97 Ranger aero project.

[radioranger]

I just bought a 02 on ebay standard part for 19$ including shipping, last time I swapped it out i got 30 mpg, , two years back but ruined it by using too much oil in engine, rangers are pretty sensitive about oil fill level and for some reason I used about a half quart too much, blew the gaskets off the valve cover because the original PCV was stuck , they never go bad right , wrong!My Ranger had a dragging rear brake , so loosened them up a bit and for the first time in 40 years of driving put some lube on the rubbing points of the rear brake shoes, should ease the load on the return springs, also 1/2 grille block and tires from 30 to 35 , netted a jump from 23 to 26.5 MPG so happy about that , one big trouble though and I'm a bit upset i never checked into it though is the truck has always liked high test, this engine I rebuilt and now pings on regular up the steep hill here, i realized somehow the EGR valve was probably clogged up , the one and probably only part I never swapped out beside the PCV , i understand if they get clogged up you may get pinging and engine damage, hope not, more aero mods will include rear wheel skirts or covers, removing the spare tire mount under the bed and thinner oil in the rear dif also the engine , running 10 /30 valvoline now, probably go to 5 -30 wal mart synthetic and red line in the rear dif again, got to rig up the hot air intake again also , easy truck for the most part to work on so lots of fun.

[user removed]

Last tank was 32.5 MPG, very close to the one before. I'm going to try to clean the carbon out with a water injection setup. If that fails I will pull the upper intake and clean the EGR system. Not getting any indication of a problem with EGR flow.

I found some 15 inch wheels, 5 for $50 (90 Bronco2, same platform as the Ranger). The reason I want them is to be able to replace the tires with some Bridgestone Ecopias, which are supposed to be the lowest rolling resistance tires available for 15 inch wheels. Very little is still available for the 14 inch wheels that came on this truck. They are load rated for just over 1200 pounds a tire so that should work well with the truck a little under 3000 pounds (5k gross weight).

Dropped the rear axle cover yesterday and changed the rear end fluid. The magnetic fill plug had a very small trace of metal paste which I cleaned off. I also cleaned the rear cover and painted it.

This tank is looking very good for mileage. Hit 125 miles at 3/4 reading. last couple of tanks were about 10-15 miles less. Most of these miles are under ideal road circumstances and will probably be the best mileage until spring when temperatures rise and winter blend switches over to summer. Last fill was the cheapest gas in quite some time at $2.939 a gallon for E10. There are only two stations within 50 miles that sell straight gas and the price difference is much too great to justify the cost.

Within the next few weeks I plan on finishing the rear extension of the aero cap. It will extend 4 inches past the open tailgate so I could haul a 4X8 sheet of plywood with the cap and extension in place. I'm still working on how it will open and close, but the main part of the cap will be hinged on the side so it can be opened for loading things like a yard of mulch or bulky limbs or other larger stuff.

regards
Mech

[2000neon]

Great work! I'm impressed with that 32.5 mpg. Keep it up.

[Texasc1985]

Your camper looks great. What kind of sheathing did you use?

Another easy way to squeeze more mpg is to advance the timing. On engines with an actually distributor I would advance them until it dieseled after the ignition shut off and move it back 2-5 degrees.

If the truck has an OBD-II (post 1997 vehicles) Bully Dog Tuner set at 87 octane and reset the timing 2 degrees or so.

2012 Nissan Frontier 4.0 V6 - pre mod 19.6 mpg, last tank 23.25 mpg and current tank with timing adjustment is at 30 mpg on scanner.

[radioranger]

pretty amazing MPG , I sprayed some choke cleaner through the intake and it seemed to help quite a bit after it burned off the o 2 sensor, pretty smooth , Getting 27.5 mpg now with the grille block and loosened up brakes , pumped up the tires to 35 and floats right along now, so on the right track, am adding the two stroke oil next fill up and will note change again if any, ran it on straight fuel for a while , also redline sythetic N/s wiihout the limited slip additive for the diff. , supposed to be so slippery that limited slips wont work so sounds promising ,used it once long time ago and loved it , noticed a change right off idle, , pricey though at 16 a quart , also in the works are a rear bed cover out of plywood, last two feet and foot and a half or so beyond bolted on top of bed, would like though an adjustable wing so I could air brake it also, very light in rear on highway now, braking is a big issue with studded tires, ,

[user removed]

Originally Posted by Texasc1985

Your camper looks great. What kind of sheathing did you use?

Another easy way to squeeze more mpg is to advance the timing. On engines with an actually distributor I would advance them until it dieseled after the ignition shut off and move it back 2-5 degrees.

If the truck has an OBD-II (post 1997 vehicles) Bully Dog Tuner set at 87 octane and reset the timing 2 degrees or so.

2012 Nissan Frontier 4.0 V6 - pre mod 19.6 mpg, last tank 23.25 mpg and current tank with timing adjustment is at 30 mpg on scanner.

The sheathing is from home depot. It's a prefabricated fiberglass panel with the color imbedded (white). Not cheap at just under $35 for a 4X8 sheet but I don't need to do any further finishing to the panels. I put the textured side on the inside with the smooth side out, whic is the opposite of the way it was designed for use in the home.

regards
Mech

[ron]

thanks old mechanic nice read. good luck with the mods

[user removed]

236.4 miles on $7.09 gallons @ $2.919 per gallon, 33.34 MPG. Best tank so far even with the colder temps. Picking up the 15 inch wheels Sunday morning. I probably won't get them on the truck for a while and just wear out the tires that came on the truck, date coded 2009. Not bad considering the last tank on the Fiesta was just over 41 MPG. Checked the tires pressure after about a month and every tire is holding pressure without any significant drop in pressure.

No engine off coasting, not sure if I want to subject things to that kind of treatment. For all I know right now the clutch and timing belt may be originals. I'm going to check the timing belt soon, when it gets a little warmer.

regards
Mech

[radioranger]

pretty good stuff there, I think you can visually check the timing belt just look behind the plastic cover and see if the surface is cracking if it is go for a new one saves a lot of trouble re aligning everything or maybe a tow!

[user removed]

The bright metal Pizza Pans at Wally World are 16 inch which should work perfectly with the 15 inch wheels. I'll use some wierd star pattern socket for the fastener so no one will have one of them to steal the covers. I think the Pans are $3.98 each. Hoping the center caps are metal (1990 most probably) and are held on by the lug nuts so I can just use them for mounting the Pans. Probably not even make holes for the valve stems, just carry the tool (probably special made by me) for removing the pans, in the glove box.Use a single bolt in the center with some rubber around the edges, with a large washer to spread out the clamping force.

regards
Mech