want better mpgs please help!

[tsanderson7]

i have a 1989 ford ranger xlt 2.9l and it doesnt do to good on mpgs and its deffinitely not going to do any better after i get on a body lift and 32s. does anybody know of anything that can help me get better mpgs? i have been looking into a chip but i am not sure how well that would work.
thanks

 

[Hahnsb2]

4.56 gears.

 

[holyford86]

what are the numbers? "Doesn't do good" is quite a subjective way to put it. Keeping it in good tune, not driving like a moron, and gearing properly for tire size will all help your mileage. I get 17.5 - 18.5 mpg in the truck in my sig. I think that it's good mileage for what it is, some people would call it bad though. It's geared properly, is in good tune, however I'm not too easy on it, although it doesn't seem to affect mileage all that much...

 

[tsanderson7]

how much would those 4.56 gears cost me? and right now without the lift or tires i get around 13 and sometimes less. and im not sure what i will get with the lift and tires on

 

[Big Jim M]

Cost?

how much would those 4.56 gears cost me? and right now without the lift or tires i get around 13 and sometimes less. and im not sure what i will get with the lift and tires on

Usually a grand or more. You would never get enough savings from fuel milage to pay for the gears.
Have you driven down the freeway for a full tank of gas and then averaged your milage?
How are you estimating the milage?
How many miles do you drive each day?
WHERE are you driving?
Your milage should fluctuate from others that post their milage on here.
Many drive a hundred miles or more each time they start their cold engine. They actually do get metter milage than the ones that start a cold engine and only drive 15 or 20 mles..
So don't take what others say and try to compare it to your average, unless you tke everything into consideration.
Big JIm

 

[tsanderson7]

it depends on the today. usually to and from school a once or twice and then around town a little bit, id say 15 maybe 20 tops. and when i do drive on the highway i do absolutely terrible. i havent averaged it all out but it can barely hold 70 and i have the throttle all the way pinned. and i measure it by dividing the miles traveled over how many gallons i last put in

 

[Big Jim M]

hmmmm

it depends on the today. usually to and from school a once or twice and then around town a little bit, id say 15 maybe 20 tops. and when i do drive on the highway i do absolutely terrible. i havent averaged it all out but it can barely hold 70 and i have the throttle all the way pinned. and i measure it by dividing the miles traveled over how many gallons i last put in

15 or 20 mile runs? I wouldn't expect better than what you say you are getting.
As for the 70 mph, I wouldn't put up with that.
What size are the tires you have on there now?
Is there a tachemeter in that vehicle? If yes then what rpm does it turn at 70?
The easiest way to get better power is to go to a shorter tire!
Big Jim

 

[tsanderson7]

it turns between 3500 and 4500 rpms when i have it pinned like that. part of the problem could be the p.o.s. auto trans i have in it. and i have 27.5s on it right now but i am going to be putting on 32s next week after getting on a 3 inch body lift

 

[Big Jim M]

Allow me

it turns between 3500 and 4500 rpms when i have it pinned like that. part of the problem could be the p.o.s. auto trans i have in it. and i have 27.5s on it right now but i am going to be putting on 32s next week after getting on a 3 inch body lift

to be the bearer of bad news. Your ride won't be able to get out of it's own way with 32's on it.
SAVE YOUR MONEY! If you already HATE it with 27.5's on it, you will stop driving it entirely with tall tires on it!
May I suggest you try to get a ride with a little more horsepower? I'm betting on 10mpg and 50 mph max with 32 inch tires.
By the way... What do you mean when you say between 3500 and 4500 rpm? It should only be a CERTAIN rpm at 70 mph.
Big JIm

 

[tsanderson7]

can i fix this if i have the 4.56 gears in it? according to the gear ratio calculator over on the tech page if i put in 4.56 gears it should return it about to where it is. i dont care much about speed, as long as my mpgs dont drop too much

 

[strvger]

1st gen 2.8 v6, 5 speed manual, 4.56 gears, 31 inch tires, 2850 rpms @ about 63-65 mph... 21 mpg.
best part is plenty of power to pull my camping trailer, atv on utility trailer, etc. and, i did have a locker put in the rear when doing the gears. no regrets on any of it! best mods i've done. now, with the extra 27 gal of gas i carry in the bed tank, i can drive over 800 miles between fill-ups.

 

[tsanderson7]

dang that sounds pretty good. if i put on those 32s with the 4.56s what do u think my mpgs would be? i get around 13 right now stock

 

[tsanderson7]

how much would putting in those 4.56 gears cost me? i can do all the labor myself. but would i be able to put the gears in the rear axle only for the time being? and would i still be able to use the 4wheeldrive if i needed to despite having different gearing between the two axles. i havent been using the 4x4 on my ranger very much lately and i usually use it for just driving around town and just want to get better gas mileage.

 

[DisturbedMXer8]

dang that sounds pretty good. if i put on those 32s with the 4.56s what do u think my mpgs would be? i get around 13 right now stock

Thoroughly read all of the responses in this thread. This question, as well as your most recent one, has already been answered =].

It is definitely NOT a good idea to just gear the truck down to fix a power/MPG concern. It may make it more tolerable, but that still doesn't fix the problem at hand. You need to get the truck running at it's best stock performance before you decide to mod it in any way, especially gearing/bigger tires in my opinion. It seems to me like maybe you are getting WAY too much fuel into that engine, which is eating your power and dropping your MPG's. I recommend finding out what is happening before you decide to do anything else.

how much would putting in those 4.56 gears cost me? i can do all the labor myself. but would i be able to put the gears in the rear axle only for the time being? and would i still be able to use the 4wheeldrive if i needed to despite having different gearing between the two axles. i havent been using the 4x4 on my ranger very much lately and i usually use it for just driving around town and just want to get better gas mileage.

And no, you wouldn't be able to safely do this. If gearing were different between the two axles, your rear and front tires would be spinning at different speeds. In 4x4, all your wheels are basically locked together, so I'm fairly certain this could severely damage your transfer case if you did this in 4x4 drive.

 

[strvger]

after thoroughly checking your engine to make sure it is running as well as possible, i'd seriously consider swapping to a 5 speed manual before doing the gear change. probably less money involved and will get you the most out of your current set up as well as give you better direction on what the next mod should be for your needs.
just my $.02.