tips to improve gas mileage?

[Gary101386]

have you checked the small stuff like fuel filter (if im not mistaken theres 2...?) and air filter?

my truck has some larger tires on it and my speedo is off, but what i did was i found a sign that posted how many miles to a certain intersection and i realized my odometer said 3.6 miles when i went 5. This weekend i went 152 miles from 1 destination to another (per my GPS) and my ODO only said 139. that is how i keep track of my milage, which btw is around 16-18 city and 21-23 highway in my 89 2.9 5speed.

another thing to think about too is if your truck is 4wd if your front hubs are locked thats just more rotating mass your turning...

Hope that helps some...

 

[tsanderson7]

ill check those today or tomorrow, and yeah ive done that test before too and ended up with basically the same number. and yeah we swapped out the auto hubs for manual ones and they are unlocked all the time.

 

[John Smith]

As far as plugs go..

I run plain old 765's...(autolite)..they stay clean and start great..just my experience. Also in the wintertime..I DO let it warm up some B4 easin' out and the mileage does suffer sum. But still, I get about 19-20 "around town"..(but since my "town is 8 miles or so from any main town..it is a combo reading for sure)..

My original 26+ was from a summertime test from off ramp-off ramp "fill it till it runs over"..mainly steady driving at 50mph or so..I KNOW that no-one here drives that way and is not overly concerned about mileage but.. but you seem to be, and you asked so..so I responded ..I'm sure you'll get it worked out..seriously is your 89 throttle body stock?..Some put an 86-87 on it for "more power"..

BTW, I assume you have the ign timed correctly.... since it has been rebuilt..sometimes it never hurts 2 check the basics...

 

[tsanderson7]

yeah ill deffinitely try that. im not too concerned with gas mileage, but i still feel like something is wrong if its this bad haha. and nope everything is stock except for an electric fan. was thinking about doing another msd ignition possibly tho.. it seemed to help when i had one before it shorted out, but it may have been all in my head. opinions?

 

[John Smith]

If you have a well tuned Ford TFI ignition..

Other than maybe a hotter coil..i can't really see the need for an "add-on" like an MSD module..

Now if your were running a dura-sparked version ign on a carbed motor ..maybe...just an opinion..

 

[bilzy7]

Tires kill alot. I went from 300-320 miles a tank with 235/75/15, to 250-260 miles a tank with 265/75/16. And I accelerate slow from a stop and never floor it. This also keeps my wife from saying "I wish you would have gotten a car".

 

[FordRanger1991]

Just throwing something out there but you could always put some pace setter headers on there those run at about $200 they seemed to do well on my truck just make sure you get some better gaskets then the ones that come with the headers (or you will need to get new ones anyways at about 3000 miles). When i put them on my truck i also put on a 2.5" pipe all the way back to flowmaster so i am not sure exactly how much the headers did but i went from 12mpg to 15mpg and felt a little more power. but ya dude if you keep those tires and engine you need some gears. If your mostly driving around town gears would help out. 4.56 should be good for your tire size. My brother also has a ranger with 4.56 gears 2.9 engine, auto tranny, same exhaust as me, electric fan, 4 inch suspension lift 3 inch body with 33" and sometimes 35" tires and he gets around 14 mpg in town. So you getting 12mpg doesn't seem all that bad with those big tires and stock gears.
Also if your engine has a fresh rebuild you need to let it set for a while before you really can tell what kind of mpg it will get.

 

[Gary101386]

also if your engine has a fresh rebuild you need to let it set for a while before you really can tell what kind of mpg it will get.

this is so very true!!!!...

 

[kimcrwbr1]

Go with motorcraft or autolite single platinum plugs and trash the E-3s if you havent already, even when your light on the skinny pedal your still working that engine pretty hard other than PCV that is all I can think of.

 

[kimcrwbr1]

As far as the shifting goes does your tranny have a vacuum modulator maybe a new one will help shifting. It would be on the passenger side by the cat.

 

[kimcrwbr1]

http://www.autozone.com/autozone/pa...WD/Transmission-Modulator-A-T/_/N-iu9o6Z6o1zu

 

[tsanderson7]

the rebuild was done about 8 month ago so its not brand new anymore. but deffinitely, thanks for all the help guys

 

[88 Red Ranger]

My 88 with 2.9 MT/MTC and 235/75/15 at GPS 60mph in KY/TN gets 22. From MI and across Ohio get 23.5.. I am using the GPS for speed and miles traveled because the speedo is wrong. My odometer reads 89 miles when the GPS shows 100 miles.