To Idle Or Not To Idle

[brianballard1983]

i got a 88 ranger with a the true blue ford 2.9. this thing is giving me fits. one of the most aggrivating problems is the way this thing idles. of a morning when i first crank it before my drive to work it will idle very rough if any at all and after its warm it runs about 1200 rpm and the set screw is all the way out. and in my opion it gets pretty poor mpg (about 15 to 16) even after a fresh tune up shouldnt it be closer to 23 or so? any help would be great and by the way my fuel guage works when it wants to but is not accurate and at times the check engine light will flash when you change gears. help!!!!!!!!!

 

[IMenriched]

i got a 88 ranger with a the true blue ford 2.9. this thing is giving me fits. one of the most aggrivating problems is the way this thing idles. of a morning when i first crank it before my drive to work it will idle very rough if any at all and after its warm it runs about 1200 rpm and the set screw is all the way out. and in my opion it gets pretty poor mpg (about 15 to 16) even after a fresh tune up shouldnt it be closer to 23 or so? any help would be great and by the way my fuel guage works when it wants to but is not accurate and at times the check engine light will flash when you change gears. help!!!!!!!!!

Sounds like you need to start with getting the codes retrieved.

really depends on your gears as to your MPG's...there is a lot who would be satisfied with 15-16mpgs....that said...there are those who are getting into the 20's with them. Have you previously gotten 20-23mpgs with this truck?

is yours 2 or 4 wheel drive? manual, or auto tranny?

for the fuel gauge issue that is in the tank and if you were getting it fixed I would replace the fuel pump as well. Outside chance that it might be just a bad wire or connection....

 

[brianballard1983]

i have only owned the truck for bout 2 months its a 2wheel drive 5 speed how do i get my codes autozone told me yhey cant get them on a dinosaur like mine the guy i got it from said it had a new tank and new pumps so maybe its just a bad ground?

 

[IMenriched]

i have only owned the truck for bout 2 months its a 2wheel drive 5 speed how do i get my codes autozone told me yhey cant get them on a dinosaur like mine the guy i got it from said it had a new tank and new pumps so maybe its just a bad ground?

Yeah with 2wh dr and 5 speed...you could expect closer to 20mpg. or above.

to get the codes is pretty straight forward http://www.therangerstation.com/tech_library/OBD_I.html

& yes bad grounds will mess with so much it ain't funny

 

[RustedRanger]

That screw is not for adjusting the idle,it's for adjusting the TPS. Once set correctly the computer adjusts the idle. I did the same thing when I got mine last year.