Forget about changing your own oil in new Ford Ranger

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I bet there will be a percentage of shops that will skip changing the oil filter without the owner ever knowing it. I own land and need a truck. I've been wanting a new Ford Ranger extended cab with a 6' bed.
Ford didn't correlate the engine design with the chassis engineers. Will this by itself stop me from buying a new Ranger? No. I do maintain my own vehicles. I am a semi mechanic, I can handle it.
 
That doesn't sound any worse than changing oil in a Prius---which doesn't require removing a wheel, but does require either removing the entire large, clumsy under-engine panel, OR lifting the car high enough for a hinged access panel to clear the ground. I reduced the difficulty by modifying the stupid access panel to make it detachable, so I don't have to lift the car up so confounded high.
 
'That is about how long it takes to remove and reinstall a wheel using my impact....?

Not sure what you are implying, but I do plenty of work on cars. Removing covers to perform an oil change is nothing new in this day/age.'

Actually yes, I do this on the garage slab, with hand tools and ramps, don't care much to wrestle a cold filthy 60lb. wheel much either especially a front wheel on the ramp....pia? you bet.
 
Originally Posted by skyactiv
I bet there will be a percentage of shops that will skip changing the oil filter without the owner ever knowing it. I own land and need a truck. I've been wanting a new Ford Ranger extended cab with a 6' bed.
Ford didn't correlate the engine design with the chassis engineers. Will this by itself stop me from buying a new Ranger? No. I do maintain my own vehicles. I am a semi mechanic, I can handle it.

But for the non DIY guy... they will not do oil changes.
 
Originally Posted by chainblu
Originally Posted by StevieC
There is no need for it to be this ridiculous. It's just lazy designers/engineers.


Exactly. I realize belly pans are getting more and more common, but if an engineer can't include an easy to remove cover for regular maintenance (ie: oil changes), they need to be looking into a different field.

I have a small pan on the Caravan and it's tucked up above the exhaust "Y" and a frame rail and a cross member you can still get to the oil drain plug easy with a breaker bar. And you can get to the filter cartridge up top very easy. They use this engine mounted in different ways as well depending on the vehicle.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zATkk9yx_vY (Even though the video shows popping the filter box you could get it out without if you wanted to)
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted by PimTac
Removing covers is not the story here. A smart design will have a access panel to get to everything.

For the average diy owner who doesn't have a impact wrench, this becomes more than a simple task.



That's the truth. Even with an impact wrench, you need a jack, jack stands... It adds more complexity than necessary.

And I hate push pins.

But we're basing this whole discussion on what thetruthaboutcars read in a service manual. Maybe there is an easier way.
 
How many people change their own oil. Was this engine designed only for this model? They look at it differently. You come in for an oil/filter change and they rotate the tires or do a brake inspection anyway. On a lift this is not so difficult to remove two covers and a wheel. My GM dealer charges $50 for up to six qts synthetic and filter, tire rotation, multi point inspection, and an exterior wash. You can come in a suit and tie, have coffee, and they bring your car to you and you drive away. The tire rotation itself is complex, so after I saw the price I thought why am I bothering.
 
Originally Posted by The Critic
Originally Posted by zorobabel
Originally Posted by The Critic
At most, we are talking about an extra 2 min of work.
If you are not capable of removing several push pins and a few bolts, you should not be changing your oil anyway...

Don't tell me you enjoy working with push pins.

Plastic clips really don't bother me. I keep most sizes on hand. Self-tapping screws are the annoying ones.

Originally Posted by dblshock
Originally Posted by The Critic
At most, we are talking about an extra 2 min of work.

If you are not capable of removing several push pins and a few bolts, you should not be changing your oil anyway...



You can take a wheel off then back on in less than 2min? spose you'll tell us you won't get filthy either.

That is about how long it takes to remove and reinstall a wheel using my impact....?

Not sure what you are implying, but I do plenty of work on cars. Removing covers to perform an oil change is nothing new in this day/age.

