I am getting 189 miles to a full tank, this is with the needle starting on the full mark and ending at the empty mark or a little before it. Before I was getting at least 200-210 miles to a full tank. It was never 300. Lately my temp gauge has been acting weird. It will warm up and go to the O in normal, After driving for a while it will go to the line right after the C, and will stay there. then it will move up a little but go right back down. The heat works fine and it warms up within about 2 miles of driving. The heat blows hot. I just recently did a tune up, plugs and wires, my gas cap was missing the top it so my next doorneighbor had an extra one and it fit so I havnt gone to the store to get a new one yet, it seems like its makes a good seal, it doesnt smell like gas near the filler nor doesnt it make a hissing noise after u shut it off when the tank gets low. What could be causeing such crapy gay mileage?

How old are the O2 sensors?

ddi you change the fuel filter? how is your driving style? thats what i got in my 94.. but i drove like an idiot too.... also what about fluids in the tcase, tranny and differential? they can all add resistance to the system....your oil too.... some gas caps are internally vented, its possible the one he gave you isnt the right one, you might want to replace it, at least to just have the right one and rule that out as a possiblity, also what gas are you running? if a gas station waters it down ,then it will not net the same mileage... crappy gas can also maek mileage worse... case in point like rotten robbie gas versus chevrons techron.....

I will definatly be watching this post, I am getting 200mi to 3/4's of a tank.

Definately get the proper gas cap.

no idea how old the o2's are, my dad said the fuel filter looked new so we didnt change it, not sure on the fluilds I think the rear end has i think 75w140 i cant remember but my dad had it at his shop and he said that it was the right stuff. As for tcase and transmittion no idea. Oil in engine is 10w40.

When in doubt to the age of the fluids, I would definately replace all of them asap.

I rear end fluid was changed recently and so was the oil.

I think I would use thinner oils in both. Have you thought of switching to synthetic?

umm. not really. What are the benifits. I dont want anymore leaks I have a slow oil leak that is getting annoying about everymonth i have to put a quart in.

sure it isnt just burning that iol? every month... thats normal wear and tear for a car that age.... a quart every month isnt that much.....

i dont think it is causes theres no blue smoke

and theres a leak coming from above the bell houseing, its not the seal it above the seal, some where around the tranny dip stick.

have you been ideling alot? such as letting it warm up in the mornings?

thats my big problem i let my truck warm up in the mornings before my drive to work....

also, blue smoke means a lot of burnt oil..... losing a quart a month is not much at all..... you probably wouldnt be able to see it even if you looked at the exhuast..... it is very hard to see vapor

I have replaced a bunch of things on my 1993 to improve mileage and I went from 12.5 to 13.5. Not much of an improvement, but I am a leadfoot and my drive to work is only 1 mile. I have replaced:

Thermostat
Plugs and Wires
Oil, now run 10W-30 Synthetic
Rear Gear Oil, now run 75W-90 Mobil 1
PCV Valve
Air Filter, now have K&N Flat Panel
Coolant (now using Prestone 5/150)
New Gas Cap
40 PSI in all 4 tires

I also pour in a bottle of fuel system cleaner every 3000 miles for good measure. I hope this helps. I have been hunting for better mileage and the only way for me to save gas is to resist the urge to mash the gas.

What could be causing the temp gauge to be running low

the thermostat this will also cause bad gas milage cause it will stay in warm up mode i would also use 10w30 for oil not 10w40. then i would get some injector cleaner and seafoam. than after this is all done i would change the o2 sensor/s before the cat

also i forgot clean the maf and depending on the age of your plugs/wires change them too

dosen't sound too bad really. How big is your gas tank? replace the themostat and get the right gas cap. with the cold weather you are prolly warming it up a bit more plus the winter gas additives may also be responsible for your slight loss what about 1.4 mpg?

not too bad if he has a 21gallon tank like me he is getting 9mpg

??? if he is only getting 9mpg that would mean he DOES have a 21 gal tank right?

190 miles per tank
/ 9 mpg
-------------
21.1111111111

so that is 1 mpg less than he usually gets. I maintain my position that during the winter that is not bad.

Are you sure he has a 19 gal tank? I thought they were a bit smaller on a sport? I was thinking 15 or 17.

If he's got a 19 gallon tank and he's only getting around 190 miles, that's about 10MPG. That sucks. When my truck was stock(with 21gallon tank) I would get 400 miles per tank easy. Now with about 600 pounds of armor, 33's and other stuff, I still get 15MPG.
He needs to take it to a good mechanic and see whats wrong. Unless he's got a lead foot, he should be getting at least 15MPG.

I just bought my 92 xl explorer 4.0 5 speed. I drove it 60 miles city,90 miles on the freeway, mpg was 15.8, I then drove that 90 miles back home feeling up before freeway, and feeling back up after getting off freeway, and got 19.2 mpg on highway only. I have the 19gal tank too.

