bad mileage?

[rileyrs]

my 93 X is my DD and its killin me that i get 11-12 mpg in town, 13 if i really watch my driving, im just lookin for some tips or mods to boost the gas mileage a bit.
thanks riley

 

[doonze]

well, man, what have you done so far? Plugs, Wires? Air filter? So on and so forth. Any info about what you have already tried would help. Also what tranny you got, your specs don't show up.

 

[rileyrs]

4 speed auto trans.
how do i make the specs come up, where do i edit them?

i have a k&n drop in now, and im getting a cone filter, i have the filter, the maf adapter is in the mail now.

i just changed the gear oil, that helped a bit, and plan to switch to mobil1 next oil change.

plugs/wires i havent done yet, ive been putting it off since its kind of a pain. put the plugs arent too bad so i figured it wasnt urgent.

i just cleaned the maf and tb.

i did seafoam last week, 1/2 in the brake booster, other half in the oil when i changed it.
i have been running lucas oil injector cleaner for last 5 tanks.

i have a magnaflow catback exhaust.

30 inch mickey thompson tires.

thats about everything done so far.
my next step is installing the cone filter when the adapter arrives.
and doing a trans flush and changing the filter.


hope thats a enough info.
thanks for the help guys.

 

[MrQ]

4 speed auto trans.
how do i make the specs come up, where do i edit them?

i have a k&n drop in now, and im getting a cone filter, i have the filter, the maf adapter is in the mail now.

i just changed the gear oil, that helped a bit, and plan to switch to mobil1 next oil change.

plugs/wires i havent done yet, ive been putting it off since its kind of a pain. put the plugs arent too bad so i figured it wasnt urgent.

i just cleaned the maf and tb.

i did seafoam last week, 1/2 in the brake booster, other half in the oil when i changed it.
i have been running lucas oil injector cleaner for last 5 tanks.

i have a magnaflow catback exhaust.

30 inch mickey thompson tires.

thats about everything done so far.
my next step is installing the cone filter when the adapter arrives.
and doing a trans flush and changing the filter.


hope thats a enough info.
thanks for the help guys.

Specs:

The mod is now working here. Here is what you need to do to get it set up.

Go to your User Control Panel.

Select "Edit Your Details" near the bottom. Change box that says "Share the specs of your ride" to "YES" and Save Changes.

Still in the User Control Panel - Select "Edit Options" you will see boxes where you can enter the specs of your vehicle. Enter and save.

That's it!!

Next up: Change the plugs and wires. Never, ever, ever assume that the plugs are just "alright." Scrape some skin and change 'em. There is a thread in my sig about that. A lot of people had great suggestions on how to deal with the passenger side plugs. Even if they were just changed, the fact that you just seafoam-ed it leads to a higher probability of carbon build up on the plugs, not to mention the other more heinous possibility that the person who did them before did not gap the plugs properly.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[rileyrs]

got the vehicle specs, thanks

guess i will just go ahead and do the plugs, ive just been lazy about it lol.

should i do wires too?
thanks
riley

 

[MrQ]

If you don't know when they were changed last then do them.

I redid both my plugs and wires and saw a night and day difference. In the pics on that thread you can see how bad the plugs were. One of the spark plug boots actually broke apart in my hand.

 

[rileyrs]

wow thats a bad plug lol, i guess i will just change it all
thanks
riley

btw any other gas mileage tips?

 

[doonze]

Drive like a Grandmother? LOL, the plugs/wires could help more then you would think. Elimenating as much drag (friction) as possiable is also a good step, change ALL your fluids(tranny, oil, transfer case, both diffs), use the best fliuds you can afford. Anything that reduces friction it going to help your MPG, and if some of your stuff is still stock fluid it could be gumming you up quite a bit. Grease everything that takes grease, check for drag in your wheel bearings, same as with your A/C compressor, make sure they move freely.

