Well hello all. I'm here for an issue I adopted when I purchased my 1995 Ranger 2.3L, 5spd, ext. cab 2wd p/u. with 141k on the clock (about as stock as they come when it comes to powertrain parts.)

Since purchasing this truck I have seen a constant 18-19.5mpg. I drive 40 miles everyday @ a constant 70mph. the rest is city (i'd say 60-70% highway).

So far since purchasing I have replaced:
- fuel filler hose (was leaking).
- plugs, wires.
- Fuel Filter

Air filter and oil/filter were changed by dealer when I bought it.

I'm also aware of 2 codes currently being thrown.
P0340- Cam pos. sensor circuit _ I tested the sensor by measuring the voltage between the 2 wires over different RPM's. it differed by >.1V so according to the EBSCOhost website the sensor itself is fine.

and

P0300 - random misfires - (I'm hoping this is caused by the cam sensor wiring issue I have yet to find).

 

welcome to RF, and yes ur mileage sucks for a 2.3...

 

well hey there. Yes that millage sucks, thats what im getting in my 4.0 4x4.

 

yeah. I've been noticing a slight trend of my mileage being congruent with a 4.0's. if the power was that of a 4.0 I wouldn't complain near as much.

Its frustrating b/c its now costing me more to drive this truck than it is my "fun car"....and well the ranger is nowhere near as "fun".

 

well if you get the cam sensor fixed then maybe seafoam it, you should notice something.

 

the 70mph is what's killing your mileage. really.

When I started taking Hwy 146 (two-lane style hwy) instead of I-45 (freeway) and learned to keep my foot out of the throttle, my mileage went back up BIG time.

I just filled up last night, calc'd my miles...21.6mpg with a 3.0/auto/4.10s, only mods are airbox desnorkled, underdog wires, screaming demon coil

 

According to the test the Cam sensor itself is fine...leads me to believe its a wiring issue...dunno yet.

Forgot I did the seafoam trick. blew lots of smoke, and that's about it.
Doubt it. I've done it @ 65mph for a tank, that's when I got the 19.5mpg. Its very flat here...no hills larger than overpasses. And its in 5th gear with 3.73's (I believe that's correct, stock gears nonetheless).

 

i agree with this. Ive noticed a difference between 65mph and 70-75mph.

 

I should be getting 26 combined city/hwy...I get 18-19. Its not like I'm making highspeed runs....

Any fellow 2.3 guys have any thoughts? I know quite a few have been here before.

Also to the Cam sensor. are there common areas that I may look at? (assuming the sensor itself is fine.) According to some online OBDII resources this code can be a red flag for poor gas mileage. so Maybe if I can find the issue, I can ressurect the mileage. If the mileage keeps up like this I'll just buy a 5.4 F150. at least then there will be a reason for the crap mileage.

 

What rpms is it turning at 65 or 70? My 2.3 that supposedly has 4:10s and 225/70/14 tires (will upload and show the door and diff axle codes for it later tonight) is turning about 3k rpms by the time i get close to 70, but I still somehow averaged 24.9 mpg my last tank which consisted of 80% + highway at 65. It still feels pretty gutless anytime i hit an incline though even with the gears, so if you did have 3.73's it might be bogging the motor down and hurting your mileage. I personally cannot imagine what a 3.73 on a lima 2.3 would be like on the highway as my truck is bad enough, how often do you have to downshift for hills and stuff?

 

the 70 should NOT be killing his mileage ... i go that fast in my 2.5 which generally does worse than a 2.3 and i get 23 - 25 going that fast

as for 3.73's ... you downshift a lot unless you are at sealevel and the a/c is off.

 

sell the ******* truck and buy a honda if you want gas mileage..

its a TRUCK, get over it. I get 8 on the highway, i don't start threads b!tching.

 

my rpms are at 3k at 70 mph and I have 3.73s

 

you get 8 cause you chose to modify yours to be bad *** off road while sacrificing hwy mileage

some of us bought 4 cyl trucks so we could haul when we need to and generally do decent on the hwy, and a non modified 4cyl on stock tires shouldnt get under 20 unless its driving into a headwind towing a trailer with the a/c blasting and ebrake on ... period.

 

its still a truck.


sell it or stop b!tching

 

way to turn people toward yotas there .... when he could have a simple problem like a clogged cat or need a tune up

 

toyotas are nice..
way too damn expensive though.

 

Sounds like you do got a problem. I thought i had mileage problems, but i don't seem to. I get 23-25 mpg, 300 miles to a 12 gal. tank. I got the same engine, but no cats at all and the O2 sensor is not even hooked up now cause the cat is not there and I lost over 100 miles to a tank, but picked up about 2mpg by in stalling my Super 44 flowmaster. I'll see what I can find out and let ya know.

 

At 70 I'm turning 2600-2700 rpm. It's fine. I don't have to down shift. However at 60-65 it's almost necessary to be in 4th. Unless u like downshifting for every little bump in the road. On this road I take daily there Are two underpasses. And no other elevation changes. Speed drops to 67-68 in 5th with cruise set while coming out of the underpasses.

To the one cranky bastard. This is my thread if u don't like it stay out of it. I already have another car that gets 31mpg. That's not the point. I bought this truck to have something cheap to drive about town in. It's mileage isn't appropriate for a 4 cyl truck. Thus the thread. The "it's a truck" mentality is absolutely asinine.

Back to the subject at hand. Based on your experiences the cat and or O2 sensors should throw a code if they were bad? I may just take it to a shop for the cam sensor code. If that fixes the problem mileage that'd be great.

I've searched multiple forums for answers to the P0340. But sadly most people who get the code have never posted a fix. just frustration when they replace the sensor and the fix didn't go away. (2.3L specific, as strangely the V6's typically get the code when the sensor, or associated bits fail). One guy said he replaced the ALternator and the issue went away, something about stray voltage interfering with the cam sensor's signal. seems far fetched, and my Alternator tests out fine...

 

I went ahead and replaced the upstream o2 sensor, and the Cam position sensor per a member here's instructions (they were cheap, so figured I'd give it a try). While I was there I replaced the battery (it chose a hell of a day to die). cleaned the MAF, and replaced the main drivebelt (it was cracked).

P0300 is gone.
P0340 is back.

So the cam sensor itself isn't the cause (big shocker).

I think the truck is about to go see the big highway in the sky. I see a wrangler with my name on it.

 

That sucks man, best of luck.

 

What about the coil pack? Have you checked that?

Is there any way your rear drums or ebrake could be dragging?

 

nope, and nope.

Found the perfect fix though. Sold the truck.

 

Bummer