Hello guys.
this is my first time posting here.
I hope I can get some help.
i just bought a 98 ford ranger, 3.0 v6 engine.
it runs great but I feel it’s wasting a lot of gas
im getting 15mpg and I was wondering if anyone could give some advice on how I can save gas or what I need to do to the engine to get better mpg.
thanks

 

Sounds pretty normal. About same thing I'm getting around town.
https://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/bymo...r_Pickup.shtml

 

Same here. In the warm months I was getting 13-14 mpg my 2004 Edge 3.0. Just making sure tune up is current, tire pressures good, no brakes dragging etc.....

 

How many miles on it?
If over 130k miles then change Upstream O2 sensors, there at 2 of them

3.0l Vulcan is a High RPM engine, best power is at 3,500rpm, most engines get best power at 2,500rpm
So if you drive it at low RPMs you will be sucking gas, wait to shift it and stay above 3,000rpms unless you are cruising along

 

Just under 130K on mine. Have no check engine lights, new plugs and wires, brakes are good after I replaced a leaky axle seal that gummed up brake shoes on one side.

 

Until an O2 fails completely there would be no CEL(check engine light)

As O2's get older and chemicals get used up they tell the computer the exhaust is Lean, so computer adds a bit more fuel, so over time thats money out of your pocket, as MPG goes down.
So changing upstream O2s after 100k miles is not a bad idea, they should pay for themselves over the next 100k miles.

Computer has nothing to compare O2 sensor with to see if it is accurate, it must be almost completely out of chemicals before a code is set, usually "slow switching" code

 

ok thanks. I will put those on the list to change once it warms up a bit.

 

Are both left and right side upstream O2's the same or are they different part numbers?

 

Get an e-fan. The engine driven fan effects fuel milage.

 

All 3 O2s are the same BUT.............they can have different part numbers because of the length of the lead that plugs into the wiring harness

So drivers side may have a shorter or longer lead attached to it so it can reach the harness's plug-in, than passenger side

And change them one at a time, the connectors are EXACTLY the same, so you can plug in drivers side O2 into passenger side connector, and that will confuse the heck out of the computer, lol.

I do my own mechanic work but sometimes take vehicles to locale shops
One time I had a clutch done and they did reverse O2s, never had CEL on this vehicle, as soon as it warmed up CEL came on and it was running poorly.
Took it back and they had all sorts of parts they wanted to change, lol.
I said so you don't know why there is a problem? then thanks but no thanks
I tested more and found engine ran well cold and at WOT(wide open throttle)
O2 sensors are not used when cold or at WOT, fuel economy is not a concern when driver has foot to the floor, lol.

So I checked wire colors, there is only 1 wire out of 4 on each O2 that is a different color, and sure enough they had plugged them in reversed
Swapped them around and engine ran great

Called the shop and told them what had happened, they didn't seem to care, lol, so can't say if it was honest mistake or planned