Whats the mileage of your 2.3L?

vupilot · Nov 27, 2007

I have a 1997 2.3L ext cab xlt with 167,000 miles.

I have changed the plugs and wires twice. I change all fluids and filters regularly. Replaced the clutch once. Tires and Brakes a few times. Thats about it though, nothing ever breaks! Original exhaust even! Although its ready to be changed. BTW, I get 26 miles a gallon around town and about the same on HWY.

Im starting to worry about the Timing Belt though. How much longer can I expect it to last? Has anyone had one fail? How many miles did you have when it did? Just curious how 2.3L's with more mileage than mine are holding up and what you have had to do to keep them running strong. I dont like any of the new small trucks so I want this one to last me to 2010.

Thanks,
Chris

RobbieD · Nov 27, 2007

358,393.2 miles at the moment; my 1994 model Super Cab.

Total work done, since it was bought new in January '95, has been:
Plugs twice.
Wires once.
Two batteries.
One alternator.
Timing belt once (which went out at 295,730.5 miles exactly).
Clutch job (put in a rear main seal, too, since I was there).
Brakes, on the front twice (original shoes still on the back; they were still good).
Four sets of tires.
Replaced all the hoses once.
One ignition control module.
Recovered the the headliner.
Various bulbs replaced at times.
Oil changes, of course, but not as often as you'd think.

She's about ready for ball joints, and fence wire keeps the original exhaust from rattling (and likely from falling off, too).

But still, I have definitely gotten my money's worth out of this old truck. I drive it daily, and plan on keeping it forever.

tbirdsps · Nov 27, 2007

Where in the world do you all go? My 92 I bought in April 92 has 97.5k. I'm looking at doing the clutch soon because the throwout bearing/slave cylinder is showing signs of going south.

The way I see it it'll take another 30 years or so to get full value out of mine.

I've had to remove the pan and clean out all the factory gunk clogging up the pickup screen. I've rebuilt the air cond when the compressor seized and converted to 134a. I'm on my third set of tires. I got 48k out of the original Firestones, 40 out of the same second set of Firestones so now I have Coopers. All belts and hoses changed in 2004 at 71k miles. I changed the plugs and wires back in 02 when it had 54k. I changed the brakes at 54k too but they were fine. I could have probably gone another 15k easy on the brakes. I had to change the fuel tank filler hose as it was leaking pretty bad. I consistantly get 22-23 mpg around town. Highway isn't much better as I drive pretty hard and every direction we go from here is up hill.

vupilot · Nov 27, 2007

Oh yeah, I also had the ball joints replaced...forgot about that one.

Thats great news, looks like my Ranger has a lot of life left in it.

BTW How do you rack up so many miles?

Chris

RobbieD · Nov 27, 2007

vupilot said:
Oh yeah, I also had the ball joints replaced...forgot about that one.

Thats great news, looks like my Ranger has a lot of life left in it.

BTW How do you rack up so many miles?

Chris

Since day one it's seen 99.5 miles daily, my work commute back and forth. So, 500 miles a week times 50 weeks = about 25,000 a year; times 12 years is already 300,000 miles. Add the non-work commute driving and the 10 months for this year so far and it's all there (it has the 6 digit odometer, too).

So relax, yours is just getting broken in well. Just keep taking care of it'll and it last a long, long time.

And I forgot- I've also fixed (not replaced) a leaking gas filler hose and fixed a crack in the gas tank. Also forgotten, I had a front-end alignment done once.

The only labor work I've ever farmed out was the tire changes and the line up, and yes, TRS has been the greatest help in that respect. Parts for these older trucks are very reasonable, and they're actually pretty easy to work on. Hell, if Ford was really serious about selling Rangers, they'd put me in a commercial.

Dave R · Nov 27, 2007

vupilot said:
Im starting to worry about the Timing Belt though. How much longer can I expect it to last?

The recommended service change interval for your belt is 100K miles. Unless you know it's be changed I would recommend setting aside a weekend to change it. It doesn't do any damage when it goes but it will leave you stranded and in need of a tow.

anupaum · Nov 28, 2007

I have 220 000 km on mine. Aside from tune ups and messing with forced induction, I haven't done anything to my truck. I've bought tires once (and need to do so again), but I haven't even needed to do brakes yet!

My clutch is giving me trouble, though. Sometimes I can't get the truck into gear without shutting the engine off . . .

I had to replace the fuel level sending unit once. My ABS hasn't been working in years, and I just ignore the light now. My interior light went out during the summer, but it's just now becoming a nuisance because we have long daylight periods up here during the summer.

When inquiring about the EGR system at a Ford dealer a couple of months ago, one of the salesmen approached me and asked me when I intended to trade in my Ranger. "Why would I do that?" I inquired. "The truck runs well and isn't costing me very much to own."

I've never owned a vehicle as reliable as this one, with the possible exception of our hybrid Camry--but we bought the Toyota new last year and it's barely been broken in!

DesertStorm · Nov 28, 2007

I love my truck. 2wd 94 regular cab 5 speed. It has to be the single best vehicle I have ever owned. I have had a few in my time. I got the truck in 04 with 96K on it. I have 130k on it now. Just replaced the timing belt last week. It was cracking and I didnt want it to break way back in the woods. I replaced all the brakes front and rear(complete-new lines, pads,calipers,drums,etc) when I put the lift on in June @ 125k miles. Rebuilt rear axle(bearings, upgraded to l/s carrier,track lock,4.56 gears etc.). The old ring and pinion and bearings were shot due to lots of smokey burnouts, gear grabbing and more. I put a 3 in lift on the truck and 33" tires. The wheel bearings are starting to show thier age due to the fine art of 2wd offroading. But very good truck. I was getting 27mpg before the lift and tires I am still getting 23 mpg.

