sorry if this is the wrong section but


Right so I recently bought a ford ranger (that I love)
It's a work horse with 1 owner and 100k on the clock
It's a 99 super cab 2.5 none turbo 2 WD diesel

My question is
When driving some time the truck feels restricted as though it is holding back, in 5 th gear it will do 70mph at 3000rpm and no more

Now this may be coincidence but on a full tank it will rev over 3000rpm and do around 85mph and feels more responsive to drive

Once I get to half a tank the problem sets back in and wont go above 70

When I get to my last quarter of a tank I cam get back to 80 sometimes

As I said this may be a coincidence

Can any one recommend anything?
Also what else is prone to failure on this model truck?
It's been serviced every 4 months and was serviced day I bought it
Iv had no problems I can see except it aims sluggish some times

All help appreciated

Oh I also noticed that it has a new looking radiator and coolant bottle, there are no leaks yet when I fill it up I can take it for a 100milE drive and the coolant is back low... There are no leaks and the temp gauge is not getting above half way? What could this be?

 

3000 rpm is winding awful tight for a diesel.

 

How do you mean? When thebtruck is in a good mood it will hit 80mph just over 3000rpm
When it's In a bad mood it will do 60mph just under 3000rpm
It feels like it's being restricted some how
Surely someone knows what I'm talking about

 

first thing i would check is the water issue. have the eng. checked for pin holes in the cylinder walls. you may be pumping the water out the exhaust. as for the power issue this too may be related to the water in the cyl. the clutch may be slipping a little as well. i do find it strange that the eng. turns 3000 rpms @ 80 mph. most diesels here will turn 2000 - 2250 @ 80 mph depending on gear ratio. by the way that is a great looking truck wish we had them here. looks like it has more int. room than ours.

 

It's a 5 speed box if that helps for the ratio?
No water problems any more I flushed the system and come to the conclusion that when the chap serviced it when I bought it didn't put enough water back in the system

 

dose this eng. have a timing chain or is it gear driven? the fuel dist. may be out of adjustment or loose.this could explain intermitent power loss.

 

I sorted it bud put a how too up swell, was a blockage in a fiter after the dielsel filter, where it goes in to the fuel pump, 15 min of work has made all the difference

 

good to hear you got it fixed.

 

what sort of mileage are you getting? wish we could get a fairly modern ranger here with a diesel engine! i really feel for you guys over in the uk now with the fuel prices going the way they are.. what do you pay for diesel?

 

I pay £1.40 a litre of diesel here, think it's over $10 a gallon I get 400-450 miles to a 55l tank

 

wow that is us$8.54 / gal i don't know how you guys do it over there...
although, on the bright side, you seem to be getting between 27 and 31miles per (us) gallon so quite good mileage.