Deceiving gas mileage?

[TremblantRanger]

Hey guys, I've had my 1998 Ranger 2.5 single cab stepside for around 5 years now. I started documenting my mileage steadily on fuelly since past october, and recently I've been comparing with other members. I've been quite deceived with the numbers I'm getting, which are quite off from most members and even worse from advertised MPG's. If I remember correctly, my best to date is 19.9 MPG, and recently I'm averaging 17.4... Granted, it's winter, I live in eastern Canada, in a somewhat hilly area, had a lot of extremely windy days so far, and carried four big bags of sand in the bed for extra traction (took them out two weeks ago) but is it normal? You can find my specs @ TremblantRanger on fuelly. My truck now has 126000km, no CEL, steady idle and in very good working order. I have 235/75-15 tires, which I account for on fuelly, correcting the speedometer error and mileage before logging in my numbers. My best ever was 505km mixed driving on a single tank with 215/75-15 tires, and with the 235s, I'm averaging around 439km (corrected). Past issues include replacing IAC valve, surging RPMs (improperly set TPS, and later bad TPS connection fixed with cleaning and dielectric grease) and some kind of valve clatter/lifter tick, still present to this day, which I've seen a lot of on youtube videos for the same model trucks. Valve noise started after my first oil change after I bought the truck and has been present since. Also since I have the truck, it always pops and backfires on engine braking. And for the valve noise, I once took the valve cover off to check the HLAs; they were all rock-hard (pressing by hand at least) after many days of not running. Took they out anyways, dismantled them and soaked them in woodstove glass cleaner (best-kept secret for degreasing engine parts; went from yellow-brown to factory metal finish in minutes!!!) and reassembled everything. Noise went down a bit, but still present to this day; and got worse again since my last oil change six weeks ago. So that's why I'm asking your help; since my truck has pretty much always been like that, I don't know what is normal and what isn't, so I don't know where to look first. I'll go along with your recommendations and report what's going on as I go. Sorry for the long read but I wanted to give you guys as much info as possible!!! Cheers!!!

 

[TremblantRanger]

Oh and BTW, my mileage numbers are around 90% highway driving...

 

[Dane.Vettor@outlook.com]

i doubt the throttle body(IAC).how's your rpm during idling

 

[scotts90ranger]

I would do a compression test at least to see what is going on in the engine, it shouldn't be making any noises on engine braking... That and have you cleaned the MAF? Next could be an exhaust leak or bad oxygen sensor, if it thinks it's too lean it'll add fuel and your mileage will go down...

I imagine you should be closer to 25mpg, back in the day when my Ranger was 2WD and non ethanol gas was normal I got 27mpg then I started changing things and the ethanol gas came out and I went down to 23-24mpg, then I went to 4 wheel drive and got 19mpg, then turbo and got 15-17mpg...

 

[55trucker]

Be patient...

wait until the warm weather is here again..then do your fuel mileage calculations, trying to do this when the temp outside is -10C or so won't give you accurate results, as well the additives introduced into winter gasoline here don't improve it's fuel mileage capabilities.

apart from that.....what are your driving habits?

 

[adsm08]

Also, are these Canadian gallons or real gallons?

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

Also, are these Canadian gallons or real gallons?

Ouch.....lol.

 

[tomw]

Has the thermostat been checked? A slow-warmup is one cause of increased fuel consumption in cold weather. The upper radiator hose should stay cold until the thermostat opens. If the stat is leaking, it will allow warm coolant to seep past, warming up the hose. A good thermostat will only allow coolant to flow to the heater & back until it opens at 195F. There is either a pinhole or a 'ball bearing' that allows air to bypass the thermostat when the cooling system is filled. That may allow a bit of coolant to pass, but not significantly.
Once warmed up, will the heater run you out of the cab on full-hot? It should.
tom

 

[TremblantRanger]

i doubt the throttle body(IAC).how's your rpm during idling

Warmed-up, idle is 800-ish, but after a few minutes idling, it sometimes creeps up to 900... A blip of the throttle drops it back down to 800rpm...

