OT---Curious tail pipe condition of truck?

Jiles · Aug 28, 2009

I have been a mechanic for 50 years and I have never seen this condition----
I have a 2005 Ford Ranger with 4L engine. The truck has 80K miles and has never been repaired. The truck gets just barely over the EPA estimated gas mileage and has no drivability issues.
The tail pipe has absolutly no deposits, on the inside, that can be seen. It has a galvanized tailpipe and the inside surface looks exactly the same as the outside.
There was a minor factory recall concerning the cruise control and at the time I pointed out this condition to the Ford service manager. He was facinated and had three of his machanics look at the truck. They even took the time to lift the truck and checked the exhaust system for leaks.
I don't think I have a problem but would be curious to know if anyone has seen this on a vehicle.

jay-eye-see · Aug 28, 2009

A late 90s f150 with a 302(5.0) that my dad used to own had that same deal. You could drag your finger from just inside that tail pipe and come up with nothing. The amazing part was how hard that truck was on gas, guess it burned all it took.

trucker40 · Aug 28, 2009

Well I had a car with a 4.6 motor that was like that.It got to where it wouldnt run after about 150,000 miles and the catalytic converter was plugged completely up.If you pull the catalytic converter off its probably almost plugged would be my guess.

RobMD · Aug 28, 2009

My 1999 Ranger with the 2.5L 4 cyl has 107,000 miles and I put a 2.5 inch stainless exhaust on it. It's clean as a whistle on the inside.

The answer is how well those computers control the richness of the gas mixture. It is also in the emissions system, specifically the EGR and the catalytic converter.

A 4 cyl Ranger takes about 175,000 miles until there is some sort of catalytic converter plug. A V8 engine will plug it up twice as fast.

I'm all for keeping my Ranger because it's an external_link fuel-sipping truck. Now I don't like external_link, but I can see where purchasing a V8 JUST for highway cruising is ridiculous.

Brian Jasper co. Ia · Aug 28, 2009

Wife has a Nissan Pathfinder that is just as clean. It's all about fuel management. A properly maintained/tuned engine should never plug the catalytic converter. The only exception to that rule I have seen are people who only drive lots of short trips and never get the exhaust warm to incinerate the carbon in the converter.

Jim in LA · Aug 28, 2009

I have a 1985 Ranger that I bought new and the exhaust pipe on it was sooty from day 1. The truck (2.3L) now has 198,000 miles on it. It was the first year for EFI and I had a lot of problems with it the first 3-4 years. I have replaced timing belt twice, ignition module twice,distributor once(the pickup assembly literally disintegrated). I had problems with the engine smothering down and quitting, it would restart and run after sitting for about 15 min. This turned out to be wore out in-tank fuel pump,also the float for the guage had a big crack in it which explained way the gas guage quit workingat 40,00 mi. The body has held up exceptionally well. It used to get 32mpg. I only use it around the farm now, maybe when I retire I will have time to rebuild it. The biggest mistake I made in purchasing this truck was that it was the first year production of the EFI system. Diagnosing emission control problems on it is a whole other long story.

bill mart · Aug 28, 2009

even if the convertor was almost totally plugged the exhaust would still have exit the tailpipe on a leak free system

RockRon · Aug 28, 2009

Fuel eater...the legacy of the 302's.

OT---Curious tail pipe condition of truck?

Jiles

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jay-eye-see

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trucker40

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RobMD

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Brian Jasper co. Ia

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Jim in LA

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bill mart

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RockRon

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