New Guy with a Ranger
 

I was given a '92 2wd Ford Ranger for free by my brother in law, it has an unknown number of miles on it as the odometer maxes out at 99,999 and it is obvious it has surpassed that! All it needed was a lot of rust repair, a new muffler, and some various TLC but it turned out to be the most fuel efficient vehicle I own so it is my commuter at 23MPG. (sad I know)

I am trying to squeeze as much MPGs out of it so I turned to this website. Glad to be here, love to learn all I can!

AAAAnd you already found the other Ranger thread, so you have some idea of what's possible. Welcome to the site.

In other forums, some folks are claiming mileage figures such as 40MPG with Rangers converted to Diesel. Have you ever considered that?

Welcome to the site. The range is capable of some pretty decent mileage, but driving technique will be key.

I have considered it, the initial investment of buying, then swapping in the diesel power train is holding me back.

I hope you are right. In my case driving technique doesn't have a lot of room for improvement as my entire commute is all highway. My main focus will be on aero improvements of my "brick shaped" 1992 Ranger.

I count drafting semi trucks as aero improvements :thumbup:

If you mostly drive on the highway -> Look up speed vs mpg. Slowing down will increase your fuel efficiency. Going 55mph instead of 70 mph makes a big difference. As always look into increasing your tire pressure and the possibility of a upper grill block. A scan gauge or similar will be really helpful in finding what works and what doesn't. The driver really does make the biggest difference in fuel economy! Route planning can be really helpful to keep you moving and your speed low.

On my way home today I finally tried Engine Off Coasting. It made me a little nervous, but exciting at the same time. I am not sure how I feel yet about going down a 1/2 mile long hill at 65MPH with no power brakes, power steering, and the engine off!

I also drafted the slowest semi on my route the whole way home @ 60MPH. I was especially motivated to consume as little gas as possible because I was on "E" with no money for gas before I took off for home.

Since your Ranger is pre-OBD2, it allows you to use all-mechanical engines if you would want to. There are some folks fitting Kubota stationary engines from refrigerated semi-trailers (ThermoKing) into Rangers and S10s, these engines can be had for cheap and deliver good mileage, around 30MPG (city) to 40MPG (highway). If you would also want to try WVO as an alternative fuel, it would return the investment quicker.

Barring the diesel swap, you could consider finding a sound Lima 2.3 or 2.5 from a wrecked Ranger and swap that in. Not as much of a headache that way, trying to get the utterly foreign diesel engine into a bay that it was never intended to fit. It'll still all be Ford parts from one end to the other.

+1 on EOC. It's crazy how much distance you can rack up with no engine sounds. I've found myself keeping a running tally in my head of how many miles on my morning commute (personal best, 2.1 miles out of a 23 miles drive) I can do with the engine off. Some of that's on the interstate, so sometimes the engine stays on depending on conditions.

Now to maximize your EOC: how are your wheel bearings? That's a 20 year old truck, and they might be 20 year old bearings judging by how you described its condition coming from your BIL. And the alignment, too.

I coasted with my engine on today down the 1/2 mile monster hill on my morning commute just to get used to the idea. I was surprised by how well my old truck would maintain consistant speed even 3 car lengths behind a semi. I actually was accelerating (just barely, 1mph on GPS) for a moment. I still didn't have the courage to shut down the engine.

I have checked and regreased the wheel bearings up front and swapped out the diff oil in the rear axle so I should be good there.

I'm in that same boat with you. That 3.0 does love to drink gas. I'm assuming you have a manual tranny doing the EOC down hills, I have that God-forsaken automatic in mine. I have seen some improvement with a grill block, though I was hesitant to leave it that way during the summer. Lose the mud flaps if you haven't already done so. I just got some new ideas on here today that I intend to use. Good luck.