2002 Sport Trac New Owner Concerns

[Jspafford]

Hello all.

The beginning of last month I purchased a used 2002 Sport Trac. It's the 4WD model with the 4.10LS rear end.

The first tank of gas, all city netted around 12mpg. The second tank was almost all highway and it got a hair over 20mpg (whew!), the third tank all city 17mpg, the 4th tank all city 13mpg, this last tank all city 10mpg.

What the hell is going on? If this pig is going to get 10mpg it is being put up for sale. I sold a 2002 F-250 with the Triton 5.4L that got more than 11mpg and it was sweet as hell.

I am disappointed in the fuel consumption. It is obvious it can get up to 20 on the highway, why so crappy in the city?

 

[JohnnyO]

My mileage got a lot worse in the winter. It's either the temp or the winter gas blend or both.
I'm showing 9.6 on the mpg meter in my '08 right now. Normally I average right around 14.5 each tank.
Welcome. Yes I am the same JohnnyO from The Ranger Station.

 

[Jspafford]

Hi Johnny....

I just asked the wife if she used 4WD a lot since we've had snow here the past two weeks solid almost. She said she had, and she'd also been sitting in traffic in the morning...more than normal.

So, this may have been caused by those two issues.

With that said, I am having her leave it with me tomorrow and before I go into work at 4pm I am going to go over it well. Are the plugs hard to change? How about the cone in the air filter? I've heard mention of people taking something a restrictor maybe out of the airbox? Any clue?

 

[JohnnyO]

The two rear right side plugs are best reached by taking off the tire and going through the wheelwell. The left side is pretty easy.
There is a silencer in the airbox. When I had my '05 Trac I tried to take it out but I started to bend the fender lip with the crowbar before the airbox ever thought of moving. That might help a little, also you can get a drill-mounted hole saw and put three or four 3/4" holes in the bottom of the airbox unless you like to go muddin'. The filter will get dirty sooner if you do that. www.zabteck.com has a good cold air intake that is a lot cheaper than a K&N.

It's a little pricey (stainless steel) but probably the best thing you could do for mpg is get a Random Technology Y-pipe that eliminates the pre-cats. I am told that it will still pass smog with that. The main cat stays. I didn't get one for my '05 because I lease. The Y-pipe and cat-back exhaust are probably the best things you can do for mpg.

A lot of people report good mpg improvement with the XCal2 tuner, but again it's a little pricey and how long until you save $300 in gas?

My '08 has a Gibson exhaust and a K&N drop-in. It's rated at 19 hwy but I've seen as high as 23 mpg for a 30 mile trip on a flat road, keeping it at 65 mph. ('07-up has an mpg thingy on the dash) City mileage sucks.