AngloSaxon · Nov 28, 2007

I have the 94 extcab with 2.3 and 103k miles. I've had it for 3 years and did 25k miles and the only thing I actually had to replace was a relay. I usually get 27 to 30 mpg on a good day. I will only buy a Ranger.

DesertStorm, quick question: how does the 4.56 and 33's do with 2.3? are you running 33x12.5 or 10.5? Thanks.

Simple_serf · Nov 29, 2007

My 98 2.5 has almost 190K miles on it. I purchased it in spring of 04 (it replaced my POS mazda B2200) and had 138K miles on it then.

Keeping in mind that I live in the salt/rust belt (and 98/99 brakes suck), here's all I have done:

Timing belt/plugs/wires:1
Iac:1
Fan clutch:1
Clutch: 1
Rotors/pads/bearings: 3 sets
Entire front end rebuilt: once
4 new tie rods
Entire brake system replaced this spring (except ABS unit)
Rear brakes:3 (two because of blown rear axle seal)
Ford 7.5 open rear (3.73): rebuilt twice this year
one set of tires, one set of snow tires

I guess that even though this vehicle has been kind of a pita for me, I like it, it is fun to drive and it doesn't have any rust holes (a significant step for me).

My daily commute is only 10.8 miles, but I put the milage on by going to Cleveland, Buffalo, and Harrisburg on a regular basis, and this year I can add an extra 6000 Miles for driving to Seattle and back

Milage is generally between 18 and 26, depending on weather, what I am doing (I tow alot), and where I am driving (highway vs back roads).

Oh well, as soon as winter is over, time to switch to bicycle power because of gas prices.

jarz21 · Nov 30, 2007

Simple_serf,

I hear ya about the rust. I'm from outside Erie (North East), PA, and my new ('92) Ranger is by far the nicest vehicle I've owned so far. All of my other cars have had varying degrees of rust, ranging from irritating to almost dangerous. My Ranger was brought here from Nevada, so the paint is crap, but body solid.

Trying to stay a wee bit on topic, I removed the timing belt cover when I was replacing my thermostat and found that the belt is beginning to crack, but is also surprisingly loose. The tensioner for my serpentine belt was stuck, so it seems only appropriate that the timing belt tensioner needs serviced as well. That's a job I need to take care of sooner than later.

On a fuel economy note, I made an Excel spreadsheet of all the costs for both fuel and parts that I've had since I bought the truck. This is a good way to see how gas prices change over time, but kinda irritating to see how much I've spent on gas in this short period of time compared to what I'd be spending if I had one of my motorcycles here with me at school...

anupaum · Nov 30, 2007

jarz21 said:
Simple_serf,

On a fuel economy note, I made an Excel spreadsheet of all the costs for both fuel and parts that I've had since I bought the truck.

That would be a REALLY cool thing to share with some of the rest of us!

jarz21 · Nov 30, 2007

Fuel Economy & Expenses Spreadsheet

Robert,

Here's the document that I created to monitor my fuel economy. Anytime I fill up the tank, I write (or scratch with my fingernail) the odometer and tripometer readings onto the receipt and enter the information when I get home.

The first tab of the workbook is used to keep track of mileage, fuel consumption, and fuel costs. It also shows how the price of gas changes over time (in my case, the price of 87 octane in Central PA).

The second tab shows a chart of changing fuel economy over time. Any information that is added to the table in the first tab is automatically extrapolated onto the graph.

The third tab of the document is just a place to list expenses. Sometimes it hurts to know just how much money is invested into a vehicle, but it's better than having no records at all!

For anyone who is interested, you can right-click on the link above and save the spreadsheet to your computer. If you delete all of my specific information, you can use the spreadsheet for your own vehicle and the formatting & formulas should still apply. I hope this can be helpful to some people, especially those who want to see how certain modifications or changes to your vehicle affect fuel economy.

anupaum · Dec 1, 2007

jarz21 said:
Robert,

Here's the document that I created to monitor my fuel economy. Anytime I fill up the tank, I write (or scratch with my fingernail) the odometer and tripometer readings onto the receipt and enter the information when I get home.

Thank you! Bless you!

Davis · Dec 1, 2007

well i'v owned my truck for 4.5 years 2 of which the tuck was in storage. i have had the opposite i'm not sure why my dad bought the truck it, was trashed form the doy we got it. a good amount of this is due to me experimenting a lot, and somtimes fixing things when they are not broke, and playing with forced induction, but it has reqired a lot of work. i have done the head twice, the botom end once (it will need to be done again), replaced the rear axle (later found that that wasnt the problem, it was the springs+bushings), the tranny and clutch are due for replacing, cooling system had been worked over once, i dont evn know haow many times i have changed plugs and wires, i have done tie rods and the ball joints are up next, alternator and battery, tires once, brakes once and i redid the interior to make it somewhat cofortable and clean. i have driven it maybe 50,000 miles and it has been neither low-cost nor problem free, although i have never been left stranded (excepting that one time when i hydrolocked the motor)

Whats the mileage of your 2.3L?

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