Mine stays parked most of the time and the ranger has been pressed back into service. Bought two locking fuel caps from LMC for the diesel since it's sitting with over $150.00 worth of fuel at todays price.
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Tony 1994 F250 XLT ext. cab,long bed,7.3 IDI factory turbo,4x4,manual hubs E4OD,4.10 gears, K&N air filter,PSD oil filter, TruxPort tonneau cover, 172,000 miles and counting. 88 Ranger 2.0, 5 speed,130,000 mi.,bought new. NC Chapter Member.
Um what? George Bush isn't the one setting fule prices and the democrats are just as deep in oil. With the craptastic two party system we have we truly are screwed. The only information we get about whos running is from the new wich is nothing more than libral or conservative propaganda depending on the chanel.
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94 F350 Crew Cab Long bed 4X4 7.3L IDI Factory Turbo, AKA The Land Yacht. E4OD, 4.10 posi. Getting further from stock with 35 inch BFG alterains on 16 inch micky's, straight pipe, Triple A-piller pod with pyro, boost, modifyed stock oil presure gauge, tc lock light&switch
On my last trip from CA to TX, it sure seemed like there was a *huge* difference the the quality of the fuel along the way. Has anyone had good experience changing where you fill up?
Even here in CA, there are still non-emissions compliant cars from the 60s driving around. As long as everything is basically stock, they're grandfathered in. Hopefully, that won't change anytime soon...
In Ca 1975 or older is exempt from emisions testing.
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94 F350 Crew Cab Long bed 4X4 7.3L IDI Factory Turbo, AKA The Land Yacht. E4OD, 4.10 posi. Getting further from stock with 35 inch BFG alterains on 16 inch micky's, straight pipe, Triple A-piller pod with pyro, boost, modifyed stock oil presure gauge, tc lock light&switch
Axle ratio?
2wd or 4wd?
tire size?
lift kit? (if any)
Cruise speed?
Distance for commute?
2wd, 235-85-16, I don't know my axle ratio, although being a 1 ton I would say it is low, it is set up for pulling a fifth-wheel. I average putting about 150 miles a week on it. I drive country roads with about 8 stop signs to get to work, usually driving no faster than 70 mph. No lift kit.
One other thing. both gas tanks will run out of gas with 1/4 left in the tank. I assume the stinger on the end of the pickup in the gas tanks has broken off. Or could it be the fuel pump and would either of these things hurt mileage?
2wd, 235-85-16, I don't know my axle ratio, although being a 1 ton I would say it is low, it is set up for pulling a fifth-wheel. I average putting about 150 miles a week on it. I drive country roads with about 8 stop signs to get to work, usually driving no faster than 70 mph. No lift kit.
One other thing. both gas tanks will run out of gas with 1/4 left in the tank. I assume the stinger on the end of the pickup in the gas tanks has broken off. Or could it be the fuel pump and would either of these things hurt mileage?
For the fuel tanks, the pickup tubes are probably broken off. It would not have much affect on performance unless its ingesting air, and that is something that you would notice (surging, stalling and black smoke). A bad fuel pump or injector pump would certainly affect MPGs, but it would also affect power.
It sounds like this may not be the best truck to use as a daily driver if it is geared as a towing rig. Normally I would suggest a gear change because its not very expencive with a 2wd, but if its being used as a towing vehicle for a 5th wheel, that may not be a good idea. Are you still using it as a towing rig, or was it set up that way by a PO? If you don't mind loosing some low speed grunt, than a gear change would probably help, but we need to know your current ratio first.
I calculated a monthly operating cost of $180 @ $4.00 per gallon for fuel. At that price you could almost afford to buy a small econobox for commuting and park the truck. Not sure what your insurance cost is, but I am paying under $100 per month for my 86'.
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1986 F250HD Ex cab Fresh built up 6.9L diesel Lariat AC leather seats power everything w/full cluster, sterling rear 3.08LS gears, E4OD trans, ram intake ATS 088 turbo
1986 F150 Ex cab Lariat rollercam 5.0L on LPG AOD trans 3.55 gears 390 000Ks
Why not move to running veggie oil...not biodiesel but straight veggie oil?
Does require some work for collection and filtering, but heck who cares what the mileage is when it only costs 33 cents a gallon?
Just my couple of pennies thrown in.
Tim
you've got the right idea, aternative fuel, but biodiesel is the better choice, it is chemically changed veg oil, it thins it out and makes it so you can run it with out any mods. wvo is free, biodiesel would cost you about $.33 a gal.
what im doing is drivn my motorcycle as a daily driver and use my truck for play, seeing that my motorcycle get 60mpgs on a bad day, its pretty good, 2.5 gal. of gas a week.
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94 F-250 Turbo Diesel, 7.3L IDI, E4od, 4x4, long bed, ext cab, pyrometer, ATS boost gauge, pump turned up 2 flats, Straight pipe
93 F-250, 7.3L IDI, E4OD, 4X4, long bed, ext cab, straight pipe... almost.
The WVO would not be completely free...does take some fuel to get it (even if wvo is the fuel), wear and tear (very small cost), time, the filtering process, filters and some place to store it.
