if I baby it I get 12 MPG

[Airman K]

I live in Korea, bought a 85 ranger from a guy that was leaving. The truck would not go over 60/65 MPH in 5th, and when I did get it to that speed it would just slow to about 50. It had a really bad heistation, but when I had the gas all the way to the floor it would run smooth. I ran two bottles of injector cleaner through it, and after the first 5 miles, when I tried to turn it off, as soon as I pushed in the clutch, the motor ran wide open even though my foot wasn't on the gas.

I got 8 MPG, but can now run it up to 65 without problem and it pretty much holds there. At all speeds, if I floor it quickly and let off there is really good torque, but after the initial torque/speed it sort of floats.

Babying the gas, feeling that I have the pedal too far down, constantly backing off until the truck starts to slow - driving like a real geek got me 12 MPG.

It idles pretty smooth, every once in a while it will drop down to where I think it will die, but has only died once, and restarted right away.

Any ideas?

Thanks

Airman K

 

[96ExplorerXLT]

Carburated? If so, run some carb cleaner through it. Make sure its not gummed up in any way. Also, check the cats, if they are the originals, its a good bet that they are probably clogged and that might have something to do with it. It sounds like there is something clogging it on either or both ends of the engine, causing the hesitation. Check for vaccum leaks as well, are there any sounds when its idling? Hope this helps some..

Edit- I didnt read the second part about the engine revving. Check your throttle cable to make sure there is nothing in the way that could catch it or something.