gas mileage

[movielover1]

1994 explorer limited v6 4.0l automatic trans

I was able to get it out today(have to park down a hill and my township doesn't plow side streets till three days after it snows). I noticed when I first turn it on I can hear a humming sound by the gas tank. I am assuming it is the fuel pump. Should I be hearing it at all? Secound I also noticed I may get lucky and get 100 to 110 miles to the tank. Please tell me this is not normal. I've only had my explorer a little over a month. I bought it as a secound car and only gets used to drive around town, or when the family all goes out together. I've replaced the plugs and wires when I first got it. Just gave it an oil change about a week or two ago. Also replaced the fuel filter, air filter, and PVC value when I first got it. Any suggestions on the humming from the gas tank, or the gas mileage.

 

[BP_93explorer]

I tend to get around 300 per tank but I've heard others get more. I've seen people post about listening for their pump so some people seem to be able to hear it. I've never heard mine though.

 

[Pollarican]

My first reccomendation would be to buy a new fuel pump relay. They tend to get stuck, and are cheap and easy to replace. Probably about $15.

 

[movielover1]

what name brand should I trust. looking and advanceautoparts.com they have a Niehoff fuel pump relay for $2.97, a standard motor product fuel pump relay for $15.99. Does it really matter or should I go with the $2.97 one just to see if it corrects the problem

 

[PRS]

ya 100 miles per tank is pretty bad

105/17 = 6.17mpg thats horrible,

is your truck totally stock, please tell me you got like 38's on there or something

 

[Pollarican]

Hmm, I can't quite remember what brand I used when I swapped my old one out, however it was about $10. A good test to see if it is sticking is to pull the relay, smack it a few times to un-jam it, and plug it back in to see what happens. What my ex was doing was when I would turn the car off, the fuel pump would keep whining for a few minutes, like it was trying to prime the engine for ignition.

 

[Mud Bug 94]

my buddie gets 2 gallons to the mile....

 

[PRS]

my buddie gets 2 gallons to the mile....

wtf? how is that even possible?

 

[Phager]

Spends most of his time backing up?

 

[Mud Bug 94]

built ass chev 350 in a cj8 (Scrambler) 2.72:1 axle gears with a tranny that has such a terrible gap (sm465)...1st = 6.56:1...2nd = 3.58:1....3rd = 1.7:1....4th = 1.1:1.....which means 4500 RPM in 2nd to 1000 RPMs in third...its basicly a 2 speed because 1st is too low around town and 4th it just too tall on the highway...due to the jeep having the same aerodynamics as a barn.

 

[Maniak]

7mpg can be possible.. It depends on how your driving.

We get about 13 with our Truck in town w/ the a/c on (it was 90 earlier this week)..

If your driving slow your not getting the best mileage (stop/go traffic isn't good for mileage). If your idleing the truck a long time before driving you hurting the mileage. If your in low range your getting really bad mileage..

The fuel pump relay won't give you bad mileage.. It will drain the battery or not let the truck start.. (if you happen to have a very leaky injector and a bad relay it is in theory possible to have it put fuel into the cylinder but you would have to put gallons of fuel into the motor to notice mileage drop you like mentioned)

~Mark

 

[Pollarican]

Maniak I definately agree with you in terms of what you are saying; I think im looking at it from a different perspective. When my ex got 7-8 mpg, my fuel pump relay was jammed on constantly trying to prime the engine, and the fuel pressure regulator was running way too high. I think that 75% of the problem was that FPR, however the relay could have only been sending too much gas rather then not enough.

Back to movielover- Although I tried to give you some advice by advising you replace the Fuel Pump Relay, when my Ex got milage in your range, I tried a couple of things. I though that the Oxygen sensor was probably at fault, but after replacing it I realized the main cause of my milage loss was my Fuel Pressure Relay. If I were you I would have someone check your fuel pressure for a few bucks, and see if that is causing your problems. If not, thats one more possibility elimated for a minor cost.

By the way, is your check engine light on?

 

[movielover1]

mo my check engine light is not on. but htank everybody for you answers This weekend me and my father are gonna try a few things hopefully we will straigthen it out.

 

[1IronMike]

You might try disconnecting you battery and resetting you computer. I forgot to do that when I cleaned my MAF and could not figure out why things went south after that, failed smog and everything. My CEL did not light or anything. After I reset the computer, all is good, 15 MPG general city/freeway and 20 or so freeway.

 

[movielover1]

disconnect the battery ? with that, the guy I bought the x off of said he had to replace the battery when he first got it. Now is it possible that the system is storing codes or info from before he changed the battery. Or once the battery is disconnected does the system loose all data

 

[Maniak]

Maniak I definately agree with you in terms of what you are saying; I think im looking at it from a different perspective. When my ex got 7-8 mpg, my fuel pump relay was jammed on constantly trying to prime the engine, and the fuel pressure regulator was running way too high. I think that 75% of the problem was that FPR, however the relay could have only been sending too much gas rather then not enough.

The FPR definatly can make a mess. If its bad, usually fuel goes into the engine from the vacuum line that goes to the fpr. If the FPR is putting high pressure to the injectors the injectors can compensate (to an extent).

Also, the 1st gens X's have a return style regulator. This means that if the fuel pump keeps running the fpr will just keep putting the fuel back into the tank when the pressure gets higher than the fpr wants it to be.

~Mark

 

[Jason94sport]

I get 10-12MPG. If I'm on a long HW trip like 200 miles I get 15-16. Even stock I only got around 15mpg.

 

[travislee91EB]

Really sounds like the FPR to me. I was getting arond 8mpg also. I checked the codes and it was telling me O2 so I replaced that and got another code. I looked on here and everyone was saying FPR so I changed that and it runs great now. I usually get around 17mpg.

 

[Killem234]

Yea sorry I just posted a question about this and I get 12 MPG sounds like that is pretty typical, but the people who are getting like 15 city and 20 highway what are you doing? Did you do anything to yalls or is it just plain stock.

 

[Pollarican]

75% of it depends on your driving style. My Ex is pretty stock (It is very well maintained), but all it really has that would make much of a difference is a K&N air filter, and a drilled out airbox. I have gotten 24 MPG on one straight highway trip- 230 something miles on half a tank. However, to get milage like that, I drove about 55 the whole way, easing off the gas whenever possible. With a well maintained ride and a light foot, milage improves greatly.