2001 Ford Ranger: grinding or squealing brakes

Filed Aug 21, 2016 · Body, Suspension · 138,000 miles · KS

I bought my ranger 12 months ago. 6 months ago I noticed the bed of the truck was starting to lean to the left. Also the spare tire came up missing. I thought it was stlolen but upon inspection it had simply rusted the holder under the truck and fallen off. 3 months ago the truck started making a grinding noise upon braking. The right front a arm had rusted and broken off the frame. A mechanic had to weld a piece of metal to the frame because there was nothing to weld to. Then I finally decided to look under the truck and was shocked at what I found. The bed floor was nearly non excistant. Rusted almost completely gone. The spring shackle on the right which is attached to frame with a bracket were sticking up against the bed liner, the bracket completely gone. The tube that holds the right shock absorber is completely rusted off, the shock absorber just hanging there. Mechanics have told me theres no way to repair because theres no viable metal left to weld to. Its simply rusted away. So now im left with over 3 more years of car payments on a vehicle that's useless. I will upload pictures as soon as I can. Thank you. [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).

Filed Aug 29, 2008 · Engine · 00

This situation has occurred at least a half a dozen times, when the vehicle is running and in gear with the vehicle at or near stopped, the engine RPM increases dramatically, if the driver is not on the ball, the truck will surge forward, so far I have been lucky and there has been noting in front of me or I have been able to turn off the engine. Today the rear tires started squealing when this happened.

Filed Jul 30, 2008 · Electrical, Engine · 120,000 miles · CO

I was driving in the snow in 2006, when a loud squeak could be heard from the engine compartment. I had the truck service from an independent mechanic. They changed the belt tensioner. This wasn't the problem. The truck continued to squeak at all speeds and all temperature conditions. Since then, I have taken the vehicle into 3 different ford motor mechanics and 2 independent mechanics. No of them know exactly where the noise is coming from. It was thought he be the belt. The alternator was replaced, belt tensioner, new pulleys, and 3 different belts. And quess what, the truck still squeaks. I have temporarily fixed the problem with a lot of wd-40 on the belt. But why can't anyone tell me what is making the squeak and fix it. I've suck about $3000 into the truck. I refuse to spend anymore on other mechanics ideas.

Filed Feb 4, 2008 · Transmission · 100,000 miles · OR

Loud squealing coming from the front axle: excluder (dust) seals. My local ford dealer has replaced these seals twice already. Now they have went out again. The noise is extremely loud and embarrassing. I have no doubt I'll get a ticket for faulty equipment if an officer hears it. I don't even want to drive it due to the noise. Now that my truck is out of warranty, I fear ford won't fix their defective parts. I have contacted the dealer who replaced them the last time; however they have not returned my call. On a side note: I take meticulous care of my ranger and never abuse it. There is no way a seal like this should go out this many times, and from what I've read there are several people with this problem. Ford needs to fix their defective parts once and for all.

Filed Feb 20, 2006 · Engine, Transmission · 57,587 miles · OR

We purchased a 2001 ford ranger in october of 2000. In 2004 the pinion seal began leaking and there was an intermittent clicking/squeak in the drivers front side. The pinion seal was replaced and fluid was topped off. As well the excluder seals were replaced and lubed to repair the clicking squeak. This was all done under the warranty. On 05/24/05 the trucks check engine light came on. It was taken back to crater lake ford and this emissions issue was fixed and we were told we would have to pay 203.39. After much discussion regarding the warranty and the fact that though this is not covered there should have been no issues this soon, we were finally told that there was a possible problem with this and they adjusted the bill to 18.49, did not charge the warranty an amount. However, they put on the receipt that the pinion seal was again leaking, though they did not mention this to us and did not state that they would fix it and that it would be covered. We have the best warranty that was available to purchase when we bought the truck. We tried several times to get the truck in, our schedules being very hectic. We took the truck in today, and were told that the pinion seal was not part of the warranty, that there was only a 12 month 12,000 mile warranty on it, even though they had fixed it under warranty over 3 years after purchase and it has begun leaking by there estimates less than a year after they replaced it. Of course this did little for our disposition and we took the truck and left. We have contacted customer service at crater lake ford and at ford motor corp. Now we receive a call stating that the services we were being seen for are covered and that we need to bring it back in. However, the seal is obviously an ongoing issue. We want them to fix the problem that is causing the pinion seal leak. They want to simply change the seal again. We want them to fix the problem, not the symptom.

Filed Sep 19, 2005 · Acceleration · 115,000 miles · CA

Dt: the transmission was self destructive. It would not declutch from the engine. When using the brakes the vehicle would continue to surge forward. The vehicle was taken to amco and they found that the transmission had been grinding metal. Also, the vehicle had been to the ford dealer twice, and they could not find anything wrong with the vehicle. The second time the vehicle was taken to the dealer, they flushed the fluid. There was a grinding noise immediately after. The dealer said they had too many recalls at the time, and it would take 5-7 weeks before getting to the consumers vehicle. This started october 1, 2004. *ak (11/15/05)

Filed Jun 8, 2004 · Wheels · 53,000 miles · WA

Consumer was driving on the free way and when exiting heard a grinding sound. When consumer looked at vehicle he noticed the entire front suspension dropped down. This happened due to the rim of the wheel breaking into pieces. This was a standard rim from the manufacturer. Brake caliper behind the rim was damaged. Consumer had the vehicle towed to his home because the vehicle's warranty expired.

Filed Sep 1, 2003 · Brakes · 19,000 miles · CO

Ford ranger 2001 4x4 premature brake system wear pads totally worn at 19000 miles and rotors already resurfaced twice. Pads replaced at my cost on third visit to dealer for brake squeal.