What is good mileage for 97 Ranger 4.0 Six cylinder?

[Skipster]

It's a simple, straight-forward question. I'd like to know what kind of highway mileage I should be getting for my 97 Ranger 4.0. I've had the O2s changed, gotten a good tune-up with new tires.
I am new to this truck and am currently getting about 15mpg????
Thanks,

[FX4 Offroad Ranger]

It depends on how many miles you have on your ranger, and what truck it is (extended cab, 4x4, etc), and how you drive it. If the truck has high miles, your fuel injectors may be worn out by not giving a good spray for good atomization (mixing) of the air and fuel. I had a 97 4x4 4.0L v6 which used to be great on gas, around 28 mpg until one summer I saw my fuel gage go down faster than it used to. I took the truck in for a diagnostic test and it showed some bad injectors, but the injectors were not bad enough to cause emission problems even though my milage dropped to 19 mpg. The truck runs great, plenty of power, but uses gas as if it was pulling something cause the milage was almost no different when I pull a trailer with a car on it and without trailer. If you think your milage is bad, get a diagnostic test and if it showed bad injectors, get new ones.

[Skipster]

Originally Posted by FX4 Offroad Ranger

It depends on how many miles you have on your ranger, and what truck it is (extended cab, 4x4, etc), and how you drive it. If the truck has high miles, your fuel injectors may be worn out by not giving a good spray for good atomization (mixing) of the air and fuel. I had a 97 4x4 4.0L v6 which used to be great on gas, around 28 mpg until one summer I saw my fuel gage go down faster than it used to. I took the truck in for a diagnostic test and it showed some bad injectors, but the injectors were not bad enough to cause emission problems even though my milage dropped to 19 mpg. The truck runs great, plenty of power, but uses gas as if it was pulling something cause the milage was almost no different when I pull a trailer with a car on it and without trailer. If you think your milage is bad, get a diagnostic test and if it showed bad injectors, get new ones.

Many thanks .... it sounds like you've hit the nail on the head. I'll have the engine diagnosed, but I believe it is the injectors. The truck got 15mpg without a trailer, but got the same mileage with a trailer (load was probably 3,000 - 4,000 pounds).
Am I correct in assuming that a Diagnostic machine cannot detect clogged injectors? If so, why should I bother with the machine?
Thanks,

[Vicdog]

It would also matter if you had oversized tires and if it was geared right.

[jamesjuna]

28 mpg on a 4x4 ranger 4.0 i will only believe it when i see it. brand new the gas milage at most was 23. i have a 97 4.0 4x4 and i get a little more than 16 mpg i have 31 bfg's

[Sally88]

I have a 97 Ranger 4X4 with 31's and I'm getting 11 mpg not towing anything. The check engine light came on, it said EGR valve, so I replaced it. Now the engine light still comes on saying the EGR valve needs replaced. Could the injectors cause this false reading? Would injector cleaner help, or should I just get new ones? The truck has 119,000 happy miles on it, and the body and otherwise mechanically it is in perfect condition.

[Rick88]

Originally Posted by Skipster

It's a simple, straight-forward question. I'd like to know what kind of highway mileage I should be getting for my 97 Ranger 4.0. I've had the O2s changed, gotten a good tune-up with new tires.
I am new to this truck and am currently getting about 15mpg????
Thanks,

I have a 97 Ranger super cab, 5 speed, 2x4, stock size tires, 183K miles on it and I get usually 19 or 20 mpg. Most of my driving (80% or so) is interstate miles. The best I ever got was around 25 mpg on a long trip, usually 22 mpg when the truck was "younger".

[Rick88]

Originally Posted by Sally88

I have a 97 Ranger 4X4 with 31's and I'm getting 11 mpg not towing anything. The check engine light came on, it said EGR valve, so I replaced it. Now the engine light still comes on saying the EGR valve needs replaced. Could the injectors cause this false reading? Would injector cleaner help, or should I just get new ones? The truck has 119,000 happy miles on it, and the body and otherwise mechanically it is in perfect condition.

Sally88,

One thing you may want to look at is the DFPE for the EGR system, I had my CEL come on a couple of times saying EGR insufficient flow and the next time it showed EGR excessive flow, both times it was the DFPE. I hope this helps, let us know on herre how things are going. You can also clean out your egr valve if you wanted with throttle body cleaner. If you have a vacuum gun you can check the egr valve easily.

[Sally88]

Originally Posted by Rick88

Sally88,

One thing you may want to look at is the DFPE for the EGR system, I had my CEL come on a couple of times saying EGR insufficient flow and the next time it showed EGR excessive flow, both times it was the DFPE. I hope this helps, let us know on herre how things are going. You can also clean out your egr valve if you wanted with throttle body cleaner. If you have a vacuum gun you can check the egr valve easily.

What is DFPE? The EGR valve is brand new, why would I need to clean it out? I replaced it last month, the old one was rusted off. Could any of this explain the poor gas milage, 11 mpg on highway?

[Rick88]

Originally Posted by Sally88

What is DFPE? The EGR valve is brand new, why would I need to clean it out? I replaced it last month, the old one was rusted off. Could any of this explain the poor gas milage, 11 mpg on highway?

DPFE is the Differential Feedback Pressure switch, it tells your EGR valve when to open and close via the egr solenoid. I have had 2 of these go bad on mine. Sorry about the egr cleaning thing, I didn't realize it was brand new. Is the egr code the only one showing up? I wouldn't think that a bad egr valve or dpfe switch would cause your mileage to drop that much. The 31's will drop your mpg some, the injectors could be clogged or just bad but it shouldn't cause your egr code. You can check your injectors by pulling of the electrical connector and ohm between the connectors on the injector, you should see between 11-18 ohms. If you see more more resistance than that then they at least need cleaned or probably replaced. I did check mine a while back and had 2 of them showing @ 53 ohms, pulled all the injectors and cleaned them with contact cleaner, blew them off a little with LOW pressure(10 psi or so) air and let them air dry and they ohmed out at 15.5 ohms then. Let us know how your progress is going.

[Sally88]

Originally Posted by Rick88

DPFE is the Differential Feedback Pressure switch, it tells your EGR valve when to open and close via the egr solenoid. I have had 2 of these go bad on mine. Sorry about the egr cleaning thing, I didn't realize it was brand new. Is the egr code the only one showing up? I wouldn't think that a bad egr valve or dpfe switch would cause your mileage to drop that much. The 31's will drop your mpg some, the injectors could be clogged or just bad but it shouldn't cause your egr code. You can check your injectors by pulling of the electrical connector and ohm between the connectors on the injector, you should see between 11-18 ohms. If you see more more resistance than that then they at least need cleaned or probably replaced. I did check mine a while back and had 2 of them showing @ 53 ohms, pulled all the injectors and cleaned them with contact cleaner, blew them off a little with LOW pressure(10 psi or so) air and let them air dry and they ohmed out at 15.5 ohms then. Let us know how your progress is going.

EGR is the only code that came up. Will injector cleaner be enough? I don't know where the injectors are or how to get to them. Is 11 mpg reasonable for a 97 4.0 4X4 with 120,00 miles and 31's?

[spycitalyn]

Originally Posted by Sally88

EGR is the only code that came up. Will injector cleaner be enough? I don't know where the injectors are or how to get to them. Is 11 mpg reasonable for a 97 4.0 4X4 with 120,00 miles and 31's?

i have a 97 4.0 v6 reg cab and 31's. i get approx 18mpg- w4x4 engaged 10mpg