Need info on Sport Track....

My wife and I have been looking at the Ford Sport Tracks. She really likes them and I do to for the most part.

Anyone have any info on these trucks in regards to problems, what to look out for etc?

I've been driving Jeeps for over 25 years and have never had any problems with any of them. I'v had CJ5's, CJ7's, CJ8's, Wranglers and a whole bunch of Cherokees. (Still got the CJ8)

We normally sell or trade every 100,000 miles or so.

When Jeep discontinued the Cherokee and replaced it with that ugly Liberty, well, I guess it's time to move on to something else.

We're interested in the Sport Track but don't know a doggone thing about them. Engine size, power, trannys etc.

Any help or ideas would be appreciated.

Thanks, Ol' Reb

Reply to
Ol' Reb
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We have a 2001 Sport Trac with about 20K miles on it. So far, no problems. It has the 4.0 V6, and everything, but 4 wheel drive and a moon roof. It has a 4 speed automatic with overdrive, and a positrack rear end. We live in Fort Worth, Texas, and have taken it to the coast, and Amarillo. The flip out extender allowed us to carry a lot of stuff to the coast. The bed is very handy for hauling small loads around town. It is very comfortable with the leather interior. The mileage is about what was on the sticker. It is the midnight blue color with a gray leather interior. It's my wife's car, and she really likes it. We did get rid of the Firestones and replaced them with Michelin Cross Terrains. I have an F-150 FX4, and like it very much too. Ron

Reply to
R&B

I test drove one and liked the way it performed and handled. But it was just too small for my tastes. The cabin seemed too confining, and the bed was impractical for anything except the smallest of loads. I ended up getting a F250.

Reply to
XLanManX

I remember getting one back in 2002 as a rental when I went down to florida. I want to say it had a v8 in it because it sure drank gas faster than the

4.0 v6 in my '01 Ranger. Very comfortable though, it had all the options, power rear window, rear climate controls, everything. The bed was able to hold luggage for a family of 4 plus all the stuff we bought, etc while there. So while small, it is very useful still (ours had the hard plastic tonneau cover from ford on it, not the extender). Rear seating was very roomy, as was the front. In the back I didn't have my knees pointing up and in my chest like on the Jeep Cherokees or Olds Bravada's I've ridden in. All in all a damn good ride.

-BD

Reply to
BD

snipped-for-privacy@earthlink.net (Ol' Reb) wrote in :

I would suggest that you go to

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and post your questions in the Sport Trac forum there. You'll find lots of helpful people with a lot of good information. I have a 2001 Sport Trac (ST) which I bought in August, 2000. It has over

40,000 miles on it, with no problems except for a couple early recall items (which have since been fixed in production), and a rear window motor which quit at 39k.

Mine has the 5-speed automatic (all have the 205HP/220 lb/ft 4.0L V6), and averages about 18 MPG in rural driving. That's a couple MPG lower than you'd get with a Ranger, but the ST, with its 5-person cab, is alot heavier. Acceleration is more than adequate and handling is quite good for a truck. The ride is very comfortable as are both the front and rear seats. People who are used to full-size pickups may think the interior is small, but compared to a small or midsize car, it's very roomy. I'm 6'1" and 230 lbs., and I have plenty of room in both the front and the back.

The pickup bed isn't made to haul 4' X 8' sheets of plywood, but lowering the tailgate will give you about 6-1/2' of length (about 4-1/2' when closed). The optional cargo cage, which flips back to close off the rear when the gate is down, is very handy, as is the hard tonneau cover. With the hard cover (which locks), the bed becomes a great place to put almost anything you want to keep out of sight and out of the weather.

Frankly, I think the ST is one of the most versatile vehicles you can buy. That said, it is NOT a hard-core off-road vehicle, if that's what you're looking for. It's too low and too softly-sprung for that. Some people do take them off-road, but they usually raise them and change the shocks & tires. With 4-wheel-drive and a limited-slip rear, though, it does fine in snow, sand and gravel.