I think someone has a lead foot, I try to baby my explorer because you never know how someone else treated it, it has 108,000 miles now.

This doesnt answer much, but maybe it will help, I used 87 octane gas too.

Originally posted by Ray Lobato
If he's got a 19 gallon tank and he's only getting around 190 miles, that's about 10MPG. That sucks. When my truck was stock(with 21gallon tank) I would get 400 miles per tank easy. Now with about 600 pounds of armor, 33's and other stuff, I still get 15MPG.
He needs to take it to a good mechanic and see whats wrong. Unless he's got a lead foot, he should be getting at least 15MPG.

I know a few people that have 1st Gen automatics and they AND me in the same area as Jar are now getting 11-12 MPG! My best was 17MPG mostly on highway. And I only got that once! These 1st Gens automatics suck up gas like a hummer! I don't care because I don't use mine much.

Originally posted by maxxx
I just bought my 92 xl explorer 4.0 5 speed. I drove it 60 miles city,90 miles on the freeway, mpg was 15.8, I then drove that 90 miles back home feeling up before freeway, and feeling back up after getting off freeway, and got 19.2 mpg on highway only. I have the 19gal tank too.

I think someone has a lead foot, I try to baby my explorer because you never know how someone else treated it, it has 108,000 miles now.

This doesnt answer much, but maybe it will help, I used 87 octane gas too.

5 speeds like yours will get MUCH better mileage!
Automatics suck up gas like a HUMMER!

I only get about 200 per tank...and I warm it up at least 15 to 30 minutes every morning...cause it s very cold here...-20...but during summer I get near 270 to 300 sometimes..so I would not be worry I were you...do you warm it up in the morning ? how long ? is it cold in your area ? the colder it gets the less milage you get. Mine runs not very hot too..just a bit higher then cold.

yeah, my gas mileage has been suckin lately as well. Lots of pinging too, prolly just cuz its cold. Shell gas really made the explorer ping and drive like a festiva.
and i just got 31's a little while ago and havent adjusted the speedo yet. but my tank of gas still lasts a week regardless of how many miles, wierd.

In response to the question "whyis it running so cold?" you probably need to replace the thermostat. Some of them fail open, which means you have coolant constantly going through and not allowing the engine to warm up properly.

Damn, I get 200-215 out of a tank and im running 35's and 4.56's! I think thats decent with everything i have done

thanks guys. I have only ben bringing the rpms up to 2500, usually only like 2200 rpms. The plugs are brand new, filters only 4000 miles old, MAS was cleaned 2000 miles ago and a ran a can of seafoam through it when i cleaned the MAS. Still kind of makes a clinking noise when its are around 2100 rpms ,feels slugish when it makes the noise. I am only letting it warm up for 10 minutes in the morning its only been around 15-20 degrees out. I also have a coolant leak coming from the front of the engine. If its been idleing for a while it will smell like something sweet almost, like some chemical that is fimilar but i cant recongize it. It will only do it if i have the heat on.

sweet smell of antifreeze?

i dont know i am not fimilar with the sweet smell
of antifreeze

I think its just the cold weather. I have the same problem. Definetly change your Thermostat though.

how hard is it to change the t-stat. Is it any easy job or would it require my dad to help me. I can go to his shop and do it. Will I have to drain the coolant?

Its very easy. Just a few bolts to remove, a few hoses to get out of the way. You can drain some coolant, however, I just let what comes out drain into a catch can' about a cupfull.

Good luck.....

don't forget to burp the system and maby replace the rad cap you might want to get yourself a failsafe thermostat then it can never fail closed and overheat

Originally posted by checkedout
Are you sure he has a 19 gal tank? I thought they were a bit smaller on a sport? I was thinking 15 or 17.

All 1st gen trucks, whether 2 door or 4 door, have 19.2 GALLON GAS TANKS.

It wasn't until the 2nd gens that the Sports got smaller tanks.

I dont think you have to burp the system on our trucks. Ive never known anyone to do it on a explorer. I didnt and my trucks fine.

you should do it on any cooling sysyem when the engine is cold remove the rad cap and fill it up to the top with water and you will befine

I'm getting around 205 - 210 per gas tank. You'll just have to get used to the fact that the gas mileage on these things are abysmal!

Yea but if they came from the factory with fuel milage for example 15mpg you should be getting 15mpg. Why even have the thing if its not living up to its full potential. Therefor instead of just pouring money into the gas tank, why not fix it and save money in the long run.

Na, it doesn't work like that. It might say 15 mpg city on the door sticker on a new truck, but in the REAL WORLD you would be lucky to get 13-14 mpg in town.

Thats false advertisement though, no. Well my moms car gets 17 mpg and is advertised to get 17mpg. Even if your are not able to achive the highest mpg stated by the manufacturer, wouldnt you want to try and get the best mpg you can?

The numbers are required to be put on the vehicles, they are not there necause Ford wants them there.

