Posted: 1/27/2008 5:08:40 PM EDT
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Hello all, I have a question regarding my 03 Ford Ranger. Lately it has been taking forever for the heater in my Ranger to work. I also noticed that my temperature gauge barley ever moves from the startup position. Is this normal? The heater does work, but it seems to take forever. The ranger in question is an 03 4cyl 5spd with 42,500 miles. Does this mean my thermostat is starting to fail? |
Most likely. It should reach normal operating temperature in a few minutes. |
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Ok, with the heating problem now hopefully fixed, I was wondering what some of you are getting in your Rangers as far as gas mileage goes, because mine really has been sucking my wallet dry. I'm lucky if I get 18 MPG on the hwy, and we won't even talk about the city. 
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If your therrmostat is bad the engine never gets to its operating temperature. The engine computer thinks it is still warming up and adds additional fuel. I recommend your take your Vehicle Identification Number and build date to a Ford Dealer and get the OEM thermostat. It is also time to flush your coolant. There should be a drain on the bottom of either the left or right radiator tank. If there isn't take the lower hose off. Get a big drain tub as coolant will go everywhere. It's also a good idea to carefully remove one of the heater hoses and flush with a garden hose. Let it drain for a while, reassemble and pour one gallon of green antifreeze in the system. You can look in the owners manual for the exact capacity of your cooling system and adjust from there. If you have someone flush the system make sure they do a complete flush not a drain the radiator and top it up flush. This doesn't change all the coolant in the system. Good luck. |