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I put some bold moves on it today!

It was nice for a winter day. Sun out, no wind, temps in the mid 30's, snow on the ground. Looked like a good time to tear into the Ranger.

This on going horrible mpg has to stop! The truck was throwing no codes according to the SG and no CEL light on in the dash.

Initial inspection showed no loose, unhooked or broken vacume lines or fittings. I did find the PCV valve in a bit of distress. It had a slight separation between the upper and lower half. I went ahead and took it apart to check that it was clean and otherwise in good shape. Put it back together and re crimped the seam. All is fine concerning the part now.

I ran all the emission sensors today. Basically it went like this. I targeted a part like a O2 sensor. I would do a key on test. No CEL. Then start,, no CEL. Then shut the truck off and unhook the device. Create a CEL then hook device up and clear CEL. Then move on to the next. I would also check the cold verse's warm resistance on devices also. I also pulled a vacume on devices that had a diaphragm like the purge valve, fuel rail surg, EGR, EVG and such. To make sure the diaphragms were not leaking and that they were indeed opening and closing said switch or valve. My last sensor was the cam timing unit thats down by the crank. It appeared ok.

Well grud. This has gotten me nowhere. Ive done all of this before. The Ranger has a new fuel filter, new plugs, wires, battery. Air filter is clean. What next.

Ive checked the MAF so lets clean it. Its clean now. Not that it was dirty. :) I dubble check all the connections, clean them, reseat them with a fresh coat of silicone grease.

I take the truck for a test drive after turning the heat shield of the cone style air filter backwards to try and recover some under hood engine heat.

No good. Its the same. I have to put the ubber xcel moves on the truck to get 30 mpg out of it on a mixed city highway run of 10 miles on a fully warmed engine.

To say I was unhappy would have been a huge under statement at this point. I decided it was time to take the front of the engine off along with the top half. I have been concerned that maybe the cam timing has changed.

So out comes the antifreeze, radiator, Then the crank pulley and other odds and ends. Im now looking at the timing belt, timing marks, water pump, tensioner and so on. The timing marks are spot on. Yep I knew I put that darn timing belt on right. Off comes the belt to check and see if something is wrong with the cam pulley. Its nice and snug on the cam shaft no play and key is tight. So at best the cam timing is at factory spec since it is keyed to the shaft. Rats I wanted to advance it one or two degrees. :(

So off comes the upper half of the intake manifold and valve cover. Maybe I have a worn cam lobe or two. Nope, all is fine in there. RATZ!!!!

At my wits end I'm ready to take the 44 mag to it. The wife begs for mercy and promises the truck will do better. And reminds me we need it to haul the new furniture home. RATZ!!! again. :( grrrr.

So I put the horrible hunk of junk back together. The whole time thinking. The heck with the wife. I will park the truck in front of the local Ford dealer. Put a brick on the throttle and let her toast its self. Then go buy a used f-150 or Tundra and be done with this awful part of my automotive life.

The trucks back together Ive found and tested a suitable cinder block for the roasting of the 2.5L I4. All thats needed now is a suitable death drudge of a tune to be blasting on the stereo. I secure that make sure the burned CD plays in the Ranger. I am all set with a sinister grin.

With the engine all nice and warm I back out of the driveway. Start down the street. Wait it didn't labor knock off idle. Hum,,, ok we can check this at the stop sign. It must know its going to die a horrible death. Nope didn't knock off idle at the next two stop signs. OK I look at the SG going down the road in 5th gear at 30 mph. Hold on its showing 32 mpg real time loafing down the road. Its never done this. HUMMM driving on by the left turn that needs to be made for the Ford dealer,,, I drive on. I come to a slight downhill section, ease out of the throttle ever so slightly, real time mpg shoots up to 65 mpg.

