I got my stat at advance auto too. It was $3.xx, and the seal was $2.09 ( i think). Anyways, it isnt too hard to cange, just make sure you have antifreeze. I would go ahead and get a flush kit too. When i had mine out, i put the water hose right in the block and flusjed it out until it ran clear. If you drain the radiator you only get what is in it, and not in the block. Ill be right back to you on the gears, i think they are 4.10's, but ill go check.

 

thanks, i wonder if the gears would explain why i cant make the tires spin on dry solid pavement. i wish there was another one i could drive to compare with....maybe take a trip down to the ford dealership and do a "test drive" also i just flushed out the radiator when i put in the 180 this summer, so it should be good, i'll just replace it and hopefully not loose all my coolant

 

No i was wrong i have 3.73's. I finally filled up the tank and figured my mileage. After fourwheeling (several times) and combined city/highway driving, at 1000 miles my mileage is 18.3 MPG. I thought it would be better. Im goint to try to drive it easy for a week or two and see what i get then. I wonder how much it will help? The mileage is mostly to school and work. Both times it is cold out, and hardly has a chance to warm up by the time im there. I havent done anything to the truck except maintain it.

 

man, i wish i could pull off 18 mpg, that would be awsome. and i've been driving on trips that allows the truck to warm up, and i still get 12, there has to be somthing wrong, (hopfully). I hope it isnt anything serious, and i also hope it isnt just that bad of a gas hog.

 

I wouldnt think it would be that bad. I mean they didnt improve the engine that much in 5 years to have that much of a difference. I know that until it gets warmed up it runs about 600 rpm higher. I guess while its in closed loop. (or open or whatever) At 65 it normally runs at about 1800, but while it is still cold, at 65 it is about 22-2400 rpm. This is because of the computer and because all the fluids are thicker, but you said yours warms up. Do u have a tach?

 

Pete what size tires are on your truck, I think you said the 235's? I have the optional 265's with 3.73 l/s rear end and it will spin em up, its hard to keep em spinning but if I drop the clutch hard they will spin. Get it on anything but dry tar tho and thats all they do is spin, its almost unsafe the way they spin on anything but dry tar. So even if you had a higher rear end ratio and it should be a 3.55, I dont think they offered anything higher then that on rangers, with the smaller tires it should work out to be fairly close in the end. as far as the gas milage goes I would wait till it warms up, I dont know if your getting abnormally cold weather like we are but this cold weather really screws up gas milage(heck I cant even keep my truck warm is so cold). Iknow I'm down to about 13 mpg or so but I was averaging almost 18mpg this summer, no matter how I drove. I would also check or have someone check to make sure that your EGR valve is working properly and that no lines going to it are pluugged up with anything. and I wouldnt worry to much about the stuff on the wires, they put an electrolitic grease on there to keep the wires from gettng damp and thats proablly all it is. Mine had the same stuff on it when I did mine.

 

99 which 4.0 do you have, the pushrod or the over head cam motor? Theres a big difference in the way they run. And pete if you do test drive a ranger make sure its the pushrod motor. They might not be that diffferent in acceleration but they run alot different, it wont give you the best "idea" of how yours should run(IMHO).

 

mine doesnt have an ege, i have the 235's, and axle code 91, which is an open 8.8 3.27. in the summer, if i drive it hard in town its about 13-14, if i'm nice and i try for good mileage i can barely pull off 15. Yeah i have a tach, when it starts up cold, it idles at about 1100, and then drops down to about 600, or 700, so it must be going into closed loop. but the temp gauge rises from zero, and goes up to the spot where it normally does, right before the "N", and sometimes it will move down to the line surrounding the word "Normal" phatpharm85 take a look at your gauge and you should know what i'm talking aobut, i'm not sure if the newer rangers have the same style gauges i have. it seems like it only takes a couple of seconds for it to drop from 1100 rpms to 600. i need to find a garage where i can change my thermostat, its like 10 degrees out and by the time i'm back from wrestling its dark out. You just cant win....