Not a whole lot you can do with your motor, not like you could on old cars. Maybe check to make sure all your sensors are working correctly. Clean everything you feel comfortable cleaning. Make sure all vacuum lines are in good shape. I'm sure there are many other things I don't know about, but these are the general things I've trouble shot in the past on my many, many cars. Maybe you'll get some other idea's from people more experenced with the explorer then I am, I'm still only on my 2nd month of ownership, even though I've done enough work on it already to account for 10 years of ownership! LOL

 

[ricco750]

wow thats a bad plug lol, i guess i will just change it all
thanks
riley

btw any other gas mileage tips?

Oxygen Sensors ! They can go bad without throwing a CEL code. You should be getting 15-17 in town. I am now on my third set of sensors at 240,000 miles. Each time, my X would suddenly start get poor mileage, 11-13 in town...changed the sensors, back to normal.

 

[jd4242]

shoot i was only getting 8mpg in town before i did my motor rebuild and everything was new and now after the build i get 11mpg!!its a tank if i wanted good gas mileage ill ride my bike!!might want to read over this al seems to be the man when it comes to mpg
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=44372

 

[MrQ]

shoot i was only getting 8mpg in town before i did my motor rebuild and everything was new and now after the build i get 11mpg!!its a tank if i wanted good gas mileage ill ride my bike!!might want to read over this al seems to be the man when it comes to mpg
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=44372

It's a tank only if you drive it like one

But your right do not expect this engine to start sippin gas like an econobox. Heck, those are just on it's snack menu.

The only surefire way to improve your gas mileage is to act like each press of the accelerator is shootin gold out your tailpipe. (Which the way the economy is going could be what actually happens )

Aldive will be the first to say this. I am just lettin' you know in advance.

 

[rileyrs]

is there a way to check the O2 sensors, i dont wanna change them if i dont need to since they are pricey.

i guess i will just live my mileage, after all it is shaped like a refrigerator, and is by no means new.

plus it takes me anywhere i wanna go lol

i have new fluids everywhere except the tranny, i will get to that soon.

i try to watch my driving, but especially after the cat back, its just too fun to hear it roar lol.

what do you guys know about underdrive pulleys, i know aldive runs them, but i couldnt find anyone using them in a first gen.
if anyone has some info on underdriving a 93, and what gains i would get it would be great.

thanks for the tips guys,
if anyone has any other advice it would be great.

 

[jd4242]

if you read my sig i run them also.people say they are the best bang for the buck but they are pricey though,i did everything at once so i really couldn't tell the differences everything made.might want to think about an electric fan also.both will give you some power and mpg gains.here is a link for the udp
http://www.stuffforyourranger.com/s..._30_37&zenid=57264437454fb52864f8712c0ccda17a

 

[rileyrs]

im worried if i run an elec fan that i will just be drawing too much power form the battery.

since i do often drive with lights on, and i have an amp on the stereo.

so what would be a guess of my mpg and hp gains if i did underdrive on the crank, and water pump, and overdrive the alternator. if you have a rough estimate?

 

[jd4242]

ASP claims ( and posts a dyno chart ) 12.3 RWHP and 16.2 ft/lbs torque on a 2005 4.0 ‘stang,it would be close to that for the ex also and for mpg your have to read over aldive post he also did alot of stuff at once.i only run the crank and alt pulleys.i have over 4000 watts in my stereo and run 2 fans,it works good but im about to go to a 200amp alt but its fine except when i really turn up the stereo

 

[rileyrs]

cool, i might check out the electric fan, and try out underdrive down the road

 

[HahnsB2]

Get rid of the 30s!! You probably have 3.27s gears and it's killing your mileage. Shift the tranny manualy, keep it around 2K RPMs, I could pick up nearly 2MPG in my X by keeping it out of 5th under 60-65MPH.

Underdrive pullies really only shine at high RPMs, and certainly not 12HP on a 4.0. I've seen indpendant dynos that showed 5HP at 6000RPMs on a 350HP V8.

 

[rileyrs]

so what gears would be ideal for my 30's, keep in mind i plan to switch to 32's later on. after i lift it.
so something that will work with both?

 

[MrQ]

3.73

 

[rileyrs]

cool, i might switch gears sometime next yr, and then put in a locker at the same time.

btw got the intake done today, hopefully that helps mileage a bit in the future, but im having this problem if anyone can help:
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums//showthread.php?t=248326