ATTN: ALL 5.0 OWNERS

[GreatXpectation]

Ok this question might be mostly for the all wheel drive owners... What are your gas mileages?!?! Mine are absolutly horrible.


How can I improve them? I trave 80 miles a day 40 to and 40 from and yse damn near a half tank! Its crazy!


What can I do to give me a lil more mileage?

Also, the all wheel drive thing... When I was takin out my h/u I noticed that where the 4wd indicator would be on a 4x4 I had those wires. But Plugged in to nothing. Does that mean that they run down to the t-case?

If I get a 4x4 Trasfer case It should be a direct replacement assuming the harness is already there. Then just get the other bezel with the 4x4 switch indicator on it? Maybe yes no? Sorry for the mass amount of questions Im just a newbie

 

[Alec]

The harness is there because Ford saved money by not making a harness for each truck; I have the harness too in my 2wd. To switch to electric 4x4 you'd need to change the GEM and possibly other (expensive) electrical components. I think the Tcases are also different.

As for mileage, the ultimate key is your driving style. Besides that, make sure the truck is properly maintained including clean sensors, fluids, plugs and plug wires. Some power mods will help mileage if you can resist using the gas pedal too much.

 

[jssong]

i get about 16 -18 mpgs when going about 72 on cruise. try driving really slow one day when u have time. about 55 and i think you might see a lil bit of improvement. but 80 for half a tank is bad. usually city driving i get about 9-11 mpgs

 

[V8BoatBuilder]

I have a 97 v8 awd and get around 11-12 mpg in the city, and around 16-18 on the highway as well.

Take Alec's suggestions about maintence. Make sure your fulids (ALL OF THEM) are fresh, filters (oil, fuel, transmission, air) are clean, etc, etc. Make sure your tires are wearing evenly, and your alignment is good.

I'm looking into swapping a Control Trac t-case into my explorer as well, Stadx2, a member here, did it sucessfully. The problem is that the v8 t-case and the v6 t-case have different input shaft spline configurations and bolt patterns. a $500 adapter kit is needed to turn the back of the v8 transmission into the v6 style.

So... you need:
-Adapter
-Tcase
-GEM

lots of tools, time and $$

 

[GreatXpectation]

So basically I should even bother, I might just do what my buddy suggested, remove the front drive shaft. but its still driving all the gears through the t-case so it wont make that much of a difference. haveing all 4 moving probly helps on gas with less of a strain to get going right?

 

[gavin]

I get ~12-14mpg in my 97 AWD Ex, mixed highway and city

 

[SaleenEXP]

Can't speak for AWD but our 5.0 Mounty (2wd) gets between 15-16mpg in the city and about 20-21mpg with the cruise set at about 80 mph. Gotta love living in FL, and thats with my mom and I driving it very hard with lead feet in the city Usually average according to the computer and when calculating it, about 15.5-15.7 in city driving, all stock also. The 97' my mom had also got about the same, also 2wd.

My sisters 2wd 01' XLT with the sohc V6 she just got for her b-day only gets about 14mpg in the city and she doesn't have a lead foot

 

[section525]

I usually get around 15mpg mixed driving. And I'm not stock.

 

[acastell]

I always get 15 mpg on standard fill ups (includes hwy and city). When I got to Tahoe, I get 23-24 mpg, until I get to the mountain, then I drop back down to 15 mpg.

 

[Garth]

After spending $96 for a oil and transfer case fluid change I am happy to report that I got 19.5 mpg highway last night. Traffic was terrible too and the idiots at Jiffy lube brought my tire pressure back down to 30psi from the 33 that I plan to keep it at. I was doing 65-70mph when I could but at times I could do no better than 40mph.
I cant wait to get some air and exhaust and maybe one of them there Apten chippy thingy.

 

[terdrocket]

I get 13.5 to 14.5 mixed driving. It depends on the weather.

Cool weather - The A/C is off and the intake is pulling in cool air. (Definite seat of the pants difference) = 14.5mpg

Warm/hot weather - The A/C is on and intake sucks in warm air. (Again definite seat of the pants difference) = 13.5mpg

 

[PUR PONY]

I average around 15.5mpg on the highway and thats with all my mods and supercharger. I also and thinking of swapping my t-case out so i can mess around a little more on the street.... its very hard breaking my 275x55x17's loose even with all the extra HP.......

i do have a question though. If i swap out to a 4x4 t-case.... could I engage it at the track for launching and then shift it out at about 60mph heading down the track???

 

[A Wise Guy]

I tend to have a heavy foot and I average 12.9 constantly. When i bought the truck I knew the 5.0s were thirsty but it didn't bother me too much. 13,000 miles in 28 months.

 

[hrbib21]

I get a little over 15 mpg, though, I don't have AWD. I never drive on a "highway" so I'm not sure about my mileage over a long haul.

Do a search for "gas mileage" or just "mileage" and you'll find tons of info.

 

[stretch]

I get around 16 or so on the highway and about 10 in the city. Like the other's say, keep your truck maintained and go easy on the right pedal and your mileage shouldn't be too bad. Remeber, it's a 4,000+ lbs. truck with a thirsty V8, you can't expect a Honda's gas mileage out of it.

 

[Mr XLT]

Bad MPG

In town my stock 97 with 235x75x15 tires I get from 11.5-13MPG based solely on the electronic average MPG in the console. Hiway if i'm lucky i might pull 15-16 but I do way more in town driving than hiway. Just turned 54K.

Oregon has $1.90 per gallon prices right now so I drive my 90 4.0L 4x4 that gets a whoppin 16MPG on an average. still better than the X.

I need a Focus!

 

[james t]

1- i get avg. of about 15 in town, and 20-21 on highway with cruise set on 75-80 mph. im 2WD.

2- there are many differences in "city driving". i drive pretty hard in the city, and i get 15 mpg. yet, i imagine if i lived in NY, i would proly get 12mpg. it is flat as hell here, and there is NO stop and go traffic. you cant really compare mileage to what everyone else is getting because it all depends on what "city" you're in. hills and stop and go traffic kill mileage. so does a heavy right foot.

 

[SVO LOU]

My best (97 AWD 5.0) has been a 17.5 MPG on the highway.
I don't even want to know what it is in town.

My 5.0 Cobra gets 26.5 MPG on the highway with 3.55 gears.

Lou.

 

[BNick]

The only "mod" on my 98 Limited 5.0 AWD 3.73's is a K&N air filter in the stock plumbing.

My daily commute is about 7 miles one-way, including stops at schools, La Bou for coffee, and then 2 miles of freeway to work. Fuel/trip computer is pretty accurate (5 measured miles, 600 miles driving).

I don't put my foot in it (too often), I do long coasts to stop lights, use cruise on freeway (good for 2-3 mpg on instantaneous mpg reading), and feather back on the gas pedal after I reach speed (improves 2-4 mpg per computer).

For my average driving I get 15.7 in summer (A/C) and 16.2 in winter. Cruising the freeway I get 22-24 mpg at 62-66 mph. Towing our 22' Travel Trailer (5500 wet with toys) I got 11.9 on a 300 mile trip with A/C most of the time (180 miles flat @62 mph and 120 miles mountains, 4000' gain, several 3-7 % grades, 2-lane, averaged 45 mph).

Obviously your mileage may vary, but I really watch the computer and trying to maintain the best mpg reading. Kinda like watching the vacuum gauge on my old 67 Cuda...

 

[BNick]

forgot to mention that I am running on Continental radials at 30 psi.