REALLLLY BAD gas mpg

[Mike]

the real test will be tomorrow. im going skiing. alllll highway i will see how bad it is and post

 

[Mike]

by the way how much does an O2 go for?

 

[Nate1]

I think about $80, but don't quote me on that.
Check www.fordpartsnetwork.com

 

[LiKuiD]

I know this doesnt help you much Mike, but I have the same truck as you and I'm having pretty much the same problem. I used to get around 280 miles per tank before this month and now im getting around 180 if im lucky. No CEL light or anything is on, just really horrible gas mileage. I have no idea whats up but its really pissing me off. I might buy an OBDII scanner soon if the problem persists. I have around 38k on my engine...any suggestoins?

 

[Nate1]

Well mine has horrible gas milage, but I stomp on it and have 4.10s... but still, I have already replaced on 02 due to a CEL and checked my fuel pressure last weekend... 65psi, way high, so that seems to be my problem. What I am saying is, just because an 02 is bad doesnt mean it is the only problem, bad components in your engine can cause them to fail prematurely.... so watch out!
Take it to the con artists at Ford and get it diagnosed for $90 or however much, knowing your problem will probably save you money in the long run, rather than fumbling in the dark!
Good luck!

 

[DonM]

Mikke, silly question but, you live in NY right? It's been one of the coldest winters in like 20 years. Doesnt having the heater and A/C on use more gas?

Last summer I was getting about 400-450 miles out of a 22 gallon tank. This winter im getting about half that! Im guessing it's because of the heat being on?

 

[X24]

Originally posted by DonM
Last summer I was getting about 400-450 miles out of a 22 gallon tank. This winter im getting about half that! Im guessing it's because of the heat being on?

WOW!!!

Now that youre getting half that, that sounds a bit more normal. Do you do all highway driving?

 

[DonM]

No, very little highway driving! Not city driving either.

I average about 50mph to work and back, with very very little stop and go!

 

[X24]

Are you taking advice from Aldive?

 

[DonM]

Um, not really. Ive read what he does, but Ive allways gone pretty easy on the Ex. If i remember correctly, he has alot more mods then me?

He's also getting better gas mileage then me.

Im wondering if the heater being on, is the reason why my gas mileage has gone down or it's somthing else?

 

[X24]

They do put an additive in the gas in the winter around here that will drop MPG. I think it has something to do with the atmosphere.

 

[DonM]

So it's not really true about the whole A/C heater causing poor gas mileage?

 

[DocVijay]

I've been having the same problem recently. Dropped from an average of 15 mpg per tank to about 11-12 mpg per tank. I did add a roof rack, but would that cause a 4 mpg loss?

 

[aldive]

Originally posted by DocVijay
I've been having the same problem recently. Dropped from an average of 15 mpg per tank to about 11-12 mpg per tank. I did add a roof rack, but would that cause a 4 mpg loss?

No way would a rack cause that drop.

When were your O2 sensors replaced?

Have you done an OBD II scan?

 

[Hokie]

Mike, I would listen to Aldive... he seems to be the MPG pro for Explorers

 

[Ray Lobato]

Adding a roof rack will drop mileage by 1 to 2 MPG. Ford engineers say that you will loose about 1MPG for every 100 pounds that you add to the truck. My Con-Ferr rack weighs about 100 pounds, plus that fact that you are now increasing wind resistance. I have 4 PIAA Pro 80XT's on the rack and that doesn't help either. I can get better gas milage if I fold them down, instead of leaving them up while highway driving.
You shouldn't loose 4MPG though. I used to get 20 to 21 MPG (highway)before I modified the truck. I have since added about 600 pounds of armor and accessories and now get around 16MPG

 

[DocVijay]

Originally posted by Ray Lobato
Adding a roof rack will drop mileage by 1 to 2 MPG. Ford engineers say that you will loose about 1MPG for every 100 pounds that you add to the truck. My Con-Ferr rack weighs about 100 pounds, plus that fact that you are now increasing wind resistance. I have 4 PIAA Pro 80XT's on the rack and that doesn't help either. I can get better gas milage if I fold them down, instead of leaving them up while highway driving.
You shouldn't loose 4MPG though. I used to get 20 to 21 MPG (highway)before I modified the truck. I have since added about 600 pounds of armor and accessories and now get around 16MPG

Well now I've also taken long trips with 4 people and luggage, and still gotten 20-22 mpg on the highway. That's at least 800 pounds I had in there all together (and skis on top), and the milage was still good. There should have been a 8 mpg drop according to Ford, giving 12 mpg. Beween the tire, rack, and jack it's only about 120-140 pounds total, and this is with only me in the X. Other than the rack, I have bigger tires, but I regeared to help take care of some of that. They will obviously hurt some, but not that much.

I may just try a bottle or two of fuel injector cleaner. I don't think I want to use Sea Foam or anything like that after all the horror stories I've heard.

Al, I may just check the O2 sensors. They are the original ones, but my truck only has 54k miles on it. How long do they normally last. Also, my air/fuel meter says things check out, so I'm not sure.

Also, I may try taking the whole rack off for a week or so and see if that makes a difference.

 

[aldive]

I had to replace 1 at 50k , the others are fine still at 76k.

I have a problem with the weight/mileage concept too. In theory I buy it completely, however, I get approximately the same mileage with just me in the truck at 70 MPH as I do with 4 people and about 300 pounds of dive equipment.

 

[DocVijay]

Originally posted by aldive
I had to replace 1 at 50k , the others are fine still at 76k.

I have a problem with the weight/mileage concept too. In theory I buy it completely, however, I get approximately the same mileage with just me in the truck at 70 MPH as I do with 4 people and about 300 pounds of dive equipment.

Exactly. THe weight of me plus the loaded rack is much less than what I've had in the X before, so the bad mpg would entirely be attribuatable to the drag from the rack. That just seems a bit much. The rack shouldn't knock 3-4 mpg off the milage. Also, I'm comparing my average mpg in the city. Normally I get 15 mpg, and now it's 11-12 mpg for the same city driving. The speeds I drive aren't enough for the drag from the rack to cause such a dramatic loss in milage.

When your O2 sensor wen't bad, did it set off a CEL? I haven't had any, so I don't see that as being the problem. Actually, I had a transient one a few weeks ago, but it went away and never came back. Maybe I'll look into getting one of those OBD-II scanners you (Al) have. What was the we site again? With it can you check each O2 sensor individually?

 

[aldive]

I completely agree; in town mileage will be affected very little of any by the drag of a roof rack. You have another worry.

My O2 sensor problem was a very difficult one to solve. There was never a CEL associated with it. See the write up at Dead Link Removed

he scanner I use ( and am very happy with ) is an Auto X Ray scanner. See http://www.autoxray.com/index.htm, I recommend getting the optional enhanced OBD II software.

Good luck, my friend, keep us posted on the situation.