Can anyone recommend a fairly affordable engine code reader that works with OBD1 vehicles? I'd love to see if there are any codes going on in there even though there's no warning lights in the dash...

 

could it be driving style? its a 5 speed so maybe your lugging it too much? just a thought.

 

nothing special needed other then a paperclip or piece of wire.

have a read
http://oldfuelinjection.com/?p=13

 

They have a few on amazon for cheap. I have one that blinks but might look into one that has an led display for codes. You can get them for around 20-25 shipped to you

 

I get between 15 - 17 mpg in my 95 F150 4wd, 302 auto 4r70w with 3.31 gears and 31x10.5 tires, 16x,xxx miles. Mixed city/highway driving. If i drive like an "old man" and lay off the throttle on hills it's 17; if I try to keep my speed up and it drops out of od a lot, I get around 15.

merhlin

 

You can install your own coolant temperature gauge.

These later trucks support Live-Data Stream, but you need either the Ford specific scan tool, or something like an OTC-4000 to get it. Using that you could see exactly what coolant temperature the computer thinks it is.