newbie looking to buy... fuel mileage question - Ford Forums

rangerruck · 10-20-2008, 23:55

83 or 95? both are in great shape, inside the cab and out, except for rust spots. both engines dont leak, shake or squeak, run smooth when you open up the hood. a/c is good on both, both have inline 6's, both manual trans, the 83 is a 4 speed auto overdrive, the 95 is a 5 speed. both are ext cabs. the 83 literally has no probs, the 95 has dual tanks, that when you fill the main, and it gets empty you can switch over, as the second tank willn ow have about a 6th of a tank of gas in it. also, the power steering was leaking , and he replaced the top hose and fitting into the top of the device, but is still leaks a bit. the 95 also has 4 bran new tires, with the little hairs still on them!!!
the big diff is the 83 is carb, the 95 is fuel inject.
Now then, how come govt ratings show the 83 to get 18 to 23 mpg, and the 95 , which is fuel inject, gets is rated 16 and 20? how is this possible? I thought
fuel injected was allways more fuel efficient, unless the 83 has a mild highway rear end?
Also , if you were going to get one of the above, which would you choose , and why? thanks.

ymeski56 · 11-06-2008, 03:30

Quote:

Originally Posted by rangerruck

83 or 95? both are in great shape, inside the cab and out, except for rust spots. both engines dont leak, shake or squeak, run smooth when you open up the hood. a/c is good on both, both have inline 6's, both manual trans, the 83 is a 4 speed auto overdrive, the 95 is a 5 speed. both are ext cabs. the 83 literally has no probs, the 95 has dual tanks, that when you fill the main, and it gets empty you can switch over, as the second tank willn ow have about a 6th of a tank of gas in it. also, the power steering was leaking , and he replaced the top hose and fitting into the top of the device, but is still leaks a bit. the 95 also has 4 bran new tires, with the little hairs still on them!!!
the big diff is the 83 is carb, the 95 is fuel inject.
Now then, how come govt ratings show the 83 to get 18 to 23 mpg, and the 95 , which is fuel inject, gets is rated 16 and 20? how is this possible? I thought
fuel injected was allways more fuel efficient, unless the 83 has a mild highway rear end?
Also , if you were going to get one of the above, which would you choose , and why? thanks.

The method of determining est.MPG's was a little loose and not really representative real world driving and after constant consumer bitching the method was altered to reflect more realistic. Kinda like now the city based for city MPG's has to have traffic control devices,other cars on the road ect.... The earlier method's MPG could be duplicated, but how often does an escorted funeral procession come by that's going the same direction you need to go. The gas tank thing is just a trip to the store to buy a $15 repair manual & a trip to the salvage yard for a $10 tank diverted valve away from you fixin it. You didn't mention mileage, but if they'd allow you to do a compression check on them, the choice would probably become a no brainer. If I compression checked the 95' and got a bunch of #'s w/ a wide spread, and tested my 87 w/ only a 2 psi variance between all cylinder readings, which one would you pick? Also look for any cylinders that bleed down to quickly. There were a few 95's that came w/ a MAF sensor instead of the norm which was a Map sensor. That would be a big plus!

vettester11 · 12-28-2008, 16:05

I would go with the stick.....automatic transmission repair is too high these days I'd much rather deal with a clutch