 

Sounds to me like it's your gears holing you back a bit. My 93 will spin 'em without trying no matter what the surface with 32's and 3.73's, even before I added the intake and exhaust. If you're doing mostly in town driving, 13-14 ain't all that bad since you're motor is going to be lugging a bit with that gear ratio. Out of curiosity, what RPM are you running at 60 MPH in Drive. Also, the automatics have a much higher first gear than my manual so I think gearing is not in your favor as far as power, but I would think you'd get pretty good highway mileage though. Numerous 10 mile trips aren't a good way to judge Highway mileage since you will be starting and stopping your engine several times and most likely idling a bit.

 

Ya I know what ya mean with the gauge, thats right about were mine runs, mine takes almost a good ten minutes, driving hard, to get to that point. It kinda sounded like to me that yours climbs right up to that point tho, like as soon as you start it?? or is my thinking off??

It is a 3.27 wow, well like I said with the 235's it should make it alot easier then if you had the optional 31's on there. Also with the open rear end it will be easier too because you'll really only be spinning one tire. It also sounds like yours is an auto?? If you just put your foot to the floor straight line it probally wont spin them then, the higher first gear, plus you can't dump the clutch or nothing. Have you tried power breaking it to see what it does?

Alittle off subject but I was wondering were you got the intake for your truck. I've been looking and a K&N FIPK is like 200 bucks so I was wondering if theres anything cheaper out there. And also I was wondering what brand exhaust you have on there?
Thanks

 

its an www.ifab.net brand intake, works good, if i hold the brakes down it will spin one, then as soon as i let off it will stop, and i have auto tranny, and i just tested it today 65 is 2400rpms, in od. about 2000 rpms in od at 55

 

I noticed in your gallery that you have a Tornado sticker under your hood. If it's still in the intake, take it out and see what happens. I had one too, and I didn't notice any difference until I took it out after getting my cone filter that fits on the stock intake tube. It seems to just be in the way. And once gone, my power and mileage were noticeably better.
Seems you are ruinning pretty high RPM's for the gears you have. I thought you'd be running lower than me. In OD @65 I'm close to 2166ish RPM and @55 am at 1833ish, and you even have the higher overdrive. I'm guessing that your 2.47:1 1st compared to my 3.72:1 1st may be why mine is so easy to roast the tires. Well good luck with it. Maybe you just need to chip it. With the mods you already have, that would be a great next step.

 

I have the OHV (pushrod motor), Not the SOHC.

After it warms up you said it drops down in RPM's. They all do that because the computer is doing a check or something, but it doesnt mean it isnt out of opern loop. Open loop is only supposed to kick in at WOT or when it is cold, however when it is cold it "closes" at a lower RPM. The difference in open and closed loop is that in open, it takes readings from the various sensors and adjusts the Fuel air mixture accordingly, In closed it just mixes the fuel air at a default mode.(not always the best mixture) Thats one reason why chips help.

My guages are different anyways. It doesnt say "normal" It has a picture of a thermometer in water. It normally stays on the left edge of the picture.

 

Oh dont worry, i think i took out that piece of scrap metal about a month after i bought it, and i almost sold it to a kid for 25 bucks too, but he must have done a reasearch on it the night before he was gonna get me the money, cause he decided he didnt want it anymore, i dont blame him. and yeah, your right about the 1st gear ratio, mines 2.47, and for od i think its 1.00. I think i'm gonna try the maf cleaning. I installed the hotter thermostat, and the temp gauge goes up to normal now, but somtimes drops down to where it always sits, then it'll be back up again, i think its just cause its so cold, not sure about better mileage with it yet, i'll have to wait untill i fill up again. Also when i was putting it in and i was refilling the coolant, i noticed my alternator was making a squeeking noise, the gauge says its probably about 14-16 volts, the needle sits closer to the 18V than where its supposed to be in the middle, then after a while of driving (50 miles) the needle starts getting closer to the middle. Also when i hit the gas all the way to the floor from a stop, the truck almost died, so i let off the gas and everything was fine. and started driving taking off pretty slowly, everything seemed fine...I'm thinkin that pretty soon it might be time for a new alternator...... Hopefully my parents dont drive it very far when i'm gone this weekend...haha. I hope it doesnt cost that much. Probably about 100 for a reman. one right?

 

I dont know the ratio for OD but it is 1.00 in DRIVE. thats what dirve means. Anyways, if it is cutting out whenever you hit it hard, it is probably one of the sensors. I would definitely clean the MAF and reset the computer. It seems to me like it is flooding it when you try to take off, That would explain why it runs normal when you drive it easy.