Horrible Gas Mileage!!

[Black01XLT]

I Have an 01' XLT with the SOHC 4.0 Motor with 51,000 miles on it, plain and simple i get HORRIBLE GAS MILEAGE!! i just filled it up 18.5 galllons at 2.85 a gallon and it only got me 254 miles which equals 13.72 MPG!! That Sucks!! i drove both City and Highway normal driving! I Brought it to 2 diffrent mechanics and there is no leaks, no trouble codes, theres a new fram fuel filter! I Have Cooper Lifeliner Tires Filled at 35 PSI! I Dont know what to do!! I Will probly be switching over to Full Synthetcs Throughout Trans,Front diff, Rear Diff, Motor with either Amsoil or Mobil1 im still deciding! and suggestions?? and i will probly be putting in a MAC Intake and Maybe a Flowmaster 70 Series Exaust. That Should make some kind of a diffrence!! Any Suggestions Please Post Them!!

 

[Ray Lobato]

Quick question

What is your gear ratio?

 

[Black01XLT]

I beileve its either 3.55 or 3.73 i will double check later....

 

[lifted95]

I get about the same the gas mileage in my 1995 X. I have always ran a little bit bigger tire, but all the same, it seems the gas mileage is really bad. It seems I'm cursed with vehicles with bad gas mileage.

 

[aldive]

Take a look at http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=44372&highlight=quest

You can do better .....

Good luck.

 

[floydr007]

You definitely can do better, and the mods you list will help. Your mileage, however, is not that off the wall for an explorer. Many people on this forum get around the mileage your talking of. How hard do you drive? Sometimes when im in 'agressive' spirits ill get a solid 9-10 mpg.

 

[Majisto]

That is terrible for an SOHC. I have never gotten below 18 MPG driving in-city. Maybe the OHV, but the SOHC is quite efficient. I would bet it's your driving habit. Do you go above 2000 RPMs? I find that the Explorer rarely needs to, and I always try to coast to stops. Use engine braking down hills too. The PCM will cut the fuel injectors off when you are engine braking. It's better than just using the brakes or coasting.

 

[Black01XLT]

ive read all 44 Pages of ALDIVES QUEST for 30 MPG, I mean even with no mods i dont understand how the more efficent SOHC has that bad of mileage, its not a 5.0 and its not a 1st generation...i have to do somthing any suggestions on key things that will help??

 

[skoal_mint]

lots of things can help you mpg, like exhaust, air intake, programing chips, super chargers, throttle body spacers, loosing weight..

but if you still going to be taking off fast from a stop then it really dont matter

 

[MountaineerGreen]

And I thought I was getting bad mileage- I pulled a 5000# camper ~230 miles and got 10-12 mpg driving in hill country.

 

[hunterdan]

A 2000 rpm limit for acceleration is rather low, I easily go over that when taking off from a redlight under light acceleration. I usually try to stay under 3000 rpm when going for mileage, and it usually works. I know that if I tried to stay under 2000 rpm when driving, then I would be getting flipped off by other drivers around here.

Dan

 

[UtahX]

My gas mileage is nothing to talk about, but it's not that bad. When I added the 31s mileage drop a little. Looking into a new exhaust and intake soon. If gas prices came down, I would be alot happier.

 

[jaguarXTPE]

be greatful you dont have the OHV...lol....i'm lucky when I get about 14-15 mpg. Only suggestion is......buy a car not an explorer....or at least some foreign crap SUV, otherwise unless you drive slower than a senior citizen and put a lot of money into a worthless truck, your going to get terrible gas mileage.

 

[skoal_mint]

why is the OHV bad on gas?..i have a 4.0 ohv and i drive 60 miles on a pretty much flat highway i use a 1/4 of a tank...i dont know if that good or bad

 

[Black01XLT]

That Sucks 60 miles to a 1/4 of a tank thats what i am getting, and im not going to just give mp explorer up to some Japeneese or korean or whatever honda or toyota, my explorer is the last of the REAL EXPLORERS the 2nd generation, its a great american built truck, but the gas prices are burning a hole deep into my pocket and im sure your pockets too, im just trying to get opinions on upgrades or changes that will make it more efficent, also 2000 rpm's will get your ass run over here in North Jersey, i drive normal 2200 -2700 rpm's never really over 3,000 unless its nessacary!!

 

[Explorerhucker]

hmmm?

I just got 330 out of a tank on a road trip last weekend. I'm guessing I had about a gallon left in the tank when I filled up. 18 mpg. That's pretty good considering it was up to Whistler and back from Seattle.

 

[UtahX]

I just got 330 out of a tank on a road trip last weekend. I'm guessing I had about a gallon left in the tank when I filled up. 18 mpg. That's pretty good considering it was up to Whistler and back from Seattle.

That's not bad, I usually get between 300-320 per tank, I drive between 70-80 miles an hour.

 

[gto78]

Bad Gas Mileage? CHANGE YOUR O2 SENSORS! If you havent already... Normally about every 40-50K miles one or more will go bad, causing insane drops in mileage. The worst part is they dont throw a trouble code unless they are completely disconnected. Another cause is sometimes catalytic converters going bad, the FORD way of cleaning the exhaust requires FOUR converters (rediculous and unneccessary) and normally the front two go bad, fall apart and plug up the rear two. Then the blocked exhaust causes headaches for a long time until they get really bad and someone figures it out.

 

[aldive]

Bad Gas Mileage? CHANGE YOUR O2 SENSORS! If you havent already... Normally about every 40-50K miles one or more will go bad, causing insane drops in mileage.

Oh really? I have never seen O2 sensors fail at that low mileage. Sure, some can fail electrically ( had one do that myself ). I am still running 3 original O2 sensors in my '99 withy 120k miles ( and I get pretty decent mileage ).

The worst part is they dont throw a trouble code unless they are completely disconnected.

You can use a scanner to monitor their function.

 

[Bakari]

I have a 1995 Eddie Bauer...how many O2 sencers are there to replace?? Now that I have read these post I am wondering IF mine need to be replaced, my '95 has 166,000 miles now & I am sure no one has done anything to it machnically....you should have seen the air filter!
I am learning so many things from this forum, thx..you guys rock!!