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Im looking at getting a 1990 supercab shortbox ranger as a back and forth beater. Its a 5 speed manual not sure on the ratio but what kind of mileage will it get out of it? i have my f150 for hauling heavy loads and i drive with a light foot.
Mine's an '89 Supercab formerly 2.9. I had the A4ld auto with non-functioning O/D and a few problems, usually got around 14-17 combined. I also tend to be a bit of a leadfoot, so that doesn't help.
A five-speed in good shape should get more like 18-21, possibly a little higher for straight highway driving.
Hopefully i could get a little bit better than 17 mpg cause i get that with my f150 with the 4.9 and a five speed. Well at least the ranger im going to buy is gonna be really cheap for the shape its in.
A few years ago I had an 88, same as what you are looking at but I don't know what the axel ratio was, and I would get pretty consistently low 20's mpg. On long trips where the speeds were 50-60mph I could get 25-26 mpg. I would check the level of the antifreeze because 2.9's like to crack heads and check the hydralic clutch resevior and look for leaks around bottom of the bell housing. if the slave cylinder is bad, it is kind of a pain to change because you need to pull the transmission to get at it. If the price is right and mileage good, I think it would make a good truck.
The only issues that it has is a little tick while its running and one of the valve covers leaks just a touch of oil. The AC doesnt work anyway so im gonna take that belt off and the coolant was still full even though it sat for 2 years before my friend got it.
In my 88 bronco II with a 2.9L i got anywhere from 16mpg (making a lot of short trips) to 25mpg (on a long highway run) It usually averaged around 19-21mpg. Oh yeah, check every part of the cooling system, before you decide to buy it, my 2.9L eventually died of cracked heads.