4.0 Mileage disparity

[jmcarthy]

Lady I work with has an '02 ranger, I have a '97. Only difference between the two is mine is 5 speed and hers is auto. She only gets 12 mpg and I'm getting 18, we both drive about the same (neither a lead foot) city/highway. Any ideas on the difference?

 

[cdotson86]

Automatics tend to drink a little more gas than sticks. But I wouldent think that much more.

 

[Cheaplabor]

I have an 04 and I get 15 at least easy with auto and its the Fx4 level II and Iam a lead foot most of the time. I think she has some thing wrong..

 

[rickster]

I have an 02 with a 3.0L 2wd and I'm pulling 20 mpg right now. I just did a little maintenance; new air filter, cleaned MAF sensor with a special spray cleaner and aired tires to 35 psi. Hope to improve on that 20 mpg. If I was at 12 mpg with a 4.0L I'd have that vehicle in diagnostics to find out whats wrong. Like I did, check her air cleaner and tire pressures for starters.

 

[jmcarthy]

Yeah I guess I should have made it obvious both are 4x4's. I would figure her to need tune up or something. I can see her getting 15 but not 12. The other thing I noticed when I went to EPA's web site for MPG ratings, the fuel economy went down from '97 to '02 only by a mile. I would think it would get better not worse. I was just wondering what other peoples experiences were. I should probably search the board a little better. Probably some good info on this. I just joined and found it to full of some very valuable information. The kind you can't get from the shop manual.

 

[Copytech]

Swap trucks for a week and I'll bet the MPG an her truck would go up and your truck would go down. The driver has a lot to do with mpg. I will also bet she drives a lot more aggressive than you think.

 

[nice00ford]

On my 2000 I could only get about that much. I changed my air and fuel filters as well as plugs to try and fix the problem but still only got about 13 on a good day. I'm not an easy driver, but I'm not a constant lead foot. I know bigger tires can throw it off some, but surely not too much. She may have a valid point.

 

[rickster]

The other thing I noticed when I went to EPA's web site for MPG ratings, the fuel economy went down from '97 to '02 only by a mile. I would think it would get better not worse.

EPA numbers are not real world. They are comparison numbers. The EPA requires manufacturers to test all the same way so you have a comparison between vehicles and manufacturers by model year. They run the test with the A/C off and only the rear wheels on the chassis rolls. The difference between the 2wd and the 4wd numbers is the addition of turning the transfer case gears, the added weight and a higher dyno seting which comes from the shorter coast down time of the heavier higher profile 4wd.

 

[feellnfroggy]

Dont think she knows really how to compute gas mileage? Unless the truck has a problem she shouldnt be gettin mileage that bad. UNLESS!! she has the ford low gearing. The trucks with 4.11:1 in '99 got 11 mpg on the highway. EXT cab 4.0 4x4 shortbed.

 

[kevinsranger]

do they both have the same tire sizes and gear ratios?

 

[jmcarthy]

Dont think she knows really how to compute gas mileage? Unless the truck has a problem she shouldnt be gettin mileage that bad. UNLESS!! she has the ford low gearing. The trucks with 4.11:1 in '99 got 11 mpg on the highway. EXT cab 4.0 4x4 shortbed.

I guess that is possible for her to have some type of lower gearing. She picked the truck up when it was 2 years old. Nice00ford is getting similar results though.
I could have sworn I read on a post in here somewhere that some of the guys were getting lower mileage and some people suspected injectors.

 

[Beanmachine7000]

I think most people who have a 4.0 are amazed at how crappy the gas mileage can be sometimes, lol... I would be worried with my Explorer if I didn't already know it was only supposed to get 15mpg...

 

[Hawker]

Probably of no help, but I'm getting 18. I have an 08 2wd 4.0 with auto. Tires at 35psi, mostly urban and not aggressive in my driving. I ran a 500 trip doing 70 - 80 most of the time and still only got 18 mpg. Higher speed I suspect you're pushing a lot of air so no improvement at all. In my 02 3.0 auto I got 20 to 22 under similar conditions. Tire pressure and moderation seem to be factors.

 

[triumphrider-1]

Swap trucks for a week and I'll bet the MPG an her truck would go up and your truck would go down. The driver has a lot to do with mpg. I will also bet she drives a lot more aggressive than you think.

I would do this. In addition to seeing if the driving style is making a difference, you can also see if something does not sound right, working to hard, etc.

 

[Hahnsb2]

Lady I work with has an '02 ranger, I have a '97. Only difference between the two is mine is 5 speed and hers is auto. She only gets 12 mpg and I'm getting 18, we both drive about the same (neither a lead foot) city/highway. Any ideas on the difference?

Hers has a SOHC, you have an OHV. The fact that it's an automatic it probably runs very low in the RPM range and get's worse mileage than if it was run in the proper RPM range.