Wanted better gas mileage and power

[Fritt]

I am looking for some suggestions to just make a little more power and gain some gas mileage. My explorer just seems slugish, she runs smooth and travel 1500 mile road trips all the time. I usually have some extra weight in and i would just like to be able to maintain speed going up hills better and get over the 16-17 mpg on the highway.

Any suggestions would be awesome! It is a 94 sport with manual tranny

 

[Flip4ford]

better gears!

 

[Fritt]

what gears do you suggest and what improvements will i see? I am not a ford guy, car guy yes. But I know different vehicles I have had respond differently to different gearing.

 

[Jason94sport]

See what gears you have now...Under axle code on the door sticker there is a code. Get that & put it in Google & it will tell you what gears you have.

Unfortunately, there isn't much you can do for gas mileage. Make sure maintenance is done & drive lighter. It's not built for gas mileage or speed. Have to accept that.
What size tires are you running?
You can add some sort of aftermarket muffler & cat converter & that should increase mileage a little but not anything that dramatic.
The 5 speed should get better mileage then the auto. It's lighter.
My 5 speed sport gets about 16-17 normally. All HW I might see 18 if I keep it at 65 or below & drive easy with no AC on.(ac is always on in Fl)

 

[Blue91Ex]

the gearing is also shown on teh driver door sticker. with my 91 with the automatic i get around 16.5mpg with mostly highway @ 55mph driving and summer tires on, driving style makes a b ig difference as well in mpg, and little things like new plugs and wires and wieght reduction (is there some tools or things you dont need in teh truck?)(spare tire also adds some weight) These make a small difference in gas milage. You really should be getting better mpg with the 5 speed, like i said i have the auto and didnt get much better than you, and my engine doesnt run very well either.

 

[jd4242]

Efan, underdrive crank pulley, tires/air psi and gears (depending on what you have).in a sport 5speed should get better than 16 on highway. Like everyone suggested, tune her up first..

 

[X~FACTOR]

^all the above. Plus I believe in power to weight ratio.

Remove all dead weight as much as possible. From as little as removing the cruise control to removing the AC components to as drastic as removing the front axle.

 

[colintrax]

^all the above. Plus I believe in power to weight ratio.

Remove all dead weight as much as possible. From as little as removing the cruise control to removing the AC components to as drastic as removing the front axle.

Weight reduction actually does very little. Aerodynamics is the best place to make mods and see mpg. To really get power and fuel economy, you need to make the engine more efficent. Good luck doin that with the 4.0

 

[Jason94sport]

I would not sacrifice comfort for some very small MPG gain. I need my AC & cruise.

you need to make the engine more efficent. Good luck doin that with the 4.0

You can do it. Question becomes how much you want to spend? That's also the problem I see in adding an Exhaust or efan or things like that..
It's keeps me sane accepting a heavy, 20+ year old body on frame, weak HP, SUV just doesn't get good mileage.

 

[colintrax]

I would not sacrifice comfort for some very small MPG gain. I need my AC & cruise.

You can do it. Question becomes how much you want to spend? That's also the problem I see in adding an Exhaust or efan or things like that..
It's keeps me sane accepting a heavy, 20+ year old body on frame, weak HP, SUV just doesn't get good mileage.

The cologne 4.0 is just not an efficent design. Start with the SOHC and turbo, head work, exhaust, and then it'll be "efficient"

 

[Nedwreck]

jd and fr and other comments nailed it.

Plus, switch to all synthetic fluids.

I had a 92 2wd 4dr that bordered on 20mpg in various conditions.

Little things like leaving on the lower plastic airdam thingie under the bumper made slight differences too.

All these tricks add up.

 

[Fritt]

I am sorry guys maybe I actually should have been more specific.... All fluids in drive train are synthetic as well as motor. I just did full new suspension along with rear over load bags, rear air shocks, add a leaf, and new front coils and shocks along with add in bags to the front coils. The reason I get 16 now is because of the 3000 pounds of car audio.......ya i know alot of weight and a good reason on why I am down, before the weight I was 20-21. but she does sputter ocasionally and I do get spark knock, however I did do new plugs, wires, master coil (all the best I could find). Hell I swapped all fluids and ran cleaners through everything even did new thermostat with the radiator flushing i did. I just want to show that I have litterally gone over every basic thing. I just dont know any tricks with the vehicle. after i did all of that i got closer to 21 going about 80-83. going 55 on hwy i got about 17....i tried to figure out that one....no luck.

I would like to try and get a little better mileage and hills are killing me with the weight! I was just seeing if anyone found any little tricks/tips that can be done to increase these things.