Could it be its fixed? After 6 plus years of disappointment,,, naw,, all this truck knows is heart break. I continue on. The real time mpg numbers are looking near Accordian like. I pull out on the highway and head north as if I were on my way to Tulsa. Thats it lull it into a false since of security. Its bound to start messing up anytime. I execute a short FAS like I always do on one stretch of the road. I dont want it to think anythings up yeah know. :cool: I ease on down the road running 5 mph under the speed limit. I come to a light. Stop and let it idle. WOW its showing .1 gph on the SG. The best I have ever seen is .2 gph at idle. So I shoot off away from the light. Get into 5th gear and let the speed climb to 55 mph. Once steady I start watching the current mpg. 22, 22.3, 22.6, 23, 23.5,,, it keeps going up. Before I'm at the city limit and after Ive pulled a small hill. Its at 26 mpg. This has never happened. Its a fluke! Its not real! Bang SG around. WOW 27 mpg. OK its time to do a Ferrari tune up. Make a U turn in the proper place and smash the gas to it. Cant be holding up on coming traffic yeah know.:eek: I give her hell. No rev limiter to be found. Let it pull until it cant pull anymore than grab the next gear. Did this thru third gear. Dropped it into 5th and looked at the SG. 22 mpg after that on slot of rpm madness. Not bad! I continue on down the highway at 55 mph. Lookie there, the mpg is coming back up. Within two miles its back up to 27 mpg. I throw a few fas at it and its bumping up close to 30 mpg. With 42 degree intake air temps. I end back in the driveway at 29.2 mpg. Thats 2 mpg better than EPA highway! :woot:

The very best the truck would have ever done in the past at any temp on a run and romp like this,,, would have been 20 to 22 mpg. I set in the driveway dumb founded. And there it was idling at .1 gph. Not its normal .2/.3 gph. I'm not convinced that its fixed. But it wasn't tortured to death today either. I'm going to take it back out and make a run in it from stone cold later tonight and see what it does.

Wish it luck

psy

One question before I duck back behind my blast shield...are the SG parameters set right for the truck?

Please don't actually kill it!

One question before I duck back behind my blast shield...are the SG parameters set right for the truck?

Please don't actually kill it!


LOLOLOL Yes they are set right for the truck. 2.5L, hybrid, 17 gal tank, yada yada, yada. :)

It has earned a temp. stay of execution.

Well I just got back from doing some test runs.

Went out,, hopped in the truck and turned the key on. I was hoping the truck would be stone cold. It was pretty close. SG showed 44F for water temp and 33F for static intake air temp. I start the truck up. It is in open loop. I let it idle for about 1 min. Loop goes close. I pop it in first and we are off. No knock off idle. Thats good. I run this test loop like the last one. get back to the house with 25.6 mpg. Ok it was real near to stone cold. Air temp is now 25F and falling. Intake air temp was running at 30F.

I turn the truck off and reset the current mpg for the SG. Fire it back up and make the loop again. Same speeds, everything as the other runs. Get back to the house with 29.6. But its back to idling at .3 gph. RATZ!!!! Maybe this is being caused by the low air temps. Who knows with this can of worms. But the 29+ mpg loop was repeatable with even lower air temps than earlier.

So I think,,, lets do it one more time. But use a different test loop. This one will have some stop signs and lights and allow for some 55 to 60 mph time. Then a stop sign at the bottom a large hill that has to be pulled, a fas, two lights that can never be timed or made, a fas, stop sign and home. About a 9 mile run if that. Reset the SG and take off. The truck behaved good and returned a 27.2 mpg segment.

None of these segments were done in ubber hypermiling mode. I know what I can do. I was more interested in what the truck would do.

Bottom line is. It seems to be doing better for some odd reason. With that I will hold on to some very causes optimism. I will see what the warmer temps of Sunday will hold. Then see if maybe a WAI at this point will help. If not induce more summer time intake air temps and see if its constant labor knocking returns.

