Ranger 4 cyl Gas milage ??
I commute 126 highway miles to work each day, I know the smart decision would to buy a fuel efficient car such as the Ford Focus, but for $15k I would like something that's more practical such as a P/U. I'm trying to justify purchasing 2002 Ford 4 Cyl 5sp regular Cab, the sticker has 24 /28 mpg but would like to find out actual gas mileage, and also if the 4 Cyl is peppy enough. I had a Toyota R22 4 Cyl P/U that had plenty of power for my needs.
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I've owned the truck for 9 years, and even with my high milage, my engine still has the stock valve cover gasket (never removed). New timing chain and water pump, but still the 4 cylinder is a great mill. (Especially because it survived my teenage years).
I get 20-21 mpg still, and that is mostly a 15 minute drive to work and back, and occasional errands here and there. On the highway, it still gets about 25-28 MPG, at 75MPHish, but it is hard to compute because of all the mixed in city milage and also because wind has a great affect at that speed on my truck.
Expect this to be your minimum. You said you had a 5 speed transmission, but that could be the new automatic or the manual.
A 4 cylinder with a manaul transmission will have some pep, but the automatic will be a little sluggish. I can still beat most civics and other 4 cylinders off the line, plus I can carry alot more in the process...
Anyways, hopefully a newer Ford owner will see this and let you know more current statistics, but I have confidence.
P.S. With any type of special available, you should be able to pick up the 3.0l v6 (manual) for around 15k, and that in a regular cab will be very peppy. The 3.0l has had reports of pinging under heavy load, grade or acceleration, so Ford has made some changes to the motor for 2002 models. I haven't heard any feedback on it yet, but on a regular cab, it should not have to work hard at all to get you through traffic.
One negative aspect that I've read is that it will require a timing belt change at about 60k unlike most other 4 cyl. engines. This can cost $600 or more.
On the other hand, the big savings in purchase price compared to the competing engine from Toyota may justify the timing belt expense.
Thanks for posting the question. I'll be interested in reading more responses.
Also zmax is highly recommended, it will smooth any engine and increase it's mpg. If it doesn't you get a full refund.
Also I have recently put Castrol GTX for High Milage vehicles oil (10w30) into my engine. The last tank gave me 21.5 mpg in purely stop and go traffic to work. That's 139,900 miles and that's with an automatic transmission.
That castrol high mileage seems to be some good stuff from my experiences at least. Might have to tune this puppy up and see what happens. Hey the domestic trucks may not be as well known to run 200K miles plus, but these Rangers take a beating man and still hummin away.
my wife's saturn is having a fit...when we start it at first in the morning, it makes a loud HRMMM moan until it warms up and it also revs itself to 2,000 rpm when we put it in park. whats the deal?
we JUST replaced the idler pulley and i assumed that would fix all those problems, but those two remain. any help would be appreciated. by the way, i DID say WIFE...June 1 is our BIG DAY.
This compares well to my "old" '94 4x2 reg. cab long bed 4cyl. 5spd ranger and my "old" '97 4x2 B2300 (ranger clone) reg. cab short bed 4cyl. 5spd. They both got 24-26 MPG for me under the same driving conditions (23-24 in the winter with the addition of 200 pounds of sand).
* I've found that hauled weight (both passenger and payload) reduce MPG to the tune of about -1 MPG per 200 LB (so my truck should be getting around 26 mpg with a normal-sized person driving).
The 2002 has a good bit more power at highway speeds (nice job with the gear ratios matching the torque curve) - alot less need to downshift to 4th.
I keep good records and will post updates on the MPG periodically.
Good pep (especially @ highway speeds) and not too bad with a load considering its a 4 cyl.
FYI: Used Castrol GTX 5-20 since 3000 miles (first and second oil change) and noticed just a bit of engine knock that wasn't there with the OE oil... Will probably change brands at 12,000 mi. (after I use the remaining 4 quarts).
If I throw the 17' Sailboat behind it I drop to about 22.
Has as much power as the 91 3 liter I traded for it (at 267,000 miles), I think partly because vehicle weight is much less.
ive am very satisfied it has made 5 trips from va to ohio in the last 6months alone{more than 600 miles each way}and i get between 23-26 miles per
my 2.3 has 2 plugs per cylinder its still purring
it had a clutch at 175k im currently looking at buying either an identicle truck with either a 4.0 or 3.0 IM LEANING TOWARD THE 4.0 BECAUSE
THE PRICE DIFFERENCE FOR MY CONFIGUREMENT IS ONLY 6-700 DOLLARS{MSRP}IF YOU CAN FIND 02 THE REBATE IS NOW $$$3500$$$ PLUS USUALLY BY THIS TIME THEY WANT RID OF THE OLD STOCK AND YOU GET AT OR BELOW INVOICE SO ITS POSSIBLE TO SAVE 5000-5500
NOT BAD!!!!
I just bought a 98 Ranger reg cab, stepside with 37,000 miles. Paid $3900 (at auction, I thik it was a lease vehicle) and it seems to be in perfect shape inside, outside, and mechanically. Dealer says (via vin #) that it has the Mazda transmission. No recalls or anything in warranty repair in the last six months. Anything I should look out for as far as problems?