1994 Ford F150

[Frank Lee]

I bicycle commuted year-around in Minnesota; 4 miles round trip. I think another mile or two would have been basically the same. Even if winter is too much, you can knock nine or so months of driving commuting out. Don't think about it; just hop on a bike and DO IT. If you aren't conditioned it may seem unpleasant, but attack it like any exercise and keep at it- determine to prevail! Think of all the benefits: you'll save what- $8/day? You won't send those dollars to overseas oil concerns. No emissions. You can eat more then burn it off. Etc.

Make sure your bike is in top shape. Nothing makes one want to give up on cycling before they even start, than trying to ride one with half-flat tires, non-functional shifters and brakes, ill-fitted seat and controls, etc.

[War_Wagon]

You wanted to be convinced why you should leave some things stock. The same thing happens in the drag racing world - people want to go out and reinvent the wheel. But they don't have to, teams of engineers had the 302 motor to work with for decades, and you are getting the benefit of that time/effort/research. Yes they have to make some compromises for mass production, but in general the 5.0L with mass air fuel injection has been pretty much scieneced out already. Stock thermostat gets the engine warmer faster, getting it out of closed loop. Your truck doesn't have a choke, so the computer controls your high idle and mixture when the engine is cold. A colder thermostat means the engine doesn't get to the temperature that the computer is programmed to accept as "normal operating temperature", so it will try to compensate thinkingit can warm up the engine by running richer - just like a choke would make a carbed engine run rich. So a lower temp thermostat is like driving around with a slightly stuck choke.

Electric fans are fine for everyday use, electric water pumps are not. Frank is exactly right, they are made for perfomance applications that are not sitting in traffic, getting used everyday etc. One thing that hasn't been mentioned is underdrive pulleys for the accesory belt. If you want to experiment with how your alternator/power steering/water pump etc effect your FE, check your local craigslist for a set of 5.0L Mustang underdrive pulleys, they should be about $20 for a used set. I would wager that a set of pulleys would make more difference than an air pump delete.

[ghostwalker]

Electric fans are fine for everyday use, electric water pumps are not. Frank is exactly right, they are made for perfomance applications that are not sitting in traffic, getting used everyday etc. One thing that hasn't been mentioned is underdrive pulleys for the accesory belt. If you want to experiment with how your alternator/power steering/water pump etc effect your FE, check your local craigslist for a set of 5.0L Mustang underdrive pulleys, they should be about $20 for a used set. I would wager that a set of pulleys would make more difference than an air pump delete.-war wagon

I was thinking that same thing the whole time reading this post. They do free up horsepower I've run them on 2 different mustangs basically forever. Make sure you don't get full race pulleys. Is there an air silencer on the truck? try bypassing it to see the effect.

I understand this is your project and your passionate about it but frank lee made some good points. This vehicle is never going to be an FE allstar. I had to make a choice awhile ago between my beloved mustang and something that got good FE with little effort. My mustang has the same engine as your truck and weights 3100 lbs. Stop and go driving FE is definitely not it's strong suit. As a matter of fact I used roughly the same amount of gas per week living 8 mile further away from work because I had a freeway route to get there. I get 3 to 4 times better FE in the civic with worse driving habits.

Believe me I understand the tight money thing I had to bum rides to work for a month and half because I could afford fixing stuff to pass state inspection.

Okay so you say biking is out because of sweat. What about building an e- bike? Google Eric Peltzer's Electric Bicycle. There's several different designs for homemade e-bikes online or you can buy a kit. Have the motor do the work. Gas kits are cheaper but they're in a legal gray area. Maybe ask local law enforcement how they handle them. There's a sweet 50cc 4 stroke honda engine set up that goes for $300.

How about a cheap chinese scooter or an older scooter like a hobbit you can fix up? I've seen both of these go very cheap on craigslist.

older motorcycle? These also sell cheap on CL as long as they're not a really desirable model.

If you absolutely have to drive the truck IMO introduce it to jenny craig. How much does the bed weigh? Big steel fenders and hood? jack spare tire ect. If your mostly stop an go city driving aero is going to have much less effect then weight reduction. Also weight reduction improves every aspect of a vehicle.-GW

[Execut1ve]

Frank:
now that I look at the situation it really is almost ideal for bicycle commuting. The distance is reasonable, traffic isn't too bad and there are showers at work! My only complaints are one good sized hill and lack of cycling lanes. I don't mind the opportunity for exercise but I will have to scrounge up a bike somewheres, probably from some dusty and undisturbed section of the in-law's (I live in the same town as them) garage. and btw my calculated fuel cost for the one-way trip to work is about $.90 for a total of around $3.60 per day

