Two problems related to mechanical jack have been reported for the 1998 Ford Ranger. The most recently reported issues are listed below.
The jack which comes as standard equipment with this vehicle, when fully extended to its maximum height, is incapable of elevating the chassis to a height sufficient to install a spare tire. I had my first flat tire last night and found this out. The spare I was trying to mount was the original spare which came with the truck, and it was inflated properly. The jack was mounted properly per the written instructions attached to it, and at full elevation the chassis of the truck was still about 3 inches too low for the wheel studs to line up with the wheel. The truck was parked on a level concrete pavement, and I had a clerk from an auto parts store assisting me with changing the tire/wheel. If I had gotten this flat on some sparsely travelled rural road in the desert 25 miles from here, I could have been stranded and died of heat exhaustion or dehydration. Doesn't the manufacturer have an obligation to supply a jack which is mechanically capable of lifting the chassis of the vehicle to a sufficient height to allow for the mounting of a spare tire/wheel? nlm.
Upon having a flat tire I discovered that the jack was not the proper size for the vehicle. The vehicle is a 4wd and the jack would not raise the vehicle high enough to change the tire. This could cause someone to use unsafe methods to change the tire.