1994 Ford F150

[Frank Lee]

Originally Posted by Execut1ve

convince me that stock is better for fe for those 2 components, or rather, tell me why

Who runs electric water pumps on the street? Anyone? What do they cost? What's the gain? Yeah.

If you do the things I mentioned, the temps will end up right where you want them to be.

[cleanspeed1]

Be nice Frank, be nice.

[Frank Lee]

I'm always nice!

Wouldn't it cost more to do all that stuff than to go find a little econo commuter? Plus he's not gonna bust past 20mpg on a regular basis if at all regardless of mods...

An electric bicycle like mine is exactly what he needs!

[Execut1ve]

I must not have been clear, the engine is MAF not MAP. As far as exhaust I'm running no cats, downpipes into a y-pipe into a muffler to exit in front of the passenger rear wheel. Emission stuff (smog pump/thermactor system) has been removed from the engine as well.

I doubt I could get a 6 cyl engine in there cheaper than what I have planned, unless you have a truck w/ that engine and less than 30k mi that you can recommend for less than $500. I don't mind putting in the work, I'll be doing most of the wrench turning on this myself, so no labor cost.

FE isn't my only motivation for the steering conversion. These trucks are notorious for loud/inefficient power steering pumps, and I'm tired of hearing that pump whine. Also there is a lot of play in the steering, no doubt due to a worn gearbox, so there's a good chance swapping in a new gearbox will eliminate that problem.

[Execut1ve]

Originally Posted by Frank Lee

I'm always nice!

Wouldn't it cost more to do all that stuff than to go find a little econo commuter?

yeah it might, but it's a matter of when I have the money. I might can afford $100/month to mod/repair the truck a bit, but if money dries up, I can stop modding/repairing and eliminate that expense. I don't have that option with a car payment

[Execut1ve]

And you have still failed to tell me why staying stock on those components yields better/just as good fuel econ. I agree that the e-pump is more of a racing mod and tbh I'm leaning toward it the least our of all the other mods I mentioned. However, eliminating the parasitic drag of that pulley and enabling a smaller/lighter belt has to have some benefit, so the objection must be that the improvement is not worth the expense, or that it will take such an absurdly long amount of time to pay for itself that it isn't really worth considering

Again, can you tell me why the stock temp thermostat is preferable for fuel econ?

[Frank Lee]

I have been able to find several free econo cars that were NOT family gimmes. My Topaz cost $80 at a sheriff's sale. My black Tempo was free from an acquaintance. My blue Tempo was free from the internet (Freecycle). The Sable (leather, loaded, not high miles, dayam nice!) was $250 from Craigslist. See why I'm skeptical when someone says "oh, I can't afford to get an econo car"?

[cleanspeed1]

An engine is nothing but a heat pump, and one of the reasons that the mpg is bad is because of themal loss in the cooling system and exhaust system. As long as there isn't abnormal combustion going on, you want to keep things as hot as possible.

[Frank Lee]

And you have still failed to tell me why staying stock on those components yields better/just as good fuel econ. I agree that the e-pump is more of a racing mod and tbh I'm leaning toward it the least our of all the other mods I mentioned. However, eliminating the parasitic drag of that pulley and enabling a smaller/lighter belt has to have some benefit, so the objection must be that the improvement is not worth the expense, or that it will take such an absurdly long amount of time to pay for itself that it isn't really worth considering

Accessory deletes should help some. They are more effective at higher rpms than lower. You don't get past 45 mph. They won't help you as much. They don't work wonders even for those that do go faster. The manual steering thing should help a wee bit if the stock system is shot anyway. The a/c thing may/may not even show up on the gas log but as long as you don't need it, it doesn't hurt to try bypassing it. My take on electric water pumps is they are a racing thing, and racing things like that are not continuous duty. I don't think you can rely on an electric water pump year in and year out, but on top of that, I don't think it will save fuel on this rig. New plugs and wires will only help if the old ones are not working right. <20 mpg in this day and age is criminal.

Again, can you tell me why the stock temp thermostat is preferable for fuel econ?

From #11: If you do the things I mentioned, the temps will end up right where you want them to be.

As noted one of your biggest problems is cold starts and all that time before it's warmed up. The hardcore here use block heaters all year. Perhaps you could try that. I use one in the winter but haven't done it for summer. I have already repeatedly mentioned ways to improve warm-up times and increase heat retention between cold starts. I suppose you could try a hotter stat, NOT a colder one, but then you don't want overheating either.

[Execut1ve]

ok, maybe I could technically afford a smaller car. But for the sake of the discussion let's exclude that as a solution to the problem. For reasons other than "I don't have any other option" I want to look into increasing the fuel econ of the truck. will that suffice?