I did not realize processing biodiesel is as low as 33 cents a gal...I was thinking more like 2 bucks...but i have no experience there at all.
What does one do with the bi product of the processing other than the biodiesel?
BTW...I am buying my first diesel this week and am learning quickly.
For the fuel tanks, the pickup tubes are probably broken off. It would not have much affect on performance unless its ingesting air, and that is something that you would notice (surging, stalling and black smoke). A bad fuel pump or injector pump would certainly affect MPGs, but it would also affect power.
It sounds like this may not be the best truck to use as a daily driver if it is geared as a towing rig. Normally I would suggest a gear change because its not very expencive with a 2wd, but if its being used as a towing vehicle for a 5th wheel, that may not be a good idea. Are you still using it as a towing rig, or was it set up that way by a PO? If you don't mind loosing some low speed grunt, than a gear change would probably help, but we need to know your current ratio first.
I calculated a monthly operating cost of $180 @ $4.00 per gallon for fuel. At that price you could almost afford to buy a small econobox for commuting and park the truck. Not sure what your insurance cost is, but I am paying under $100 per month for my 86'.
No surging or black smoke, runs great. I am selling my fifth wheel, never to buy another. What is involved in a gear change? And hoe do I find out what mine is?
You are right on the operating cost. My insurance is less than $50.00 a month.
Changing the differential gears is not a big deal. You just have to read up on the procedure, and not rush when you do it. I had no prior experience with gear swaps when I pulled 4.10 gears for the 3.08s that I am running right now.
You will need a torque wrench, 1/2" drive socket set, breaker bar to match and a cheater pipe. Micrometer will help, but even that can be avoided. The trick is to make sure the gears mesh properly. For that you simply use some ink on the teeth, and observe the tracking pattern. Reusing the factory shims gave me the proper gear tracking.
There are 3 ways to check the axle ratio (from easiest to hardest)
1)on your next drive, observe the tachometer reading next time you are at 70 MPH and we can calculate the gear ratio.
2)read the axle ratio code on the drivers side door and we can decode it here
3) the most accurate way would be to remove the differential cover and count the number of teeth on the differential gears. This is not really necessary unless you suspect the truck may have been modified in the past.
If step 1) and 2) both produce the same results you can be pretty sure that the result is accurate.
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1986 F250HD Ex cab Fresh built up 6.9L diesel Lariat AC leather seats power everything w/full cluster, sterling rear 3.08LS gears, E4OD trans, ram intake ATS 088 turbo
1986 F150 Ex cab Lariat rollercam 5.0L on LPG AOD trans 3.55 gears 390 000Ks
Changing the differential gears is not a big deal. You just have to read up on the procedure, and not rush when you do it. I had no prior experience with gear swaps when I pulled 4.10 gears for the 3.08s that I am running right now.
You will need a torque wrench, 1/2" drive socket set, breaker bar to match and a cheater pipe. Micrometer will help, but even that can be avoided. The trick is to make sure the gears mesh properly. For that you simply use some ink on the teeth, and observe the tracking pattern. Reusing the factory shims gave me the proper gear tracking.
There are 3 ways to check the axle ratio (from easiest to hardest)
1)on your next drive, observe the tachometer reading next time you are at 70 MPH and we can calculate the gear ratio.
2)read the axle ratio code on the drivers side door and we can decode it here
3) the most accurate way would be to remove the differential cover and count the number of teeth on the differential gears. This is not really necessary unless you suspect the truck may have been modified in the past.
If step 1) and 2) both produce the same results you can be pretty sure that the result is accurate.
My rpm reads just below 2000 @ 70 with overdrive, 2700 to 2800 with overdrive off. The number under axle on the door is 39. thanks!
If you have 3.55 gears than you are already close enough that a gear change will not be worth your while. You should see about 1850 RPM at 70 MPH. That is a good RPM for fuel economy.
My truck had a C6 transmission with 4.10 gears when I bought it. Top speed was 75 MPH and fuel economy was 9 MPG @ 60 MPH.
Going to 3.08 gears pushed the MPGs up to 15 for the average city/highway. Better fuel economy was possible on good days. More recently, I am towing almost all the time, so I don't know what the best economy for running empty is right now with the turbo and OD tranny.
I still have a feeling that you should be getting better MPG than 13.3. Do you know the age of your injectors and injector pump? Upgrading the downpipe might help economy, but I have a feeling that it won't make much of a difference running empty.
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1986 F250HD Ex cab Fresh built up 6.9L diesel Lariat AC leather seats power everything w/full cluster, sterling rear 3.08LS gears, E4OD trans, ram intake ATS 088 turbo
1986 F150 Ex cab Lariat rollercam 5.0L on LPG AOD trans 3.55 gears 390 000Ks
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1994 F250 XLT ext. cab,long bed,7.3 IDI factory turbo,4x4,manual hubs E4OD,4.10 gears, K&N air filter,PSD oil filter, TruxPort tonneau cover, 172,000 miles and counting. 88 Ranger 2.0, 5 speed,130,000 mi.,bought new. 
NC Chapter Member.
Lariat AC leather seats power everything w/full cluster, sterling rear 3.08LS gears, E4OD trans, ram intake ATS 088 turbo
