Project: 25mpg 4x4 4.0L 1997 Ford Ranger
 

Hey fellow Ecomodders.
So for the past three years I've had a goal to hit 25mpg's in my Ford Ranger. I'm getting close...ish.

So this first post is about the truck. It's a 1997 ohv 4x4 4.0L V6 with a 5spd manual and 4.10 gears. I bought it in 2003 with only 45K on the odometer. It has Ford's old Twin Traction Beam 4x4 system, which was the first independent 4x4 front suspension. It's nearly indestructible, but in my research I've found that it weighs 200lbs more than an A-arm 4x4 suspension! I've had it weighed several times during runs to the quarry and the dump. It weighs in at 4005lbs without the topper. The topper is fiberglass and weighs 180lbs.... I took it off years ago as it gets much better city mileage without the extra weight.

The EPA on the truck was 15city/19hwy mpgs, so my goal of 25mpg is fairly ambitious. I've calculated every tank on this truck since I bought it. My mileage prior to ecomodding averaged 18.5 mpg's. Worst mileage was 14.0 on a cross country road trip from Minnesota to Montana; averaging 80mph, the old OHV doesn't breath well above 2750rpm and mileage plummets. The topper was on, helping aerodynamics, but that was more than offset by the extra weight of my xwife, dog, and 300lbs of gear. Best mileage was 21.75 on a 220 mile road trip heading east across Wisconsin. It was a warm summer day, with a small tail wind, cruise control set at 65mpg, and the topper on. That was the only time I broke 21 in five years of driving prior to ecomodding, so I'm left to conclude that the tank didn't fill all the way thus throwing my calculations.

Finally, I live in Minnesota, and the Winter impacts my mileage. The block is cast iron and takes a great deal of fuel to heat up to operating temp. While I averaged 18.5 in the summer, the winter average was about 16.5. I drove the back roads 6.7 miles each way to work, averaging about 30mph.

Here she is.... the Danger Ranger!
http://imageshack.us/a/img600/263/truckpic1.jpg

since it's 5 speed you should be able to get 25mpg...instal a fuel cutoff switch so you can do some engine off coasting and learn to coast instead of keeping on the gas pedal untill you really need to stop...also, winter is not gonna help you break any records but in the summer you'll do it

If you can lower the truck without a big expense probably help a lot, , and if you haven't already switched to synthetics in all the drive train will make a difference, you've got a lot of spinning metal there, I would recommend you call summit racing and ask them about redline oil for the trans etc, cheapest place I've found , definite off the line improvement, the trouble with gears is it's all sliding friction so drag city , my first experience with the red line in the rear differential on the Ranger was an immediate off idle boost . also if you can boost your engine intake temp by rerouting the cold air intake big help there also , doing that today on mine. and last but should be first block the grille.

I'd suggest a gear swap. 4.10's are a little much IMO. And the whole front suspension and axle can come out in about 45 mins so if you found axles in the junkyard with 3.73's or 3.55's it'd be a couple hour long project. My little 4 banger 2wd ranger has a 3.45 axle and let me tell you, that whole "1600 rpm at 65mph" is pretty awesome. And it'll still haul my 600 lb atv.

I tried driving 65 MPH twice, but slowed to 55 when I saw just how much the mileage dropped. A light head or tail wind will change my mileage by 3 or 4 MPG, so the 21.75 is believable.

Slow to 55 MPH, learn and practice DWL, and you should be very close to 25 MPG. Add a grille block and a kill switch, and you will be there.

Lowering doesn't help much and is difficult on the twin i beams cuz it messes up camber.

Since stock pickups are about as aero as turds, slower speed is important for good fe.

Might want to spend some time with the tire rack tire specs guide, you can probably get a tire and wheel combo thats pretty light in 15 inch size, also go skinny as you dare if you're not carrying to much weight, i went to 215 70 15's on my other 98 ranger i just sold and they worked well. maybe even skinnier on front only if you have to , aggressive tread designs eat fuel also , as far as i know, one of the experts here can verify this I'm sure.

as far as lowering goes, i was thinking about maybe going large diameter rear tire and lower it only in the back 2 " thus making the front equally high as stock and gaining a more effective gear ratio by going to a bigger tire. also i was wondering if just dropping the rear only would help out as loaded a truck can drop that much and still seem fine. might get a very slight FE gain due to better windshield angle or roof slope but not much i suspect. just thinking out loud here,

The 2.5L ranger 4x4 is EPA rated for 25 hwy.

Wow BackroadBomber, your technical skills definitely out do mine! I'd prep for a month to do that job! Anyway, did Ford make taller gears in the Dana 35? I was under the assumption that the 4x4 with the Dana 35 only came in 4.10's.

Thanks everyone for the comments. Frank is correct about the camber; Ford TTB requires proper ride height or it cannot be aligned. And I can't do different size tires front/back as it is a 4x4 and needs the same ratio's. I think I'll prioritize the Fuel cutoff on my list of mods.