It would seem if just for tonight the off idle knock that has plagued the truck since new has went away. I sure hated to see the .3 gph idle fuel used come back. But the over all mpg looks better than I think Ive ever seen it. :woot:

psy

Hi Psy:

___It sounds like your Ranger is running great now from the SG details you have posted. Except .3 gph is normal at idle. Both the Accord and the Ranger show this level at idle when the tach has settled around 800 RPM after a cold start. .01 - .03 gph is below a 64:1 lean burning diesel at idle ;)

___If something was wrong before, you certainly cured it but you really didn’t do anything other then the air filter, correct?

___Either way, she appears to be good for some mid 30’s commutes now although FAS’ing her at 65 just doesn’t work the same as in the Accord of Civic. It is almost as if the Conti’s and the > .45 Cd aero act like throwing an anchor out the window as you already know :(

___Good Luck

___Wayne

Messed around a bit more with the Ranger today.

Its been a picky beast about its oil. Ford say 5w-30 is whats needed. But we know better than that. It really seems to prefer MotorCraft oil over anything out there. Ive ran M1 5w-20 and 5w-30 in it and it hates it. It seems to burn a little of it and harmonics seem to setup in the motor. It gets real loud and sings if that makes since. Last oil change I put in the Wal-Mart SuperTech Syn, 5w-30 and a SuperTech oil filter. I bet I haven't put 1500 miles on this oil. And the motors back to its harmonics and low tone rumbling noise's. Really strange.

So today in the arctic chill I got out and took the Ranger for a spin to Wal-mart to get,,, The Tree. Ho darn Ho Ho has started here at the shack. :) Any way I asked the wife to listen to the motor as we drove. She pointed out that the knock off idle was gone and she liked that. And that the shifter wasnt jumping around like it wanted to break loose from the floor pan. But stated the motor still had a grumbly sound,,, like she could hear every part in the engine working. Now after driving near silent I4 Honda's anything but a Yota sounds loud under the hood and we both agreed to that notion. Knowing shes driven the truck more than I have in the last year her input was very important.

So while at Wal-Mart I picked up a 5 qt. jug of MotorCraft 5w-20 and MotorCraft filter for the Ranger. Apon getting home after the Wal-Mart journey and a few other stops the SG posted a solid 25 mpg all city. Not bad for limited hypermiling and temps below 30F. I pulled the oil fill cap and dip stick and felt the oil on them. Sure enough it was very hot to the touch, but thick. Man was this stuff thick! I went back to the shed where I have some use 5w-20 and 0w-20 and HD30. None of it was as thick as this hot 5w-30 to the touch.

Out went the current Wally World Syn. In went the MotorCraft 5w-20 and filter. I took the truck over to a buds house to pick up some of his used oil and had about 20 qt's of my own to take to Auto Zone. The drive to his house and to Auto Zone netted a solid 28 mpg.

Maybe just maybe the Ranger is getting right as near rice.

psy

Hi Psy:

___28 + in winter temps is doing great! Whatever you didn’t do to fix it, don’t screw it up by trying not to fix it again :)

___Good Luck

___Wayne

PSY, today I was also at Walmart buying oil and a filter for for my '02 V8 Explorer. Thanks to Walmart a few years ago, they stopped selling the motorcraft 5-20W blend and I bought Pennzoil 5W-20 Purebase. My MPG increased right a way. My daughter's '02 Ranger was also using Motorcraft 5-20W but had to change also to Pennzoil and notice the same increase. Today Walmart is selling both, and I choose Pennzoil Pure Base 5W-20 again today. It now is GF-3 approved for my FEH, but does not say it meets the specs like Mobil 1 5-20W for my FEH.

Motorcraft, has not impressed me like Mobil 1 or Pennzoil Pure Base. The Pennzoil seem to break down and reduce mileage sooner than Mobil 1, but if I was driving in competition for mpg, I would dump Mobil 1 for Pennzoil on the short term in my FEH in a minute. I'm almost out of warranty in my FEH (3 yrs, 36,000) on the engine and will try Pennzoil Pure Base to check for any increase MPG at that time.

As far as my Explorer, it's due for a oil change, but I've been getting the best mileage ever lately because my driving skills have improved. A oil change now will confirm a better oil to me.

