1. Home
  2. Ford Trucks
  3. $700 Oil Pan Gasket on 2000 Ranger ??????

$700 Oil Pan Gasket on 2000 Ranger ??????

I have a 2000, 4wd Ranger extended cab with a 3.0 engine, automatic transmission and 44K miles on it. I recently noticed a few drops of oil under the engine of the truck while leaving the house the other morning. I looked around under the truck and could see wet oil around the back of the oil pan but could not discern the exact point or source of the leak. Today I dropped it off at a Ford dealer to have it checked out. I was stunned when he called me and said the oil pan gasket is "bulging out" causing the leak. The price to drop the pan and replace the gasket is slightly over $700 ! Upon questioning he said that because I have a 4wd the mechanic has to loosen the differential and drop it down out of the way before he can access the pan. He said the book rate for the job is 7.5 hours. Of course I am out of warranty and did not extend. I did not authorize the work and will pick up the truck (with leak) in a few minutes until I decide what to do. Any comments or shared experiences on this one? BTW, the service rep could offer no explanation on what would cause the gasket to just bulge out at 44K miles. He seemed surprised also. The truck has been well cared for and I am the original owner.

Gracias.........

Reply to
Slagrunner
Loading thread data ...

Call Ford customer service & see if you can get it fixed under "warranty". The buzzwords at Ford are all about "quality", so mentioning "lack of quality" might catch their attention. A simple part like a gasket shouldn't fail that quickly.

-----------------------------------------------------

formatting link
(Suzuki Z400 page)

Reply to
C-squared

A "bulging" gasket? I doubt it. An incorrectly installed gasket is more likely. As the others mentioned, give Ford a polite but firm phone call and see if they'll help you out.

Andrew

Reply to
Andrew

"Slagrunner" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@comcast.com:

This happend to me on an '89 ranger with 4 cyl. It was covered under warranty. Five year later on a long trip my oil pressure became irregular. Turns out that when the mechanic had fixed the gasket he went nuts with slicone goop. The screen on the pick-up tube for the oil pump was completely clogged with "blue worms". Cost me almost $400. When you do get it fixed make certain the mechanic doesn't "improvise" on where to use silicone, or how much to use. IMHO they should use heavier guage steel and cork gaskets, the way they used to, and make the pans removeable without raising the engine or dropping the tranny.

Reply to
wß

Thanks for all of the feedback.

I went to a second dealer and got the same story. It only took the mechanic about three minutes to diagnose the problem. Maybe that is all it takes or MAYBE my truck VIN was entered into Ford's super secret universal tracking system by the first dealer so the second dealer already knew what the first dealer told me ( stick together and screw the customer theory). I held off having the work done so I could try one more thing before handing over $750. I got under the truck with a socket wrench and a universal adapter for a socket so I could go around the pan and tighten the bolts. All seemed pretty snug. I did not have a torque wrench so I was going totally on feel. I recognize the risk is that I exacerbate the problem by overtightening and forcing the gasket to bulge even more. I figured my action would either render improvement or force me back to the dealer for pretty much the same repair I was facing before I tried this.

I did my snugging routine 6 days and 220 miles ago and nary a drop so far. I am driving Chicago to Thunder Bay, Ontario in two weeks. If I do not see any drips by then I am going for it (with a few quarts of oil in the back of the truck, just in case.)

Thanks again SR

Reply to
Slagrunner

MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.