It will take even the most experienced DIY'er 5 minutes to remove a wheel, unless they're purposely racing the clock. Not only does the wheel need to be removed, the car needs to be jacked up too. :-) Dragging my floor jack from its parked position across my garage floor takes 30 seconds. And there are some people who simply won't use impact wrenches (me), even to remove lug nuts/bolts. And what DIY'er wants to race the clock to accomplish a 2 minute wheel removal when spending quality time in the garage? That would take the fun out of it.

If I want someone to speed work and use impact wrenches on my car, I can pay some hack to do that kind of sloppy work (not!). For example, I clean my lug bolts every time I take my wheels off. I clean and lube the hub flanges, I even wipe out the center bore and wheel bolt holes in the wheels. But that's just me...

Removing under trays is one thing. No problem. But having to remove a wheel to change the oil crosses the line.

Scott
 
I think it's too many steps for a basic pickup that people (and fleet operators) would probably expect to be able to take to a quick lube with a drive over pit. Maybe not a deal breaker for me, but it's a bit much. Why not relocate the filter for quick/easy service like so many Ford trucks in the past (many E-Series and 97-03 F-150)? Shields/undercovers are the norm these days, but having to take a wheel off is stupid.

On my 94 Ranger and Explorer the filter is so large and accessible you don't even need tools at all. My 02 3.0 takes a little more finagling, but still nothing like taking off wheels.
 
Originally Posted by CKN
Here are the procedures for changing the oil in a new Ford Ranger 2.3 motor--

After removing the left front wheel, a technician or owner must then remove an access panel secured by nine push-pin retainers. From there, one removes the filter with an end cap tool. To actually drain the oil, which of course you'll accomplish before attacking that filter, you'll first need to unbolt the power steering control module underbody shield. Four bolts hold that on.



couple shields? Big deal. Perhaps you should stay away from mechanics work if two shields are bothering you. Probably take an extra 10 minutes max once I know the procedure.
 
Originally Posted by Trav
Hey, the engineers know what they are doing and know best.
lol.gif


Yep, chalk up another award winning design for the Ford engineering team.
 
Originally Posted by philipp10

couple shields? Big deal.


You forgot about the part where a wheel needs to be removed for a freaking oil change.

There are some of us that prefer to use ramps. That's out the door now.
 
Too much nonsense for me for a very basic and regularly needed service on a volume vehicle.
If I really wanted one of these it wouldn't be a deal breaker, though Ford apparently did a poor job of engineering this little thing with respect to ease and therefore cost of servicing.
To call this thing "Ranger" is a travesty since the original was a cheap to buy and maintain little truck.
This thing is neither,
 
Originally Posted by StevieC
Originally Posted by chainblu
Originally Posted by StevieC
There is no need for it to be this ridiculous. It's just lazy designers/engineers.


Exactly. I realize belly pans are getting more and more common, but if an engineer can't include an easy to remove cover for regular maintenance (ie: oil changes), they need to be looking into a different field.

I have a small pan on the Caravan and it's tucked up above the exhaust "Y" and a frame rail and a cross member you can still get to the oil drain plug easy with a breaker bar. And you can get to the filter cartridge up top very easy. They use this engine mounted in different ways as well depending on the vehicle.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zATkk9yx_vY (Even though the video shows popping the filter box you could get it out without if you wanted to)








Yep, the Pentastar is the cleanest oil change I've ever done. I have one in my 300 which is mounted the way God intended
wink.gif
One big shield that's held in with 4 bolts, but you only have to undo 2 of them to get to the oil pan.
 
For those of you who say this is no big deal... well, you are probably right. But guess what? There are other quality mid-sized trucks that are easier. Again, deal breaker for me.
 
Pretty similar to procedure to change oil on 2002 Maxima. There was a panel behind passenger wheel if I recall.
 
Originally Posted by Skippy722
Yep, the Pentastar is the cleanest oil change I've ever done. I have one in my 300 which is mounted the way God intended
wink.gif
One big shield that's held in with 4 bolts, but you only have to undo 2 of them to get to the oil pan.


Agreed!
thumbsup2.gif
 
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