What mods to do?

[tnmk]

newbie here

Just bought a '00 Mountaineer. 69000 miles, all stock
Want to improve MPG.
These are my thoughts, let's see what you think.

Modify the air box for better flow. can be done for under $10.00. Did it to my '02 PT Cruiser. Great results. I have to take a good look at it to see the best way to go about it, but it shouldn't be to difficult.

Cat back exhaust. DIY is cheaper, but maybe a dynomax system from Summit for $215.00 might be a better way to go. I don't want a noisy interior. What do you have?

I'm wondering about the O2 sensor. Truck has 69000 miles and I know the sensor can function w/o tripping the engine light, but not necesarily at optimum performance. What are your thoughts on this? Does it make much difference?

finally plugs and wires. Summit didn't have much available for the Mountaineer in the way of wires. But I have NGK Iridiums in my Cruiser and it really smoothed out the idle which I didn't think was bad in the first place. What are you using?

Has anyone tried indexing the plugs? I did it on my '93 Explorer years ago. I liked the results

 

[dreamr]

Hmm which thread did ya want folks to respond to?

 

[Josef86]

Are you using it for daily driver only? If so I think a underdrive crank pulley and electric cooling fan would help you out.

 

[aldive]

Are you using it for daily driver only? If so I think a underdrive crank pulley and electric cooling fan would help you out.

I agree; I have both on mine. Take a look at http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=140251&highlight=electric+fan and http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1377150#post1377150 .

Good luck ....

 

[dreamr]

I think the first question to be asked if you would like worthwhile advice is which engine powers your vehicle. I would advise a bit differently for the three potential options. All have different parts availabilty, and in turn, some items are useless on some of the options. For instance an underdrive pully set on a 4.0 OHV. Hell I think they are close to worthless on the 5.0 'Stang hiding in my garage but at least there you notice them both bad and good.

 

[tnmk]

I posted in both spots because alot of people probably won't read both forums. I was on ################# for a little while before I got the truck and then that forum disappeared.

I have the V8. (First one in about 20 years - feels great. Last one was a punched, cammed, balanced, 4bbl 351C in a '73 Stang. Had lots of power, about 12 mpg hwy power)

And yes for the most part it will be a daily driver. Some towing, but only on the weekends. I don't really know any other 4 wheelers and I don't know that I want to spend a ton of cash on the suspension so I can do that. Unless it is light duty off road.

Hadn't thought about the underdrive and the cooling fan. Both make good sense.

I also plan on using synthetic as soon as it's due for a change.

 

[tnmk]

I assume a moderator deleted my post to "stock" forum

 

[tnmk]

OK, Nobody said a thing about any of the thoughts I had in the original post. Your comments are appreciated.

Has anyone tried modifying the original air box? I'll do it myself, but if someone else has tried it I'd like to see what it is they have done.

 

[aldive]

I would skip moding the stock intake and get one such as a Mac or K&N.

Catback is the way to go. You can select the muffler of your choice and have a local exhaust shop bend the pipes and weld it for you.

There a plethora of excellent wires out there, however, you will not do better than Motorcraft plugs.

 

[tnmk]

Aldive (are you a diver?) I just read how you acheived over 30 mpg. Though your truck is a 4.0 and mine is a 5.0 I still have the same basic plans for mine. I keep my speed around 70 and generally don't do jack rabbit starts, so if I can get even 22 mpg I'll be happy. I've never heard of anyone doing so well on this kind of vehicle. Does 22mpg sound realistic for a 5.0?

I've heard the air dams can really make a diff.

Are you still getting that good of mpg? I saw the post was from 4 years ago.

 

[aldive]

Aldive (are you a diver?)

I just read how you achieved over 30 mpg. Though your truck is a 4.0 and mine is a 5.0 I still have the same basic plans for mine. I keep my speed around 70 and generally don't do jack rabbit starts, so if I can get even 22 mpg I'll be happy. I've never heard of anyone doing so well on this kind of vehicle. Does 22mpg sound realistic for a 5.0?

I've heard the air dams can really make a diff.

Are you still getting that good of mpg? I saw the post was from 4 years ago.

Yes, I am a diver, actually I am a Course Director( Instructor Trainer).

You should easily get 22 MPG.

My air dam did indeed make a difference.

The thread on 30 MPG is continuous and yes, I get well over 30 now.

 

[Josef86]

So how much a difference did the airdam make?

 

[tnmk]

I'm certified open water, but don't go as much as I used to cause the water here is WI just isn't that exciting. I'll be heading somewhere tropical in about a year and I'll most definately be diving then. I did my cert. dive in devils den. That was kinda cool.

Anyway I just filled up for the 2nd time since I got the truck and I got 16.8 for the first tank.

1st on the agenda is probably going to be intake and exhaust. Hopefully I'll have those done within a month or so. I don't have the cash to do it all at once. It'll take some time.