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Underdrive crank pulley, electric fan and synthetic fluids would be a good start for improving fuel economy and freeing up a little bit of power. I have also found that the 3.0 yields slightly better fuel economy with more aggressive driving--keeping RPM's in the 2500-4k range while accelerating and turning O/D off/taking it out of O/D while pulling steeper inclines. I've tried both driving styles--keeping rpms as low as possible and keeping the revs up, keeping the revs up yielded over 1 mpg better than lugging it. Go figure.
These trucks can do decent at the pump. I easily average 20mpg mixed driving on gasoline.
I really doubt you get 28mpg unless you burned your whole tank of gas driving 60mph down the interstate tailgating a semi-truck.
And yes, the 3.0L in my opinion is underpowered. It barely tows more than the DOHC 2.3 and sucks fuel like a 4.0L. I towed a 22 foot flatbed trailer (2000lbs of scrap+1200lbs of trailer) behind my old 93 3.0L 5 speed 3.73:1 gears and on some of the grades and hills I was forced to run in 2nd gear screaming at 4500-5000rpm just so I wouldn't lose more speed. My new 4.0L SOHC auto 4.10:1 pulled the same trailer with my wrecked V8 ranger no motor/trans (2300lbs+1200lbs trailer) up similar hills and would consistantly hold 4th gear rarely unlocking the torque converter.
The 3.0L is reliable for the most part, but it does suffer from a few issues (camshaft sensor)
I remember a truck I had in the '80s. 2.0L 4cylinder (121cid) 80 horse power. The BEST mpg it would get was 28mpg. My ranger has close to double the power and gets pretty much the same mpg. In that perspective, it's not doing too badly.
I agree. My truck is a 2wd auto with 3.73's, a limited slip, and big 18's (not the best combo for fuel economy). I've got underdrive pullies, an air intake, e-fan, and exhaust. I drive the truck like I stole it most of the time, and get 20-22 mpg on gasoline and 18 on e-85.
dang! thats really good mileage.