GaryG

PSY, today I was also at Walmart buying oil and a filter for for my '02 V8 Explorer. Thanks to Walmart a few years ago, they stopped selling the motorcraft 5-20W blend and I bought Pennzoil 5W-20 Purebase. My MPG increased right a way. My daughter's '02 Ranger was also using Motorcraft 5-20W but had to change also to Pennzoil and notice the same increase. Today Walmart is selling both, and I choose Pennzoil Pure Base 5W-20 again today. It now is GF-3 approved for my FEH, but does not say it meets the specs like Mobil 1 5-20W for my FEH.

Motorcraft, has not impressed me like Mobil 1 or Pennzoil Pure Base. The Pennzoil seem to break down and reduce mileage sooner than Mobil 1, but if I was driving in competition for mpg, I would dump Mobil 1 for Pennzoil on the short term in my FEH in a minute. I'm almost out of warranty in my FEH (3 yrs, 36,000) on the engine and will try Pennzoil Pure Base to check for any increase MPG at that time.

As far as my Explorer, it's due for a oil change, but I've been getting the best mileage ever lately because my driving skills have improved. A oil change now will confirm a better oil to me.

GaryG

Hi Gary

Oil and filters are like politics and preachers. :)

I'm a dye in the wool M1 fan! Have been for years. Penn has scared me with constantly changing there marketing and other off the wall stuff. And in the old days Ive seen some pretty nasty engine tear downs that had penn used in them for years.

But M1 is a changing and it mite not be for the good. The jury is still out on this one. It would seem that when M1 redid the 0w-20 here a while back it was a new type of group III oil. while a lot of the rest of the product line was a PAO/group IV. This included the 5w-20. Now its believed that one has to go to like 10w-40 for PAO. It gets real confusing and Mobil wont disclose much. But it seems now that the 0w-20 and 5w-20, just might not be the oils they use to be commanding the price of the oils,,, they use to be.

It would seem right now on oil boards there is a strong following developing for the penn pure base group III oil. And Ive heard there have been some great sale prices for it.

I noticed the last oil changes on the Civic and Accord that the valve trane started rattling and clattering at about 12k miles. Went from silent to.. Yo Change My Oil. Ive ran M1 oils out to 15k and 17k miles before without this happening in other cars and trucks. So this time around I could only find enough 0w-20 to do the Civic. So I used 0w-20 and 5w-20 blend in the Accord with PureOne filters. If the valves start rattling again at 10k miles or so. I then in my mind will believe M1 has changed for the worse.

At $11.00 bucks for 5 qts of Motorcraft 5w-20 and wix/napa gold oil filters or PureOne oil filters Im sure 7500 mile oil changes would be a no brainer. I can live with that. :)

It would seem ,,, the Ranger really prefers its Motorcraft oil and filters. At $15.00 for oil and filter to do a oil change good for 7500 miles. I think Im going to stay with it. Its hated anything else Ive put in it. :rolleyes:

psy

So I maybe in the hunt for a new oil myself. Right now I have no problem dumping Motorcraft in the Honda's. To bad they don't make a 0w-20. but that wont kill me or the engines. And truth be known I doubt it would kill the mpg either. But if the penn pure base can be found at 2 for 1 prices or other likewise sales. I might try it.

Xcel

I don't know whats up with the Ranger. I didn't replace a part one! That was the whole point to the work. Find the parts that are weak or need replacing and get it done. Once and for all! Its never thrown a CEL. Ive only seen it flicker the CEL light once or twice and it never has left a readable code.

All I did was go thru the darn thing and basically make it throw CEL's and clear them. I confirmed the parts are working. And then made the system fail by either leaving them unhooked or hooking them up with a resistor to change a value. What ever it took to make the system throw the CEL. Blew all the connectors out and reseated them with silicone grease. And truthfully,,, all the connectors are of very high quality. Very tight and all were very clean. Look at them sometime on your Ranger. There done well, and better than some of the ones Ive seen on the Honda's IMHO.

