mileage out of a 4.0 ohv | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

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mileage out of a 4.0 ohv

97SportOHV

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November 19, 2016
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Year, Model & Trim Level
1997 Sport
my 1997 sport just hit 185,000 miles, over the weekend I replaced the upper and lower intake manifold gasket, vale cover gasket (pvc vale) did a tune up plugs and wires changed all 4 rotors and breaks pads what kind of mileage can I expect to get out of a 4.0 hov and the transmission?
 



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Fuel economy is based on many things. Tire pressure, differential gearing, how you drive, where you live, condition of your O2 sensors, condition of your fuel injectors/fuel system. Most Explorer's (regardless of engine) get between 15-17 city and up to the low 20's highway. Your results may vary. Any idling w/out moving is a mileage killer, as when you do this you're getting zero MPG.
 






16-17 Avg. under ideal conditions for an OHV.

21-23 on a level highway @ 55-60, 12-13 in the mountains, 14-15 in the streets. This is with the 4.10 gears and not spirited driving.
4x4 takes a bit(more weight), and if you have a 97 without the front axle disconnect there could be some loss,( but the PCM strategy may be different).

All depends on driving, but getting that slug up to speed takes gas. Also the low gearing revs higher on the highway, crown vics with mileage in mind are geared with 2.73s. I wouldn't want to think of my truck with higher gearing, these engines aren't powerhouses.

Any warmups, idle, stop and go will reduce those numbers.
 






Agree with the above. When I really need good fuel economy (for a long trip, for example) and reliability, I rent a car. The Explorer is for local driving or when I need the cargo capacity. Mine is probably more like 10 mpg in the city (short hops) and 16-18 mpg on the freeway (80 mph).
 






I have a 96 EB Explorer 4x4, 4r55e trans, 4.0 OHV, stock 255/70R-16 tires 35 psi. I have close to 160K miles. 4.10 gear.
I get a consistent 15.5 MPG with a mix of, 80/20%, city and freeway driving respectively.
I used to get 15.9 MPG average but since installing a full size roof rack it has been at 15.5.
The highest I've seen is 18 mpg with almost all freeway driving @75mph with cruise control.

 






Did they all come with 4.10 gears? Couldn't even imagine trying to accelerate that thing with the full size 4 door, But from what I understand this motor is very reliable people are getting three hundred thousand plus miles out of it before rebuild.
 






I'm at ~340,000 on my Ranger's 4.0, still going fairly strong. Only engine work was a lower intake gasket about 6 years ago.
 






Did they all come with 4.10 gears?

No. Many came with 3.73 gears. Some 1st gen (OHV's) unfortunately came with 3.27's like my truck.

Mine has 183,000 miles on it, still pulls great.

I get 12-13 mpg in worst-case conditions: hilly town, cold weather, stop-and-go driving, and 17-18 on the highway. I assume a freeway is the same as a highway? :)
 






They are reliable and very easy to repair but the downside is power and gas
Did they all come with 4.10 gears? Couldn't even imagine trying to accelerate that thing with the full size 4 door, But from what I understand this motor is very reliable people are getting three hundred thousand plus miles out of it before rebuild.
I think the higher trims and 4x4 came with 4.10s. Also 16" wheels come with that ratio. There are 4 doors with with numerically lower gears.
The initial torque on take off isn't bad, sometimes surprising. As speed increases though you can feel the lack of horsepower and the weight of the truck. I can see it towing but you are really going to be revving it in 3rd gear.

It is not a quiet, refined engine either. It is a real "truck" engine, that runs a long time and can take some abuse. The bottom end and timing never fails, some of them have weaknesses in the heads, but the way things are it is not a bad job to replace.

You aren't going to get too many tickets with it, and you don't want to be driving it too fast anyway. I don't like to take it above 60 or so.

Like lobo said it is great for local use, also getting to the store in a snowstorm when the local streets aren't plowed. Last summer i piled in pavers to the gvwr, drove it no faster than 25-30Mph, then to an offroad site. No problems at all. The cargo springs in the back are a great upgrade. Not sure I would want a cross country trip in it, but it wouldn't be the worst thing. The seats are quite nice, even better with the heat!
 






My '96 has been in our family since '97. My mom bought it second hand off a Ford dealer with 27000km, then my dad took it when she bought an Escape, then he gave it to me when he bought an Edge (we are a Ford family lol). It currently has 360000km+ and I use it every day in the winter, and some days when I dont want to take the SVT out lol.

It hasnt been perfect, but damn near close. In 21 years its had: rear timing cover resealed (early 2000s), 1 rad, 1st transmission (cooler cracked and mixed coolant with the tranny fluid), front ball joints (twice), sway bar links (twice, soon to be a third), 1 wind shield, fuel pump, couple sets of tires, tune-ups, fuel filters, brake jobs etc. Cat-back system and Y pipe, driver side headlight assembly, 2nd transmission (dad shut it off on the highway and nuked the front pump, currently still in the truck being held together with Lucas), 1 upper and lower manni gasket and valve cover, 1st set of shocks (done @ 340000km), 1st set of rear springs (done @ 360000km) and finally the fuel filler neck (converted to '97 spec)

The wheel bearings, brake calipers, suspension bushings, exhaust manifolds, engine and pretty much everything else not listed above is original from 1996.

So to make a long post even longer, these trucks f***ing rock.
15267941_10155581013366632_7805065913981935789_n.jpg
 






360 000km on stock wheel bearings? Whaaaaaat?
 












I assume a freeway is the same as a highway? :)

Kinda. Out in CA, a state highway can be an elevated multi-lane thing with a 65 mph speed limit, like an interstate. Or it can be a two lane road in the middle of nowhere w/ a 45 mph speed limit.

A freeway is a generic term for either the elevated form of a state highway or an interstate. So basically, we use freeway for any road where you can do 80! :)
 






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