I like this vehicle and I use it for stuff with both of my jobs (hense the stereo). I dont have to drive it but its nice and I like to be able to show off our products in an insane build, i do have 3 vehicles way newer but I do know vehicles and know how to take care of them.. I mean who in their right mind would drive a 94 across country all the time when they have 07 10 and 12 sitting at home? And with everything I did I already dropped about $2500 into everything to make it an amazing ride and running good.

Only things are the spark knock baffles me, if you dont start for a day she dies at least twice before will stay running, she will spit and sputter if she is cold and randomly its like i lose all power when in over drive, have to down shift then its all good.

Original post I made half asleep, so sorry about not explaining everthing like i normally do

 

[jd4242]

What gears do you have??what size tires??If you have say 3.55 it would explain why it sucks on hills and also why you get better mpg at higher speeds..but if you got the basics covered then try efan and under drive.it will release some power and gain probably 3-4mpg.udp is not cheap tho..either are gears but probably going to gain the most with them ""if"" you have higher gears

 

[colintrax]

Pinging:

You run'n 87 octane?

Can't do that unless you pull the Octane Adjust Shorting Bar.

The plug is located by the OBD-I test port.

Here's a thread with a pic. (this one has already been removed):

If yours is still in there; pull it; No more pinging. Then you can mash on it for the hills!

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=372587&highlight=octane+plug

Shouldn't you be using 87 octane on the 4.0? What I run in my trucks and they don't ping

 

[jd4242]

Pulling the bar is sure not going to help with power...truck will be a dog after that..best thing is to run 93 and cleaner, then get up on it and let it bounce off the rev limiter a couple times in first gear..that is if the rest of the motor is in good running conditions

 

[colintrax]

NO it's optional.

that's why the octane adjust-ability.

It's not meant for adjustability it's meant for setting timing

 

[colintrax]

Right if you remove it it retards the timing 3*

That's the "Adjustment" needed for running 87 octane.

You're "correct" but the truck is meant to run 87 with it plugged in. Taking it out is not going to help power or fuel economy. Just masking a problem

 

[colintrax]

That's the argument right there.

"with it or without it" for 87 octane.

I know the answer and it's in my owners manual.

Not look'n for an e-fight.

But you are wrong.

And you are misquoting me I never said it would increase power or economy it will take care of "Pinging" on 87 octane gas. That is all.

I wasn't misquoting, the topic of this thread is better power and mpg. Which is hurt when you retard the timing.
As far as I know the 4.0 is supposed to run 87. Retarding the timing will "fix" the pinging just the same as advancing the timing will cause it. But it's not fixing the problem. JD is right, you should run some cleaner through it. On an old truck it's probably pinging from carbon deposits.
Just as easy to fix it the right way than the wrong way. So why do it the wrong way?
Oh yeah, I'm a world class e-fighter btw

 

[Jason94sport]

93 owners manual.....

 

[Carguy3J]

Technically, the octane shorting bar ADDS timing, when it is installed. How much depends on which "pill" is installed. While it is highly unlikely you'll be able to locate new ones, or even find any reliable source for used ones, the did in fact come in different "flavors". I have no idea what you might find in which vehicle/engine combos though.

In my case, and probably the majority of us with this motor, in this application (remember, Ford probably employed octane shorting bars in other applications), the shorting bar is a 3 degree "pill". Removing reduces timing by 3 degree ACROSS THE BOARD.

You also have to be sure it is the octane shorting bar that you are pulling out, and NOT the SPOUT connector. Visually, they are identical. Functionally, they are not. Its safe to drive with the octane shorting bar pulled. It is NOT safe to drive with the SPOUT pulled. Pulling the spout connector LOCKS timing at 10 deg advance. It will run like a dog, and you risk engine damage. It is meant for stationary diagnostic use only.

The 4.0L-OHV and Explorer/Ranger combo were designed/"tuned" to run on 87 octane, when new, and at sea level. The octane shorting bar is there so you can pull it temporarily if operating the vehicle with reduced quality fuels or at higher altitudes then normal.

I pulled the bar out for about week. It was down on power a little, but otherwise ran fine. It eliminated some pinging under load. It DID lower my fuel economy noticeably though. However, I wanted the power and the mileage back, so I put it back in.

Recently I began to experience some pretty bad pinging/rattling. It was so bad, I though it was a serious valve train issue. I decided to try running 93 octane. Big difference. Much of the "can of marbles" under load went away.

As the motor ages and accumulates carbon deposits, octane requirements can creep up, for several reasons. I suppose that "having" to run 93 octane can be seen as a "band-aid" fix as well, but I thin it a more acceptable one then cutting the , ummm, "man parts" off of your truck by permanently pulling the octane bar. The "right" way to fix it is an engine overhaul restoring to like new specs (or better), but that's not always practical.