Hello again everyone, I completed my fuel economy test and I have driven everywhere at 2k rpm or lower with rare exceptions to when there is a big hill or a sloe call getting on the highway. I would consider my routes to be around 50/50 city/highway. I got around 125mi out of half a tank and 180 out of 3/4 a tank. Now I cant find anywhere that gives the tank size for certain but if it is 17 gal that's around 14 MPG. If the tank size is 19.5 gal that's around 12! That seems pretty low but is it normal? Anything I can check to make sure my fuel economy is where it is supposed to be?

 

Regular cab is 17gal, extended cab is 19gal
Long bed, 7ft bed, is 19gal

O2 sensors are the ONLY sensors that wear out, they use a chemical reaction to generate voltage in the presences of Oxygen in the exhaust
They are OK up to about 100k miles or 12 years, which ever comes first
If yours have never been changed then they are 18 years old, regardless of miles

Older O2s show a lower voltage which computer "sees" as Lean, but its a False Lean, so will set no codes, computer just adds more gasoline than actually needed, so engine just runs richer than needed and MPG goes down and down, until O2 fails completely and you get a Code
But it costs you at least 5 times the price of a new O2 sensor for the cost of the extra gasoline you are burning, lol
So change the O2s on any vehicle at 100k miles or 12 years, 10 years is fine as well

 

Thanks Ron! Can always count on a comprehensive reply from you, i will change out those O2 sensors!

 

Who cares what size tank you have, how much gas did it take to fill the tank ?

You can't estimate mileage from using the gas gauge.

I can go 60 miles in my truck before the gauge even moves, does that mean I get 60 mpg for the first 60 miles.

 

Hmmmm, maybe your gas gauge is faulty. Mine is not, I can see it move quite clearly. Also, math shows us that if we have a full tank (per spec) and then we have an empty tank we can check how many miles we got out of that tank and divide the number of miles we got from the tank by the tank size and that should give us a pretty accurate answer!

 

You may also want to clean the spark plugs(re-gap) or replace them if its time, the richer running does effect the tips

Should see a very very light brown on tip, the darker the color the richer it was running

 

Will do

 

Well, yeah! My Mercury gets 90mpg for the first gallon on the digital gauge. Of course the next three gallons is about 5 miles each. But hey, that first gallon was great!

 

I would carry a few extra gallons in cans and just keep adding it

 

I heard this on Car Talk radio many years ago:

I worked my way through college as a Volvo mechanic, 1969-71. During those years, the extremely dependable but dated Volvo 120 series was being replaced by the extremely trendy but unreliable 140 series.

Our shop foreman decided to buy a small Fiat, about 1500cc, saying that he could no longer trust the Volvo, and furthermore, he REALLY loved the TREMENDOUS gas mileage of the Fiat. The first week he had the Fiat, he did nothing but rave about the gas mileage, so we decided to help him. Every day we would add, at first a pint, then more and more gas to his tank when he wasn't looking. He went crazy.

Our skeptical-looking (we were all in on it) crew would be regaled by his tales of getting, well, first it was 34, then 50, the 63 miles per gallon. He would snarl condescendingly at our gas guzzling Volvos, then reflect on the brilliance of Italian engineering. The Fiat dealership, of course, had several explanations. Tight engine. American gas. Driving habits. Then we gradually began to reduce the amount we added, until it was zero, and then of course we siphoned increasing amounts from the Fiat's tank.

At first, the bragging slowed to a stop. He became surly. How was the Fiat? Wouldn't answer. Then of course he kept taking it back to the Fiat back dealership, which, of course, had several explanations. Tight engine. American gas. Driving habits. In the end, he found us out, and our schedules were screwed for months. I worked 11 hours on Christmas Eve, 1970.

 

this^