Starting with some aerodynamic mods. I made a tonneau cover out of vinyl and had plenty left over. I decided to use the vinyl to make a belly pan that could stretch over the TTB (Ford's front independent 4x4 axle) . This allows the TTB to flex. Took a great deal of sewing and patience, but it wraps up around the wheel wells and around all the suspension bits. Here are the pics:
from the front....
http://imageshack.us/a/img836/1597/bellypan0.jpg

wrapping around the wheel (passenger side)....
http://imageshack.us/a/img854/2607/bellypan1.jpg

from the back....
http://imageshack.us/a/img138/5593/bellypan2.jpg

Today's post is on an mod I did a while back. I need to post again because I am having some electrical problems. A few years ago I converted my AC pump electric clutch to attach to my power steering. This mod was good for about 1mpg. I put up a thread on it here: http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...ing-14952.html

I tapped power from the power window's relay. It has worked fine for years, but just a few weeks ago it blew the 10amp fuse on the power window relay circuit. I replaced the fuse and it immediately re-burned the fuse when I operated the switch. My hope is something is wrong with the switch, so I'll try a different one and test it again. My fear is something worse is happening as I burned out a headlight last month and another last week:confused:

Aside from my electrical ineptitude, the mechanics of the project work great. Here are a few pics:
...the finished product....
http://imageshack.us/a/img259/5436/29106720.png
....this is the front of my AC unit. The electric clutch is designed to fit on this part, so I simply cut it off....
http://imageshack.us/a/img805/6941/36834236.png
.... and attached it to the bracket that holds the power steering unit.
http://imageshack.us/a/img17/6236/52615705.png
Then I threaded the inside of the power steering shaft
http://imageshack.us/a/img594/5369/15767743.png
.... enabling me to bolt on the spring plate
http://imageshack.us/a/img221/5944/39449893.png

Got to give you credit good work , real inventiveness there,

anther way to squeeze some mpgs out of the 4.0 is to convert the cooling fan to electrical one out of early 90's taurus are basically bolt in when i did the swap on my old ranger i got another 1mpg and are cheap i payed 15$ at a local junk yard. as far as gearing in the axles go they came with gears as high as 3.27s but the best all around gears ive found 3.55s are perfect. i don't know how mechanically inclined you are or how far you want to dig into the truck but the second generation rangers with the 2.9s had different gearing in 1st 2nd and 3rd while retaining the same 4th and 5th gear ratios.i had swapped one into my truck and having the lower first 3 gears helped boost my city mpg.

Thanks c_silva88. I just fixed my electric power steering; the switch had gone bad. I think the term is 'arching'. Anyway, I love the idea of putting in an e-fan. I don't have one yet, but I've read on ecomodder that some on here go without the fan altogether in the winter. I have a quality after-market temp gauge installed, so I can monitor the engine for safety. I'm going to pull mine sometime soon and give it a try.

no problem if you need any advice or help fixing any thing check out therangerstation.com im a member over there its the best forum for rangers ive found with tons of information and how to

I see you have a vac gauge, which is good. An Ultra gauge is better. Have you thought about doing an aero camper shell?

I've given a little thought to an aero shell, but I don't like the look. I currently have a tonneau that I've made. As for other aero improvements, I plan on grille shutters. I might do a full belly pan, something at the end of the tailgate and something behind the top of the cab.

I took out the radiator fan a week ago. Initial results are about 1mpg improvement. I've been monitoring the engine temp with an aftermarket temp gauge hooked up at the thermostat The truck heats up faster and runs around 160 to 180 in this cold. That's probably up a few degrees from where it would be with the fan, but I'm surprised how well it cools itself driving 45mph down the highway. Makes me wish I had yanked the fan years ago! I'll see how hot it gets when the summer gets here~ might either have to put the fan back on or do the electric fan conversion.

I yanked the F150's fan years ago with the intent of adding an e-fan... still has no fan...

Ugggg~ its cold outside and my gas mileage has been terrible this past month~ My power bill says the temp has averaged 20 degrees F between 1/27 and 2/25. The engine doesn't get up to temp until I'm over half way to work.

Today's fill calc'd at 18.6mpg's. That's without an engine fan, without power steering, with a tonneau cover, with a front belly pan, mud flaps removed, and driving about 50mph on the highway. Considering my goal of 25mpg, that's disappointing.:(

However, my truck used to do 15mpg in the winter prior to the mods, so nearly a 4 mpg improvement. I guess that's good...

The real good news is that I wired up my kill switch today:thumbup:. I'm excited to see how much improvement that gives me~ should be about two weeks till my next fill up.

When you get good with the kill switch, you should be able to get 20 MPG in winter and 25 in the summer.

If you only log the summer mileage, you will be at your target. :)

Holy cow, JRMichler, I just checked your fuel log, you are over 50% above epa with a 32.2 lifetime mpg. What percentages would you say are due to your kill switch/grille block/areo topper?

Back in the states I had a Range Rover 4.0L V8 that would constantly get 24.5-26 on the freeway at 57 mph cruise. Drag coefficient was .31 and I usually would lock the truck in access mode (low down). I know, apples and oranges, but I mean to chip in regarding the drag coefficient and aero mods, because if a Rover V8 (some of the worst mpg engines I know of) 2.5 ton SUV can do 25, I am sure your Ranger can easily match it. While old tech, the Cologne motor is a decently efficient one so I believe there's a lot of untapped resources regarding aero mods.

Also, I had a 4.0 Ranger 4x4 and never did reach 20 mpg....or 18....or even 17. I think 16.7 or 8 was my best tank, but that was a construction truck that was always hauling stuff. Anyway, I think you're doing well. Sorry to ramble.

Here ya go: http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...yon-17070.html

Put a block heater in-you'll get your 20+ mpg in the winter.:thumbup:

Ha! I used to have a functioning block heater. Back in the day the Ranger was my x-wife's daily driver. First winter we had it, I would plug it in for her at night. Despite the obvious need to unplug said block heater, she would simply drive out of the garage violently ripping the plug out of the wall. Yeah.... she destroyed it. (Insert comment about women drivers here... not that I'm saying anything, I'm just saying).

Guess I'll add fixing the block heater to my to-do list.

Back when I was testing my block heater, I anchored the block heater cord with some wire ties. Then I replaced the plug on the extension cord with a better one from the hardware store. I anchored the extension cord to the wall and took up the excess. Last, I lubricated the plug with wax so it would easily slip out of the plug.

I was right - it wasn't long until I forgot to unplug. It worked perfect, it unplugged itself and the extension cord barely reached the floor. No mess, no damage, no regrets.