 

[TremblantRanger]

I would do a compression test at least to see what is going on in the engine, it shouldn't be making any noises on engine braking... That and have you cleaned the MAF? Next could be an exhaust leak or bad oxygen sensor, if it thinks it's too lean it'll add fuel and your mileage will go down...

I imagine you should be closer to 25mpg, back in the day when my Ranger was 2WD and non ethanol gas was normal I got 27mpg then I started changing things and the ethanol gas came out and I went down to 23-24mpg, then I went to 4 wheel drive and got 19mpg, then turbo and got 15-17mpg...

A compression test has been on my to do list for a while; I really have to get around to it! As for the MAF, I checked it a few years back, it was in good shape but cleaned it anyways. Exhaust is brand new past the cat, but I once suspected that lifter noise to be maybe a cracked exhaust manifold since the sound is pretty similar from what I saw on many videos. But I can't see any cracks or carbon on or around the manifold, unless it's somewhere I can't see... And from what I can see on my scantool, O2 sensors voltage and operation read within specs. I'd like to check my short and long term fuel trim, but can't find the specs. Anybody knows?

 

[TremblantRanger]

Be patient...

wait until the warm weather is here again..then do your fuel mileage calculations, trying to do this when the temp outside is -10C or so won't give you accurate results, as well the additives introduced into winter gasoline here don't improve it's fuel mileage capabilities.

apart from that.....what are your driving habits?

I pretty much maintain it around 62MPH (100km/h) on the highway, and I shift around 3000rpm. I know that coming to a stop in neutral instead of downshifting is better for fuel economy, but I can't stop downshifting to save my life; old habits I guess!!!!

 

[TremblantRanger]

Also, are these Canadian gallons or real gallons?

I'm not sure; I'm used to L/100km, and I used an online converter for my numbers, starting with my current avergage which varies between 13 and 13.5 L/100km.

 

[TremblantRanger]

Has the thermostat been checked? A slow-warmup is one cause of increased fuel consumption in cold weather. The upper radiator hose should stay cold until the thermostat opens. If the stat is leaking, it will allow warm coolant to seep past, warming up the hose. A good thermostat will only allow coolant to flow to the heater & back until it opens at 195F. There is either a pinhole or a 'ball bearing' that allows air to bypass the thermostat when the cooling system is filled. That may allow a bit of coolant to pass, but not significantly.
Once warmed up, will the heater run you out of the cab on full-hot? It should.
tom

Thermostat is new since december; the old one was shot and was in pieces. The new one is a 190 degree, with no bypass hole which made it a pain to bleed all the air out. The heat is warm enough but not boiling hot, and varies a bit. My heater core was clogged last december and I fixed it by backflushing it, but I didn't have the time to clean it, I.E. putting CLR or another product inside and letting it soak. I suspect coolant goes through the core, but not as much as it should, because I remember my heater blowing so hot that I used to have to open my window sometimes, even on bitter cold days hahaha!!!

 

[55trucker]

Also, are these Canadian gallons or real gallons?

There's no such thing as a *Canadian* Gallon

 

[tomw]

Calculating... 13.5l/.946 = 14.27 quarts. 14.27/4 =3.567 gallons
100km * .62 = 62 miles.
62 miles / 3.567 gallons = 17.38 mpg.

Not good.

Have you checked the odometer is reporting actual true distance traveled, or is it being pessimistic?

If you were calculating using Imperial gallons, it would be worse fuel mileage.

I don't generally rev to 3k in normal driving unless I'm accelerating to merge with traffic.

Forgetting all the previous posts, cuz I'm lazy, and won't page back, have you checked fuel pressure? Air filter? Ignition timing(pre-set base if dist equipped)? Plugs & coil & wires? Does the upper radiator hose get so hot you cannot keep touching it for more than a second or so?(should.)
tom