New guy needs help with fuel mileage too.

[hschwartz3]

Hi all,

I'll try to keep this story short.

I recently picked up a 2001 Ford Ranger std. cab 2wd, 5-speed, 2.5 4 cyl. I was hoping this truck was going to be a little gas mizer for me, but that hasn't been the case. I signed up on this forum shotly after I purchased the truck and have read several posts pertaining to fuel mileage. However, I feel I still may need some help.

Things I've done:

New plugs and wires, oil and filter, air filter, fuel filter, cleaned MAS, cleaned EGR valve, cleaned idle air control solenoid, currently running 4th bottle of fuel injector cleaner, checked for vacuum leaks with ether (none found, engine pulls 20 in/hg of vacuum at idle), checked timing (@15* BTDC) at idle, no DTC codes stored (checked at three different auto parts stores), no exhaust leaks (has new exhaust from cat. convertor back), checked / balanced tire pressures.

I'm running out of thing to check. Here come's the questions....haha

Thing's to do:
check fuel pressure - i see there's a schrader valve on the front of the fuel rail, what do i need to check it?

oxygen sensors - any way to check? or just replace?

This truck rev's clean, idles smooth, no misses what-so-ever. has decent power for a little 4 cylinder. My only complaint is the fuel mileage. I'm on my 5th tank of gas, and so far my best mpg is 19.5. the first tank yielded 14.3.

I do have one concern. The check engine light does not light when I turn the ignition to the on/run position. I imagine someones removed the bulb or something to that effect. This i why i've taken it to the autoparts store to check for codes so often. Each time they report no codes stored. This brings me to my next question:
Is it possible for someone (previous owner) to circumvent the ODBII system and the truck still run?

thanks for any/all help.

edit: i've kept it at or under 65mph during the mpg testing.

 

[L454S]

Mileage

First, how are you checking mileage? Miles driven divided by gallons used?

Second, what wheels and tires are on the truck?

Is the inside of the tailpipe loaded with black soot? Is it blowing any black smoke?

That is poor mileage. I just made a 210 mile fishing trip towing a boat and got almost 24 MPG. Does the 01 have different gears, like 4.10's maybe? Mine has 3.73 and tach is about 2500 for 70 MPH.

 

[hschwartz3]

that's correct L454S, i'm checking mileage by dividing the miles driven by gallons used.

the tires may make a difference, it came with some fairly new tires on it. Some toyo touring 225/70-15 up front and some slightly larger Wintermark steel radial snow tires out back 225/75-15. the rear tires are slightly bigger but checking the speedo with a handheld GPS is only 3 MPH off.

the tail pipe is clean, its actually rusty inside. i've never seen the truck even smoke at all.

I dont have a factory service manual for the truck yet, so i cant comment on the gearing yet. Any recommendations on a particular manual? I did see a cd offered on ebay, is it any good?

again, many thanks for the help

 

[hschwartz3]

i've managed to get the fuel mileage up some, the last two tanks yielded 21.28 and 21.57 respectively. I was just hoping for more outa this thing.

some other questions and possibly some underlying issues,

on ocassion, the truck will just start beeping at me. it's the same chime that would be heard as if the door was ajar but the light isn't on, and the door ajar light does work. It usually happens after some highway travel, then merging into city traffic, usually after 1 stoplight. it chimes for a minute, then stops, all gauges read normal/halfway.

another thing i've wondered is....What is the unit above the spare tire. it appears to be some sort of emmissions/evaporation tank for the gas tank. It's always wet. anyway to clean it out / test it. what is it?

thanks for the help.

 

[L454S]

Mileage

Read the small print on the side of the tires, forget the sticker in the door jamb. See what the max cold pressure is. Should be either 44 psi or 35 psi. Set it very close to which ever it is.

Does this truck have the 2.3 SOHC with timing belt or DOHC with timing chain? The latter, from what I understand on this board, does get better mileage. 2001 was the changeover year.

 

[hschwartz3]

The stickers on top of the front core support both say 2.5, a peak behind the timing cover reveals a belt. i imagine its a SOHC because it's got a tiny valve cover, i cant imagine 16 valves under there.

And i've already aired my tires up.

 

[kfb13]

My 2000 2.5 5sp has always run right around 22 mpg. will go up to 25 if on the road only but that is seldom. I tried bigger tires to equal 3.73 rear and it didn`t make any real diff. either.
PS 3 mph will about equal 1 mpg on a 200 mile tank. so your right on track. KB

 

[06Ranger]

I'm getting a 19.1 average with my 2.3l. but that is 70% city 30% highway.

 

[Polk]

Is most of your driving city or highway? My '95 with a Lima (2.3/2.5 SOHC) with a 5-speed got 19-20 city, 24-25 highway. For comparison, my 2009 with a Duratec (DOHC) and 5-speed gets 25.5-26 highway.

Four cylinder Rangers get good mileage for a pickup, but with pickup aerodynamics and weight you can't expect economy car mileage.

14.3 is really low, but 19.5 is about right for city driving.

As a couple others pointer out, the larger back tires are throwing off your mileage numbers by about 3%. That is 0.6~0.7 MPG. Also, winter fuel blends often burn richer than summer blends. Engines run rich when cold; obviously in winter they will run rich for longer. Do your gas stations have 10% ethanol gas (probably so)? That reduces mileage by another 3% or so. Combine all that together and there is about a 10% reduction in mileage. That puts your last couple tanks close to 24mpg, which is reasonable for a 2.5 Lima.

 

[mmlaing]

Mileage

Hello All,
I get about 25mpg with my 09 2.3litre duratec std. I agree with the last post it does get good mileage for a truck but it pales in comparison to my 06 vw gulf tdi, that was a diesel sipper.

Mike

 

[Beanmachine7000]

20mpg seems about right for a Lima... It's a 100 some-odd horsepower engine in a 2 ton brick... It's not going to get great gas mileage... My 2000 2.5L Ranger gets about 20mpg... On the highway it might shoot up to 22-24... That's rolling right along at 70 too... Just like every other RBV I've owned it doesn't seem to care whether I flog it or drive like a grandma... It sits right about 20 all the time...

 

[06Ranger]

20mpg seems about right for a Lima... It's a 100 some-odd horsepower engine in a 2 ton brick... It's not going to get great gas mileage... My 2000 2.5L Ranger gets about 20mpg... On the highway it might shoot up to 22-24... That's rolling right along at 70 too... Just like every other RBV I've owned it doesn't seem to care whether I flog it or drive like a grandma... It sits right about 20 all the time...

X2 my 2.3l is the same way most of the time.