now there might be 3, and well over 20 miles or more from me. There was one 2000 Ranger almost exactly like mine on Facebook Marketplace but it was over 100 miles away, it was even the same color and engine size. If only I could find one here in town.
As far as Rock Auto is concerned, maybe you got lucky. If you go to the BBB site there's at least 110 pages of complaints, most of them nearly identical. It seems to be the only way to get a response from them when a customer gets the wrong part or the part is defective. It's a shame too since they do have a good inventory of Motorcraft parts. Maybe some people have had decent luck with them, but the amount of complaints on the BBB speaks volumes on the current state of that company. It's still a good resource for finding Manufacturer part numbers, I'll give them that much.

 

I remember when a Motorcraft FL400S oil filter was 4.99 at the auto parts stores. Now it's almost $12. The markup is insane. I can still get them at places like Rural King for $4.99, but for how long I don't know. I bought 6 of them recently so I could go at least another two years of changing my oil without being overcharged for the filter. Next time I go to Rural King I will try to stock up again if they are still charging the same price.

 

It's on sale on Amazon for $5.93.

My 2.5L uses the same filter. I should stock up on a few too

I'm not sure if your truck uses the same air filter, but here's a couple links to the one mine takes.
Motorcraft FA-1744 Air Filter
Walmart- $13.19
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Motorcraf...ilter/48002700
Amazon- $14.38
https://www.amazon.com/Motorcraft-FA1744-Air-Filter/dp/B0009YJM92/ref=sr_1_1?crid=38G2A9UV7299L&keywords=Motorcraft+ FA-1744+Air+Filter&qid=1678331225&sprefix=motorcraft+ fa-1744+air+filter%2Caps%2C107&sr=8-1

Motorcraft- FG1071 Fuel Filter $19.99

 

Thanks for the links, I'll keep those in mind. I'm sad to see even Amazon has a higher price for the oil filters than they used to.

 

Should buy that from RA when you make a bulk order. I almost always buy up "closeout" filter deals when they show up.

FL400S