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13MPG? IS THIS RIGHT?


dcass72
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So I've been tracking my Pathy's gas mileage religiously for the last few months, and have come to the conclusion it sucks. No matter how I drive it, 13mpg is the very best I've gotten. Is this the average for these trucks? I've seen a few other posts on here where people are claiming 15+, but I sure as hell can't get it. Any ideas?

Let me give a rundown of what I've done, and maybe someone can help me pinpoint something to help me out.

In the past few months I've done plugs, wires, cap, rotor, fuel fitler, air filter, rear O2 sensors, intake gaskets, cleaned the MAF and throttle body. I am running 31in. tires and had exhaust put on, but niether has made the mpg change much. She runs good for a 18year old vehicle, just wish she didn't pinch my wallet so bad at the gas pump. Thanks in advance for any insight!

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I can only hope for 13 mpg on my 24 year old pathy... but you may want to check the catalytic... sometimes just a slight clog will ruin fuel consumption... my other guesses would be to do what you've already done... also, mileage depends on what kind of driving you do... if it's mostly city, you're lucky to be getting that much, if it's a mix city/highway, then that's probably about average... also a lot of hills will kill consumption... not much more you can do without tearing apart the engine and transmission and rebuilding both just for a few more extra mpgs... not worth the cost

 

Sent from my GT-I9500 using Tapatalk

 

 

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13mpg is rather low for normal driving conditions.

I am assuming your 31's on the truck are not M/T mud tires. If they are, that is the issue.

 

You have done a tune up, that is a good start. Did you get the correct plugs? Might want to double check that to be sure and cover the bases.

 

The next thing I would do is get a timing light and check the timing on your truck. Over years it can get off. It will run fine but get poor milege and performance.

 

I would also consider replacing the engine coolant temp sensor and the air intake temp sensor given the age of the vehicle. Again, It will run fine but get poor milege and performance. Here are the part numbers for those sensors:

22630-ED000 ENGINE COOOLANT

22630-1S700 AIR INTAKE

 

 

Other things to consider would be the front O2 sensors and maybe clogged catalytic converters.

 

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Has anyone noticed a difference by putting an electric fan in place of the original?

 

I remember someone claiming that this helped their mpg quite a bit, but had done other things in addition to that, so I'm not sure it can be given the full credit.

 

 

I have 31" tires which has hurt my overall economy, but I did get 18.8 mpg on an all interstate road trip last weekend. That's my best case scenario. Mine is a '97 with 294,000 miles.

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thats about right!! 33 inch engine and 3.5 feel dont help my foot is always in it!! vrooom vrooom.. locking hubs and my new exhaust do.. i average just under 15 all around

Edited by captandy
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E fan might slightly help mpg. Mostly a slightly noticeable power gain due to reduced strain on the engine. Manual locking hubs helped me noticeably by reducing drag from the cv's. When on the street hubs are unlocked and the front wheels are truly free to roll with less drag. But with 35" MTR's I'm down around 9-11 mpg... Luckily I don't have to drive far to work.

 

 

 

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Not trying to hijack this thread but instead of posting a very similar one of my own, I too have been having some major MPG problems. I've owned this truck for close to a month now and going in I knew that its fuel economy would never come close to what I experienced with my Audi. But after 4 fill ups now I am averaging 10.8 mi/gallon?????? Now this driving is mostly city and I dont drive like a grandma so I was assuming I would never get the 15+ miles/gallon claims of some of you guys, but 10.8 seems just down right awful. After the first fill up, I ran a bottle of fuel system cleaner through and the economy never got better. The truck has new plugs, wires, oil change, and transfer case and transmission flushes. The truck only has 68,000mi on it.

 

The second puzzling thing is according to the PDF version of my 2004 owners manual, my fuel capacity should be 79L. I've waited until the empty light has come on and then still driven for a day or so further and have never been able to put more than 62L into the tank upon fill up. I know there is a reserve when the light comes on but 17L's difference???? Am i wrong for thinking somethings wrong here?

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The fuel gauges in these tend to read low, both of mine have. It doesn't really bother me, since I know I can go real far on the light, but anyways...Check your o2 sensors, while they may not set an engine light they could still be getting lazy especially after 10+ years. Also a set of manual hubs in the front will stop the drag of the front driveline that is not needed in 2wd.

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Not trying to hijack this thread but instead of posting a very similar one of my own, I too have been having some major MPG problems. I've owned this truck for close to a month now and going in I knew that its fuel economy would never come close to what I experienced with my Audi. But after 4 fill ups now I am averaging 10.8 mi/gallon?????? Now this driving is mostly city and I dont drive like a grandma so I was assuming I would never get the 15+ miles/gallon claims of some of you guys, but 10.8 seems just down right awful. After the first fill up, I ran a bottle of fuel system cleaner through and the economy never got better. The truck has new plugs, wires, oil change, and transfer case and transmission flushes. The truck only has 68,000mi on it.

 

The second puzzling thing is according to the PDF version of my 2004 owners manual, my fuel capacity should be 79L. I've waited until the empty light has come on and then still driven for a day or so further and have never been able to put more than 62L into the tank upon fill up. I know there is a reserve when the light comes on but 17L's difference???? Am i wrong for thinking somethings wrong here?

 

10.8 per gallon on a truck with low mileage and running well makes me wonder if the tires have been replaced with larger than the originals .

 

If I calculate mileage for my '96 using the odometer , running 32's , it comes out to around 10+ .

Using the mileage shown on my GPS it comes out to about 13+ .

 

Just a WAG on my part but ya never know...

Edited by Beatup96
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Do check the tire size!

 

IIRC mine has five gallons or so when it hits empty. The bottom of the tank is flat, and there's no sump or anything for the fuel pump, so you'll never be able to suck out the tank's full capacity.

Edited by Slartibartfast
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