I was thinking today. Maybe all the Cel's being thrown. Cleared and reset the ECU in some unorthodox way that it liked? Maybe it was the silicone grease? I just don't know. :cool: And I hate it when crud happens like that!

psy

The steering wheel shudders when you turn the wheel.

It has a sensor for the power steering to up the rpm's just a hair when it sense's psi building. Which means your turning the steering wheel. I checked this sensor over the weekend and it seems to be working.

The truck did this a year ago. At that time I flushed the power steering system and inspected the rack. All seemed good. I drained the fluid in it and then flushed it with Mercron 3 and 5. That didn't help at the time. So I flushed it with M1 ATF and all seemed fine.

So at this point its either Ford's really bad design of a power steering pump, going out or the valving system on the steering rack. Ive made it a practice to flush Ford power steering pumps once a year. Fords pumps are known to be some of the very worse in the automotive industry. They don't cost much cause there not worth much. :mad: It doesn't get any better if you rev the engine, just more violent.

Also the transmission is getting worse and worse. It got so tight today it was hard to get into 1st, shift to 2nd and 3rd. Ive ran Mercron 3 and 5 in it and it's now got M1 ATF in it. Yes its a ATF fluid transmission. So I maybe buying a transmission for it in the near future.

psy

PSYSHACK: I wonder if you're being totally realistic about the mileage your truck is getting. The figures you're quoting are excellent for that truck. It was never built to be a fuel-efficient vehicle.

Have you done an extended MPG check by keeping a solid log of fuel consumption? You really won't really know what kind of mileage you're getting until you've done 4-5 tankfuls. Going out and doing mileage loops seems to me to be counterproductive because its the mileage you get while you're doing your commute and errands that really matters.

With regard to oil: Everyone's got an opinion on oil and the one I use is universally condemned by all those who "know" oil such as the folks at BOBISTHEOILGUY. However, when one is being realistic, it's hard to argue with the results that I've gotten with SynLube and I suggest that it's much better than what you're using now. The 5W20 oils sound good at first but what you gain in reduced pumping losses is more than lost by increased engine friction because the 5W20 oil film can't keep engine parts fully separated.

I have a FX4 Ranger (4WD, 4.0L engine, 5spd manual) w/almost 29K that has had the same SynLube oil in it since 780 miles. During that time, I've averaged a little over 19 MPG for a truck that sees about 90% of its mileage in my daily commute. That's better than the 2.9L Ranger with 2WD I had. Getting almost 4 MPG over the EPA estimate makes having my Ranger a little less painful in these days of obscene fuel prices.

http://www.synlube.com

Alternatively, Torco makes an excellent oil that is more conventionally priced. I have heard excellent comments about it from knowledgeable sources. If I were not using SynLube, I'd be using Torco.

Also, do not neglect the differential and transmission. These components benefit from a high quality synthetic as well. I've converted all the components of my truck to synthetic lubricants, not just for reduced drivetrain friction but also because they will reduce future maintenance. The higher viscosity index will permit better cold weather operation.

I assume you're running higher tire pressures too. I usually run about 4PSI higher in the front than the rear to offset the increased deformation of the tires supporting a majority of the weight.

Have you tried using acetone? What about a block heater? Both can provide some help.

Hi Houkster:

___Welcome to CleanMPG.

___And about a Ranger’s FE … They can do some damage to the EPA when needed but not using anything other then some skill, Mobil1 0W-20, and 50 - 55 #’s in the Conti’s … The last two tanks are what a 2.3L equipped Ranger is worth when pushed without the snake oil and not pulling a 5,000 + # Landscape Trailer ;) Block heater was standard equipment when I purchased her but I have never used it … yet.

Ranger P/U (http://www.cleanmpg.com/index.php?page=garage&displayunits=MPG(US)&viewcar=45)

___Good Luck

___Wayne

Wife and I took the Ranger to Tulsa this weekend to pick up a new mattress and box spring. The Rangers back to its old self. We went and looked at the new Tundra. If I have to put up with a gas drinking truck. It might as well be a real truck. If the new Tundra wasnt so ugly I would have purchased one this weekend. 22mpg in the Ranger with a light load. I get that out of full size chevys and fords here at work.

