Bad gas milage??

[Rockett]

I have an 88 ranger xlt 2.9. Pretty much everything on it is stock except for it is sitting on 32X11.5. What i am wondering is i am getting about 14 mpg and if that is what other people normally get or if something is wrong? My dad used to drive it and now i have it but it sat for a couple years before i started driving it. It sounds good though when it is running and i checked the timing and it was good. My dad thought when he was driving it he got about 20-22 mpg with stock tires (29s).

 

[Beanmachine7000]

Regear... 14 isn't bad... On the low side... I usually got about 15ish in my Explorer when I drove it around (all city mileage)... Regear, tune up... Should bring it back up to 16-18ish...

 

[rockin86ranger]

wanna know bad, im getting 18 mostly highway on an all stock 2.0l. my bii got about 18 going back and forth to school and my ex cab 2.9l got about 23 or 24 but that was mostly highway and all stock.

 

[Original_Ranger84]

The thing about motors is that it doesn't matter how small it is its how much power is packed into it. Rockin86 is a good example, his 2.0L motor is small and in a small vehicle would get good mileage but in a truck it struggles and has to pour more gas to get the power. Thats also why a 5.0L gets better mileage in a ranger then an f150 because its lighter and the engine can move it with less power.

As for the OP I think 14 sounds pretty close to right, with larger tires fuel mileage can be signifigently reduced especially in town with all of the stop and start.

 

[adsm08]

Did you compensate the speedo to the new tire size?

If you didn't do that and/or regear to get the right final drive ratio back you are not only using more power to get started and to accelerate, but you are also using incorrect mileage numbers.

 

[derailed]

I have a 87 2.9 and a 5 speed with 32x11.5 stock gears everything else is stock I do mostly highway driving. I get about 18 to 22. I whould do a complete tune up. then go from there

 

[8879ford]

haha...i got horriable gas milage also...i never figured it out, if it gets any worse, im throwin a carbed 302 in it...if im gonna get sucky mileage might as well have a v-8

 

[adsm08]

haha...i got horriable gas milage also...i never figured it out, if it gets any worse, im throwin a carbed 302 in it...if im gonna get sucky mileage might as well have a v-8

Haha, if you take the extra 20 minutes to do EFI you might actually end up with better mileage than with the 2.9L.