They way the test to get the numbers is different than normal driving also.

Then what is the point of even having the numbers on there, who cares than what the numbers mean. Who are people supposed to know what mpg their car is supposed to get.

Its an estimate.

Geez, I thought 12-13 mpg sucked even in winter with all my mods. Definately check the O2s, cats, and make sure tire has good psi (it's gotta be cold in R.I. and winter probably compressed the tire air)

the numbers vary..the test data may be at a different speed and driving style then u have

like if u drive like =) right foot hammered prety well u are going to get horrid gas milage..if u drive like the g-ma in her honda with the right foot in just enough to roll foreward ur gunna get awesome gas milage

so ford can back up the test results but it is just an estimate kind of

and just so u people feel better my dads mustang gets 8mpg when i am babying it =)

Originally posted by Tekeman
Geez, I thought 12-13 mpg sucked even in winter with all my mods.

That's about typical city winter mileage on a 1st gen 4x4 with auto transmission if it's hilly at all...

...those that do 5.0 swaps often improve their gas mileage...

what is seafoam? and where cna i get some?

You should do a search. But ill answer it anyways. Seafoam is an engine cleaner. It cleans out carbon. You can buy it at Napa.

i had been searching...i guess i was really asking where to get it...when doing a google search, i didnt find much

One thing i do remember though is when my truck was bone stock with exhaust and kkm i was getting like 300 out of a tank. Those are cheap ways to get beter MPG.The SOHC is a little more efficient than the OHV too.

whats the big deal on the gas cap? Your talking about the cap that u open up to fill ur gas up rite? Should i change this, would it do a big number on my mpg? And about my differential and tcase, should i run synthetic thru it all? Would it make a big diff

The gas cap can cause a CEL to be triggered.

I would definately ise synthetic in all locations.

whats a CEL? if my car has 86k miles on it, should i change the gas cap jus incasE? Also would it b ok for my next oil change to change it to synthetic? Would it hurt high milage

bump

CEL = Check Engine Light

Yes, I would replace the gas cap.

the first gens seem to get some bad gas mileage in the winter, I don't know if its cause they run cool, maybe the EEC IV computer sucks in the winter? I dunno, but mine drops like a rock when it gets cold, and the colder it is, the worse the mileage

everything is up to par spec wise too

Been following this one...and now finally had the chance to get back on-line after finishing some work on my car. So far we have replaced the thermostat and temp sender, plugs and wires, fuel filter, air filter, and tranny fluid and filter. In addition I stay on top of oil changes every 3000 or so miles (5w30), and I had the radiator flushed and refilled in the last month or so. I also put in the black bottle of STP injector cleaner evey oil change.

I am pretty selective with the gas I put in the car. SuperAmerica and BP only go in as a last resort, yet I still can't seem to find the right answer to this equation. What's left to do? I see everyone mention the O2 sensor...but my friend tells me that is generally something you do for the 100,000 mile tune-up unless you're having obvious issues from it. I know winter warm-up time and driving style play a role also, but I don't either one of those are severe enough to totally wreck my MPG.

I don't expect to get Yugo type MPG on an Explorer, but in the fall I was hitting between 360-400 on a very consistent basis. Now if I hit 250 I am jumping for joy. I guess I didn't think with all things considered including winter that I would be getting a beating like that on my MPG.

I think we are all in the same boat. I have a 94 XLT, and as of now Im happy to get 250 out of the 19 gallon tank as well.

I think it might just be the winter. In the summer I def get better mileage...

Originally posted by proffessor1979
I think we are all in the same boat. I have a 94 XLT, and as of now Im happy to get 250 out of the 19 gallon tank as well.

I think it might just be the winter. In the summer I def get better mileage...

How are you getting 250 per tank in your 94 XLT? Is this all in town driving or some highway? Do you have a 2WD?

its basically intown driving. I do go on the highway technically when I am going to and from work, but that doesn't mean I am doing even close to highway speeds with the damn traffic. It takes me 45 minutes to go 11 miles to work..that sux

I did not have my truck for about a year and I got it back this January and it was already really cold here in NJ and we have had quite a bit of snow, so 4wd has been used a lot lately.

Keeping my hubs in the locked position too, just in case I hit any bad spots on the roads.

my fuel guage is broken, so I have been filling the tank every 200 miles, and it takes between 15-16 gals each time I fill up. I am estimating 250 miles.

Originally posted by proffessor1979
its basically intown driving. I do go on the highway technically when I am going to and from work, but that doesn't mean I am doing even close to highway speeds with the damn traffic. It takes me 45 minutes to go 11 miles to work..that sux

my fuel guage is broken, so I have been filling the tank every 200 miles, and it takes between 15-16 gals each time I fill up. I am estimating 250 miles.

Ok that's pretty square with what my truck will get;
250 mi will about drain the tank dry but it can do it.
Usually at 230 mi it's about on E, but there's still about 2 gallons in there at that point.