Disco 1 days are numbered - which dual cab ute?

At least you have the choice. With the end of the Defender as a commercial vehicle the dual cab has taken over

In Europe as part of the market sharing arrangements with Renault and Nissan Mitsubishi has withdrawn. Now Nissan is no longer to sell theirs. Between them they had about 40% of the market

The Nissan factory in Spain that makes them for the EU market was never able to make enough and their last hope was the rebadged Mercedes version that was a flop. Factory is now to be closed

So that leaves Ford with the Ranger and Toyota with the Hilux. While the VW is still in the market it will soon be a rebadged Ford

The Chinese brands are in the market but not shifting in numbers. The withdrawal of Mitsubishi and Nissan may be their opportunity

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Originally Posted by V8Ian

:ttiwwp:

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When I finish fitting it out, I'll attempt some pics. Next effort is fitting the 120 A solar panel on the roof of the canopy. Son in law organises the fitting of electrics to fuel tankers, and gave me the industry standard way of doing it. [ didn't offer to do it, said it would be good experience for me. Glad we gave the grandson a real noisy toy for his birthday, now [smilebigeye]] Basic, really. Fitted the REDARC plastic corners to the panel with Sikaflex 525 and tech screws, now to drill the 20 mm holes to fit the grommet? thingy to pass the wires & conduit thru, and make a waterproof seal. Had to snip the plugs off the end of the panel wires , never mind, get to practice my soldering.

Just thought, if the OP wants some info on the Isuzu, like the mods to the IFS front end to improve the 2021 model over earlier ones, or the upgrades to the engine turbo set up to enhance the towing torque at certain revs, or the upgrade to the front disc brakes, an explanation of the IDAS system, and the engine. I'm wrapped in the engine. A refined version of the Isuzu 3 L , now the 4JJ3TCX, a new turbo, [ no noticeable lag and plenty of low down torque] a different intake and different injection system, said to give a better refined and more powerful 3 litre engine. I find nothing to dispute that. And guess what NO OIL LEAKS ! at all. The only negative is the new air intake is at the front of the engine bay, and would take a gut full of water at a deep water crossing. A snorkel is mandatory in the new D-Max. There are more subtle differences between the old & the new, but as suggested I can sent all the details if wanted.

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Originally Posted by Homestar

I would have said the whole Ranger thing isn’t that helpful to anyone that wants a decent vehicle myself, but each to their own. What year is it and what gearbox? The auto exploding one?

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So whats this about the exploding 6r80? Have seen this comment on here before but no one could elaborate on it. Its a very strong auto, the new goto box in the US, they say good for 1000hp with the correct tune, but i hear about them dying in rangers, why and whats the cause? I want to use one behind my 4bd1t

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Originally Posted by Vern

So whats this about the exploding 6r80? Have seen this comment on here before but no one could elaborate on it. Its a very strong auto, the new goto box in the US, they say good for 1000hp with the correct tune, but i hear about them dying in rangers, why and whats the cause? I want to use one behind my 4bd1t

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Friend of mine went through 3 autos under warranty. Wasn't until it broke down away from a main dealer and he was towed to an independent workshop that the fault was found. Issue was not the auto but an alignment issue from the factory, from memory something to do with the dowels on the back of the block. He has had no issues since.

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Originally Posted by Fattima

He has had no issues since.

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Probably because he sold the ranger [emoji1787]

Sorry had to do it
Cheers

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Originally Posted by Vern

So whats this about the exploding 6r80? Have seen this comment on here before but no one could elaborate on it. Its a very strong auto, the new goto box in the US, they say good for 1000hp with the correct tune, but i hear about them dying in rangers, why and whats the cause? I want to use one behind my 4bd1t

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Work bought 12 new rangers with that gearbox - 4 of them suffered catastrophic failures of that box within a couple of years. I note they’ve gone to a different box in the newer models, so just taking about the 6 speed. Not sure why, but the Ranger experiment is over and they back to buying Hilux’s.

Also chatting to a friend on the weekend - he had to take his truck to rescue his Dad and camper trailer stuck up near Alice Springs with same gearbox failure. 5 YO vehicle with 110,000KM on it - full factory service history. The RACV couldn’t guarantee the car and camper could be transported together and said they would leave the camper for a few days on the side of the road, so my mate just took one of his trucks up to grab the lot.

While I’m not sure what the exact issue is, it’s well known and the failures I’ve seen/heard of aren’t just a ‘mate of a mate’ - been talking to the guys that drove the work vehicles - fine one minute, loud bang and no drive the next - no warning, no fix - boxes are destroyed in the process.

I wouldn’t touch one with someone elses 10 foot barge pole based on all of this.

Watch this:

Let Me Google That

And then go to leaf springs…

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...a298eba21c.jpg

I would still recommend a new Triton as the pick of the bunch.. 10 years, no mucking around, warranty.

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Originally Posted by Homestar

Work bought 12 new rangers with that gearbox - 4 of them suffered catastrophic failures of that box within a couple of years. I note they’ve gone to a different box in the newer models, so just taking about the 6 speed. Not sure why, but the Ranger experiment is over and they back to buying Hilux’s.

Also chatting to a friend on the weekend - he had to take his truck to rescue his Dad and camper trailer stuck up near Alice Springs with same gearbox failure. 5 YO vehicle with 110,000KM on it - full factory service history. The RACV couldn’t guarantee the car and camper could be transported together and said they would leave the camper for a few days on the side of the road, so my mate just took one of his trucks up to grab the lot.

While I’m not sure what the exact issue is, it’s well known and the failures I’ve seen/heard of aren’t just a ‘mate of a mate’ - been talking to the guys that drove the work vehicles - fine one minute, loud bang and no drive the next - no warning, no fix - boxes are destroyed in the process.

I wouldn’t touch one with someone elses 10 foot barge pole based on all of this.

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But whats the well known issue? Maybe be it is the misalignment from the engine dowels? I know from 2014 there was some minor upgrades, and that in the US its pretty bulletproof behind their vehicles, and box internals are the same as our ranger. Could be an ECU thing, controlling the pressure perhaps. Very interested to know the real issue.

The well known issue is that they explode [bigrolf] If you Google "Ranger gearbox" the first thing to show is "Issues".

I've never bothered to find out the root cause because I'd never buy a Ford - this issue notwithstanding, they have about the worst after sales service of any of the OEM's and that's saying something when you look at the likes of VW or Land Rover.

Yes - could be a good box with something that Ford have done in this application to cause issues.