War wagon:
I plan on ordering the stock temp thermostat with my next batch of parts and re-replacing it shortly thereafter. I would bother with UD pulleys but as it stands now, my AC is just an idler and I'll be going to manual steering and probably e-fan, so the only things that could be underdriven will be the alternator and water pump. Also, idk if you're aware, but on these trucks it's just the one serpentine belt rather than multiple belts as on my civic. One reason I am attracted to the e-pump is the idea of running nothing but the alt on the belt.

ghostwalker:
no air silencer that I have found and I've had that intake disassembled and out of the truck several times. I do also have a civic, its fuel econ is doing great right now, but the wife is driving that because I don't want her driving the truck which could break down and leave her stranded. Also I suspect she would get worse fuel econ on the truck than I do. See above concerning UD pulleys. I think you misunderstood me concerning biking to work, I'm not opposed to the sweat. But I will not get a motorcycle - too much temptation to take it out on faster roads, where safety would be a real concern. You make a good point on weight reduction, I am pretty fussy about keeping a fastidiously clean bed (to the embarrassment of the truck crowd, no doubt). I could ditch the spare as it is full size (more than full size in fact... it's a 265 tire and I run 235's) but beyond that I don't know what else I could lose without really cutting into things like seats, carpet and dash. These old Fords were built strong and heavy, that's for sure

[Frank Lee]

Electric bike like I said. Fly right up that hill and no shower needed. Pennies to recharge it. Little temptation to hit the open road.

[david85]

I'm not sure how much this will apply in your situation, but I noticed with my 1986 F250 diesel that warmup time while driving is a killer on the MPGs. With the E4OD transmission and 3.08 gears, my truck will pass 24 MPG on a good day (long distance @ 55 mph), but for short stop and go trips of less than 6 miles in 30 mph speed zones, the MPGs can drop to half that depending on the weight of my foot.

Now, the 6.9L diesel is roughly twice as much iron as a 302 and produces lower EGTs under light load, so that dramatically increases the warmup time to begin with. Generally 6 miles is what it takes just to reach operating temperature and that doesn't include the transmission or differential (differential seems to take the longest). In the dead of winter it will not reach operating temperature just from idling. I've been told that synthetic gear oil in the differential will make a big difference in the critical warmup period but have yet to try this myself.

What helped in my case is to remove the radiator fan in the winter when warmup time is even longer. For short trips under 6 miles, it netted me a good 2 MPG on average. I'm not advising to run your truck without the cooling fan, but I can see how an electric fan setup will help. I considered doing that with mine but never found the time yet.

Unfortunately, the 302 isn't the most economical engine out there, especially for a fullsize truck. My other truck is also an 86 thats motivated by a LPG powered 302 (roller cam). Best it ever netted was about 13 MPG with average closer to 10 (that would translate to about 13 MPG on gasoline). I would also be weary of lowering your gears with a 302, since they are a mid reving engine that doesn't breath well below 2000 RPM (peak torque is at 2400 if I remember right). Even with my diesel (peak torque @ 1400), the 3.08s are no asset in lower speed zones with lots of starts and stops.

[Frank Lee]

You swapped an E4OD into an '86?!?

[Execut1ve]

I think you are correct about the 2400 rpm torque peak for the 302. I have fantasy-type plans to swap in the even lower revving 4.9L I6 that was also offered stock in F150's of that generation, which should help greatly given the max speed of my route to work and the amount of stop and go. Currently the truck doesn't ever see more than 45mph tops and generally nothing above about 1800 rpm.

Frank I don't mind the exercise... I'm kind of excited about getting into better shape as an added benefit of the bike commute. I'm just not particularly going to enjoy the hill lol

[david85]

Originally Posted by Frank Lee

You swapped an E4OD into an '86?!?

You bet

Originally it came with a C6 3 speed and 4.10 gears. 1st gear was pretty much redundant and 3rd was beyond optimal by about 35 MPH (9-13 MPG). I'm running an aftermarket transmission controller.

[Frank Lee]

I used to view this giant hill as a challenge. At first I couldn't even make it to the top without stopping to walk the bike the rest of the way. I'll never forget the first time I pedalled the whole way! Victory!!! What kinda sucked was there was a stop right at the bottom of it, so I couldn't enjoy a 50 mph run down the hill and had to ride the brakes the whole way.

The six isn't going to help a whole lot. I mean, you won't suddenly be getting 25 mpg or anything.

As noted in my thread on optimal piston speed, the 302 is already chugging away at what is considered to be slower than optimal speed... (?)