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2.3L ('83-'97) 2.3 Bad Gas Milage


Paul18181818

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Sep 26, 2020
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Location
Minneapolis, MN
Vehicle Year
1993
Make / Model
Ford Ranger XLT
So I bought this 2.3 2wd long bed ranger over a year ago with the intent of putting a lot of highway miles on it. I spend the winter swapping the transmission to a 5 speed and now that its on the road this summer i’m noticing it gets really bad gas milage. I get about 18 mpg in the city and 18 mpg highway cruising at 70 mph. It looks like the previous owner deleted the Egr system, and the computer consistently throws the 327 and 558 codes. I just put new spark plugs and wires in.

Is it worth trying to pull an egr system at a junkyard or is there something else thats causing the poor gas milage?
 


tomw

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Location
toenails of foothills NW of Atlanta
Vehicle Year
1985
Make / Model
ford
Engine Type
2.3 (4 Cylinder)
Engine Size
lima bean
Transmission
Manual
2WD / 4WD
2WD
My credo
vertical and above ground
Many possibilities. What size tires? Have you checked the odometer against known distance? Have you checked for codes(beyond the two mentioned)? Have you checked the integrity of the fuel pressure regulator diaphragm? How good are the plugs & wires? How clean is the air filter? Does the thermostat work properly? It should keep the upper hose absolutely cold, and then quickly get HOT. A leaky thermostat will allow seepage, and the hose will warm slowly over time. Have you checked your compression? The valves in good shape? Is the catalytic plugged? Is the muffler rusted and clogging the exhaust? The tailpipe bent enough to flatten and restrict exhaust flow? Are the front tires aligned? Do the brakes(disk AND drum) drag? Have you checked that they are allowing the wheels to turn freely?
Actually, the question boils down to: what did it do before on fuel mileage? If you make it too long-legged, you may be better running in 4th gear as you would be flooring it all the time to maintain 70. It may run better with a bit more rpm but a bit less throttle opening.
I changed tire size on my old truck. It turned into a DOG, and I could no longer use 5th gear except on flat roads. It didn't want to climb the slightest hill, and that was just going from a skinny 185/70-14 to a 65 series. You may be overgeared.
tom
 

Paul18181818

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Location
Minneapolis, MN
Vehicle Year
1993
Make / Model
Ford Ranger XLT
Thanks for the response. Tires are 225/70/r15, I haven’t checked the odometer but i’ve verified that the speedometer is accurate (tested against gps speedometer) and I believe those two are mechanically linked. No codes beyond the two I listed. The exhaust past the cat is new, and the cat flows well as far as I can tell. It’s got 3.73 gears, so maybe too tall for the old 2.3. The rest I will check when I’m back home.

Think I was getting slightly better milage when I had the Automatic, but I also did a brake job among other things when I swapped the transmission.
 

scotts90ranger

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Location
Dayton Oregon
Vehicle Year
1990, 1997
Make / Model
Ford
Engine Type
2.3 (4 Cylinder)
Engine Size
2.3 Turbo
Transmission
Manual
2WD / 4WD
4WD
Total Lift
6
Tire Size
35"
Some automatics didn't have EGR for whatever reason...

Did you change the engine computer when you swapped to manual? I know there's a couple codes that show up if you don't but I don't think they should change the mileage.

With those tires I might be cruising in 4th instead of 5th and see if the mileage gets better... at least if you are just going 55mph you should be below 3000rpm.
 

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