Gas mileage problems help!

[mitch]

I have a 94 limited 4 door explorer with 32's on. Im getting about 12 miles to a gallon and on a good day I can go 160 miles on a full tank ( there are no holes in the tank). I have friends with lifted jeeps and they get way better gas mileage than I do. My question is this, is there something wrong with my explorer or is it that explorers suck up gas? If not what are some mods I can put on to get better gas milage. Any help would be appreciated. thanks.
mitch

 

[Alec]

has it always been like this or did it just go down?

what gears do you have?

 

[mitch]

It has always been on the low side. Stock i had about 16 mile to the gallon (i think)
The gears I have no idea

 

[sawdust123]

I think explorers suck on gas like its goin out of style. I have 32's and I think I only get about 200 mpg highway. I can use a full tank in 4 or 5 hours of good wheel'n

 

[Alec]

what is the "axle" code on your driver's door info sticker?

 

[mrboyle]

My '92 w/31's and 3.73's gets 18-19mpg on the highay (and it has over 200K on it). What mods (other than the 32's) have you done? When was your last tune up? How long has it been since you changed the O2 sensors, fuel filter, etc....

 

[Albino 94LTD]

There are several things to think about.

First, have you changed the speedometer cable gear? if not and you are running 32's your ODO could be as much as 15% off, so what you think is 16 MPG is really closer to 18 MPG. If you have or can get/borrow a GPS, check your speedo/ODO against it. you will be supprised.


Then there are many things to do in the name of "tune up"

start at the beginning with;
new air filter
Clean the MAS
Clean the throttle body (front and back),
Clean IAC
clean or replace DPFE
Fuel filter
Spark plugs
Plug wires
Check TPS voltage (do a search on this site, there is a great thread on it)
Add an oil flush, then switch to full synthetic
Flush and replace transmission fluid (synthetic again)
Check air pressure in tires (run them as high as 40psi for highway trips)

Then tell us what you MPG is.

PS I get 14 city and 19-20 highway in my '94 Limited but I have a few modifications to make it more fun.

 

[mitch]

thanks for all the help. the only mod i have done besides the lift and bigger tires would be a k&n air filter which has done nothing. I will do all the things you guys have suggested and get back to you also about the "axle" code. Its 11 pm where i am so it will be some time tommorow before i can do anything. thanks again

 

[Albino 94LTD]

Most likely it will be D4 which is 3.73LS.

If you do have a recent K&N, clean the MAS first. There might have been some oil vapors that have coated the filiments causing erroneous air/fuel mixtures. edit; also disconnect the battery so you reset the PCM and it can relearn all the settings and adjust accordingly.

Also, get that GPS so you have an accurate reading. I haven't changed my speedo gear and I'm off 10% with my 31's when comparing GPS to speedo/ODO

 

[mitch]

i just got done doing some cleaning on the mass airflow sensor and going through this site i came across some people drilling holes in their air box. does that really work?

 

[Albino 94LTD]

The two things it will do for you at this point, is make the intake louder under full throttle and allow you to run through deeper water, since the stock intake comes from behind the bumper (pretty low).

If you do a full stage 1 performance upgrade, it might help the motor breath a little better.

 

[dtl 2k2 sport]

Dont X's get worse gas milage than jeeps anyways,, They are pretty heavy trucks to begin w/. Just a thought.

 

[mitch]

ya they do I have 3 friends each with lifted jeeps and they get about 270 miles on a tank of gas

 

[aldive]

Take a look at the following thread for some possible ways to improve your mileage: http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=44372&highlight=quest

 

[have2goski]

How are you calculating your mileage? You can't really go off the, "270 miles to a tank" approach. You need better numbers if you really want to know.

I would suggest getting yourself a notepad and recording exactly how much gas you put in, how many miles you drove between fill-ups, don't "top off" after the auto shut-off gets triggered, and when possible use the same pumps to get the most accurate measurements. You can even record what kind of driving you were doing on which leg. eg. highway, city, 50%/50% highway/city, etc.

Then after several fillips you can sit down with your calculator and do the math. You really need to average it out over several tanks.

 

[mitch]

thats a good point

 

[Electrohacker]

my average city has been 17 and my average highway has been 18-20 with a 20.5 high and a 15.987 low... (willing to be I measured the 15.987 wrong) and that's with a stock V8 AWD XLT 4 door in Michigan... not lead fotin it but not babyin it either

 

[Bigmellon]

Yeah, the 4.0L has to work real hard to keep up with the truck. My X get about 12-13 mpg regardless of where and how I drive. I get about 220 miles per tank. I hear that the 5.0L Xs get about 1-2 mpg BETTER fuel economy because of more torque.... especially with bigger tires.