Rangers Suck....

PSYSHACK: I wonder if you're being totally realistic about the mileage your truck is getting. The figures you're quoting are excellent for that truck. It was never built to be a fuel-efficient vehicle.

Have you done an extended MPG check by keeping a solid log of fuel consumption? You really won't really know what kind of mileage you're getting until you've done 4-5 tankfuls. Going out and doing mileage loops seems to me to be counterproductive because its the mileage you get while you're doing your commute and errands that really matters.

With regard to oil: Everyone's got an opinion on oil and the one I use is universally condemned by all those who "know" oil such as the folks at BOBISTHEOILGUY. However, when one is being realistic, it's hard to argue with the results that I've gotten with SynLube and I suggest that it's much better than what you're using now. The 5W20 oils sound good at first but what you gain in reduced pumping losses is more than lost by increased engine friction because the 5W20 oil film can't keep engine parts fully separated.

I have a FX4 Ranger (4WD, 4.0L engine, 5spd manual) w/almost 29K that has had the same SynLube oil in it since 780 miles. During that time, I've averaged a little over 19 MPG for a truck that sees about 90% of its mileage in my daily commute. That's better than the 2.9L Ranger with 2WD I had. Getting almost 4 MPG over the EPA estimate makes having my Ranger a little less painful in these days of obscene fuel prices.

http://www.synlube.com

Alternatively, Torco makes an excellent oil that is more conventionally priced. I have heard excellent comments about it from knowledgeable sources. If I were not using SynLube, I'd be using Torco.

Also, do not neglect the differential and transmission. These components benefit from a high quality synthetic as well. I've converted all the components of my truck to synthetic lubricants, not just for reduced drivetrain friction but also because they will reduce future maintenance. The higher viscosity index will permit better cold weather operation.

I assume you're running higher tire pressures too. I usually run about 4PSI higher in the front than the rear to offset the increased deformation of the tires supporting a majority of the weight.

Have you tried using acetone? What about a block heater? Both can provide some help.

Ive owned the truck since new... I knew it was a mistake when a cab weld cracked early on. Its always drank gas and labor knocked. Ive kept the oil, tranny and rear fluids changed out. It dosent like M1 in the engine at all. The 5 MT is a known blow box. So I change the tranny fluid every third oil change. The rear end has M1 grear lube in it. It will be due for its third rear end lube change if I keep it that long.

psy

PSYSHACK: I really believe the results with your Ranger are not typical. But its your truck that matters and its a real downer to have an unreliable ride. The Ranger is in serious need of a major redesign.

Just a note for the Ranger owners, esp those with a V6, not sure if it applies to the I4 or not. One way to get a 1+mpg boost in mpg is to replace the facory radiator fan and clutch with an electric. I did this last year to my Ranger and picked up about 1 - 1.5 mpg consistently.

By driving sensibly and carefully I get a consistent 26-27mpg in the summer and 23-25 in the winter. Best ever tank of gas was about 27.5. This is on my 25 mile commute to work, 1/2 rural, 1/2 moderate stop-go. The truck is a '92 short bed, regular cab, 3.0 V6, 5spd manual, 3.45 gears. It has almost 200k miles on it and still pull sthose numbers. I can use it to pull my 1800lb fishing boat to the lake and still get about 20 or so. N

I felt sorry for the Ranger a week or so ago. I filled it up and gave it a bath. The wife cleaned up the inside. Its back to its old tricks. I used it in the coast down test the other day and spent alot of time kicking myself for even buying it. I knew better. My first Ranger was junk and this one is no better. I park it out back so I dont have to look at the POS.

psy

Part of the problem with the newer rangers and MPG is that those made from '93 up are heavier (and those from 2000 up -much heavier) than the old Gen 1 and 2 styles.