Tech Talk

Ford Ranger gets Hot

Ford Ranger Transmissions are OVERHEATING when towing

Problems are occurring when towing a heavy load – caravan/boat etc up steep hills, no problem on flat ground or normal hilly roads. There has been a flow of Ford Rangers through the workshop in the last few months with overheating problems. Normal driving without the extra load does not show any overheating symptoms.

Not having access to the Dipstick to check oil condition is a real disadvantage.

On many occasions the transmission runs at the higher end of the temperature scale but the warning light doesn’t come on – the only way to keep the transmission running at normal temperature is by installing a good quality transmission cooler and bypassing the heat exchanger.

 Customer complaint can vary

• Vehicle smells hot
• Vehicle loses power
• Transmission goes into failsafe or limp home mode
• Squawks or shudders on gear changes
• Loses all gears

Our recommendations for preventing this scenario is to fit a Transmission Temperature Gauge to monitor the temperature at all times with regular servicing of the transmission every 40,000kms or 2 years commencing at 50,000kms.