-- Jim

Reply to
Jim J

Tried the Ford web site, no help. Need to know if the 2004 Sport Track 4X4 uses the *exact* same model engine and *exact* same model tranny as a 2003 Ford Ranger 4.0L V6 4X4 Automatic. I'm not happy about the "soft" suspension I read about elsewhere, would prefer a stiff, off-road type suspension (or the same as on the ranger). But I think I can live with that if the engine and tranny are identical to the ranger. If there are any differences, exactly what are they? It seems the Sport Track has slightly more power and torque, which worries me. I want the engine/tranny combo to perform EXACTLY like the Ranger, even if that means less power/torque. So can anybody tell me the differences, if any? If possible, can anybody tell me the model number of the ranger engine/tranny versus the model number of the Sport Track engine/tranny? Also, what would be better for mostly on-road use . . . 3.73 or 4.10 axle ratio? I'm guessing 3.73, is that right? -Dave

On hotmail dot com, I am user "junknothankyou"

Reply to
Dave C.

Thanks everyone, this was great information, I really appreciate it.

I saved the Sport Track Forum in my favorites and will be checking it out pretty extensively.

Once again, thanks y'all, it's been a big help.

Yours to count on, Ol' Reb

Reply to
Ol' Reb

AFAIK, it's the same engine, but the automatic tranny is a 5-speed, rather than 4-speed. (And I think that it's actually the same as the

4-speed, except for the computer programming.)

The ST's suspension isn't soft by any means, but the ride is a little more comfortable than the Ranger's, or at least feels that way due to the ST's greater weight. Handling is better than the Ranger's, though, so there must be some difference.

Why does it worry you? That seems like an extremely silly comment to me! More power is more better! ;) If you're worried about the transmission's ability to handle the added power, that doesn't seem to be a problem. It's not that much more power, anyway.

Again: Why? Why wouldn't you want it to perform *better*? Actual performnce is probably similar, again due to the extra weight, which offsets the additional HP/torque.

Nope, don't know that.

3.73 is *theoretically* better for gas mileage, but 4.10 is better for acceleration as well as the low-end torque you need off-road. In real-world use, gas mileage seems to be about the same with either ratio. I have the 4.10 limited slip axle, and I'm glad I got it. My Ranger had the 3.73 gears, and always felt like it was lugging at low speeds. The ST has plenty of pep right off the line.

-- Jim

Reply to
Jim J

On Mon, 24 Nov 2003 03:33:22 +0000, Jim J rearranged some electrons to form:

Uh... how can you get an extra gear by "computer programming"? I think you may be confusing torque converter lockup with another "speed".

Reply to
David M

Uh... Easy: Engage two gears simultaneously to create an additional gear ratio. I forget which two (I'm thinking it's 1st and 4th), but that *IS* how they get third gear in this transmission.

-- Jim

Reply to
Jim J

On Mon, 24 Nov 2003 09:49:27 +0000, Jim J rearranged some electrons to form:

Gary G: is he right?

Reply to
David M

the unit in question is basically a C-3 with an OD unit added in front of it

1st: Forward Clutches ON 2nd: Forward Clutches + OD ON 3rd: Forward Clutches ON, OD OFF, Intermediate Band ON 4th: Forwards ON, Direct Clutches ON 5th: Forwards ON, Directs ON, OD ON

you could do 6 forward gears by kicking the OD on between 3rd and 4th in the above sequence, in fact the big OD unit (4R100) will supposedly do that soon, and be called the 6W120

G
Reply to
Gary Glaenzer

Here's the correct answer: Engaging first gear and overdrive (which was

4th but has now become 5th) simultaneously produces second gear.

-- Jim

Reply to
Jim J

Why would you want a chopped Explorer that looks like a pumpkin w a flatbed?

Reply to
moli n ny

"Is he right? He can't be right! Uh... that would make me wrong!"

Indeed he is right. You did err in attempting to mock me without being familiar with that about which you spoke. ROTFLOL!

-- Jim

Reply to
Jim J

Cool! My Lightning has the 4R100 transmission. If someone comes out with a chip which will give it six speeds, I might buy it!

-- Jim

Reply to
Jim J

On Wed, 26 Nov 2003 19:00:31 +0000, Jim J rearranged some electrons to form:

Sure, whatever. I was just verifying your information with someone who I am certain knows what he's talking about. I'm not so sure about you.

Reply to
David M

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