94 f150 fuel mileage increases???

[ToddT58]

I bought a '95 F-150, 4.9l engine... basic work truck. It does have AC, power steering and power brakes. Nothing else. It is geared for the highway. I drive by the tach, keeping it under 2000rpm. I can get 19mpg on the highway but my brother only gets 15mpg. That shows how much impact the operator has on fuel economy.

By the way, I bought this as a "beater" when I was working on my F-250 with 7.3 Powerstroke. I've run most of the 335,000 miles on the diesel running cooking oil. The gas-burner will get the engine rebuilt with higher compression for running straight ethanol AND/OR woodgas. Yes, it will have a gasifier in the bed. No gasoline unless nothing else is available.

[oil pan 4]

I wouldn't run a 7.3 power stroke on much cooking oil.
The 7.3 has those funky ford hydraulic/electric actuated injectors that are very very expensive to replace and very finicky.

[dvldrmmr]

Check out the fordsix.com forums: more info on that engine in one place than any other place Ive found. Consensus there seems to be that mpg tops around 20, but thats without any aeromods. There is a guy named lasitter that has done a couple aeromods as well as improving the efficiency of the engine that claims over 20mpg. I believe he has a 96 w/ MAF so maybe thats the ticket. I have a 84 f150 4x4 with the 300 that was getting 18-19mpg on the highway before it broke a ring and tore up a piston; hasnt been the same since It has manual w/ no OD and 3.08 gears, stock p235/75r15xl tires. Driving style/type has a big effect on mpg w/ a fullsize truck; If you arent willing to change that, youre going to be disappointed.

[Grant-53]

Best mileage I saw back in the '80s was the county highway superintendent's GMC 1/2 ton converted to a 3-51 diesel with a Clark 5 spd transmission. He got 22 mpg and carried saddle tanks for range. No aero mods.