94 f150 fuel mileage increases???
 

Hi,
I have a 94 F150 2wd with 300-6 5spd. Runs great, I just bought it, it runs really good. Cruises pretty well on the highway, probably thanks to tall gears and a 5spd overdrive.
So anyone have any success bumping up the mpgs? The MPG range stock is about 13-18 with 15 average. So the feds say anyway.
I was thinking it could pull over 20.
I had a 79 with a 3spd manual that was doing 20's but that was carburetor and all old school.
So this 94, the throttle response isn't nearly as good as a carb setup, but it seems to run a lot smoother.
Any suggestions on some ways to increase my mileage without breaking the bank? I may be able to lower the truck a little, and put an air break on the grill, and I was thinking electric fan.
Shes riding on 215 70 15's, and is an XL, all stock. No AC, manual everything in the cab, does have power steering and brakes.
Thanks all!

Start with a gas log so that you know what mileage YOU are getting. Then read up on driving techniques: 100+ Hypermiling / ecodriving tips & tactics for better mpg - EcoModder.com. You will gain more from driving techniques than from a few mods.

Along with the above make the mechanical baseline as good as possible. No steering slop, perfect alignment, etc. All book maintenance to date/miles. TAKE NOTHING FOR GRANTED! Take your time on tire choices, it's a big deal on a truck.

Aero and gearing are about it for vehicle spec. Plenty to read about around here in re the former (aerolid); I'd start with a half-tonneau cover ((where pressures are equal on both sides of tailgate).

Smart Use would be planning trips of all types. Combined errands, best routing (loop), etc.

A baseline mpg is needed. Improvements are the percentage decrease in fuel burn to that baseline (highs or lows per tank are meaningless, ONLY the average mpg counts).

Good luck.

Thanks guys, I will track a few tanks for gas and get that on here. Makes sense to have a starting point. Most of my driving is highway so things I change should show quickly if they work!

Forgot to add (but you likely have a start on it) read all other truck/van/motorhome threads -- of any type -- as there really aren't that many. Take notes, and bring them up in your thread as the rest of us will chime in with truck-related experience.

If you do a lot of highway with a pickup your best bet is:
Air dam
Partial grill block, especially for VT in winter.
Belt driven fan removal and eventual electric fan conversion
And some kind of bed cover, fastback guys are reporting around +3mpg.

Cool so some of my thoughts make sense!
Tonneau covers are cheap, and look good.
Anyone thing lowering the truck some will do anything? As I am in VT I can't drop it to the ground but perhaps a couple inches?
Anyone have thoughts on a MAF conversion? I think my truck has speed density fuel system, or something along those lines. Seems like a lot of work to go to MAF setup but does sound like it works better.

Hi all,
So my MPGs seem to be running about 15.7. I thought I would be closer to 20. I notice a slight stumble when it is idling, I am thinking of dropping a set of plugs in it, see if it smooths out. Maybe I will go for the E-3 plugs. And I need to check the air filter. I will start simple, see if I get anything there.

The E3 plugs are a gimic.
You could try lowering it a few inches. I lived in maine for many years and if the snow is any where near even with your pickup bumper its best just to say in.
You can try to do a MAF conversion but I think it would be quite an indepth change over, I think it would be best to start with wrecked or rusted out MAF ford truck you can pull what ever parts you need off from.

I read a few forums about these conversions. Do you know anyone who has done one? I just wonder if it really gives you any bang for the buck? Seems like a project to do but it may be a great improvement. I had a 79 f100 with a 3spd that got better mpgs than this truck. That was with a 1 bbl carb and a glasspack, no converter. I had higher expectations for a fuel injected 300. Its a joke really. 20 yrs and no improvement. good job Ford. I will say it runs good, but still. My old truck ran just as good. Guess all I can do is try to get the most out of this one now.

I know some one that did a 5L TBI to 351 fuel injected and they said they would never do it again. Not because of the fact that nothing bolted up anywhere to anything but because of the electronics.

If you are driving mostly highway, slower speeds will give you the biggest gain in mileage. I drive 55mph on 70mph limit highways traffic permitting.

I had a 92 for a short time. 300 six, Mazda 5 speed and a good highway gear, might have been a 3.08. With the .79 OD 5th engine revs were very low at highway speeds. On a trip to pick up a Honda CBR250 R I went over 800 miles and averaged 20 MPG at 70 MPH, but it was much worse around town. One of the problems with the 300 6 was the difference in cylinder temps in such a large engine with the cooler radiator exit water keeping some cylinders significantly cooler than the others. Mine only had 89k miles when I bought it. I think it would have been better with the V8. It may be why Ford went with the V6 in the later versions.
Sold it and bought a 97 Ranger, averaging about 32 MPG in the Ranger, 2.3 4 cyl, 5 speed, 3.45 rear, also tall geared. It's all the truck I need.

regards
Mech

Yeah, the 55 in a 70 thing, it ain't happening here. I am trying to get better mileage the way I drive. I'm not driving like a grandma no matter the cost.
that said, my truck is geared pretty fast. I don't have a tach but the rpms sound fairly low at 70. I think I have a tach in my shop. I might try to hook it up to see what I am at. I have the 5 spd, which is quite nice. The truck cruises along nicely. I expected better MPG with the overdrive. As for a V-8, no you are not going to be impressed with a 302. I had a 95 4x4 with auto tranny. Got 8 to 11 mpg no matter how I drove it or treated it. I think the 460 would have been at least that good and lots more power. I will try a couple things with this truck. If I can't get to at least 18-19 I won't bother wasting money trying. I am building a 74 f100 with a 3.3 turbo diesel from a mitsubishi cabover truck. That truck should get me closer to 30mpg. I am about done with these gas engines. They just aren't efficient enough. My neighbor has a 2004 dodge cummins, runs in the mid 20mpgs. So why try squeaking 18 with a 2wd 6 cyl when you can have 400hp and all the torque and also decent mpgs. with a quad cab 4x4?

I do appreciate everybody offering ideas and help. If I come up with anything clever I will share it for sure!

So why try squeaking 18 with a 2wd 6 cyl when you can have 400hp and all the torque and also decent mpgs. with a quad cab 4x4?

Because every single repair on the Cummins-powered truck -- not to mention tires, transmissions, etc -- will be much more expensive. From initial purchase onwards in comparison to the I6-300 Ford 1/2T.

A new set of BOSCH injectors (as re-mans are wholly unacceptable) is going to run $4000. Ignore the symptoms of impending failure and there goes a $17,000 motor.

The Ford has more potential for most owners.

And, by the way, the rollover statistics for pickups should get anyones attention. There is no such thing as "safe" in a pickup at 70-mph not from any standpoint of steering, handling or braking. 58-62 mph pretty well covers the highway speed range. The benefit of higher mpg is just icing on the cake. Higher travel speeds "might" svae a little time on a trip of over 300-miles, But not otherwise (just ego and being one of the sheeple), as the numbers don't jive. Hell, you can't go 300-miles anywhere in New England anyway, so it'll never work out.

Try a better analysis of needs (truck spec vs. use), not just travel speed & mpg. A long lasting truck with low operating costs past a low purchase price is a good goal for any truck owner. FE is not a reason to change if those two are met.

.

A well cared for diesel will outlast a gas engine 4 to 1. injector replacements should be rare in most diesels as long as filter changes are done and correct fuel is used. The ultra low sulfur fuel certainly isn't helping your cummins injection system. I admit the 300 gas engine is just about bullet proof. had several of them, and yes they are pretty low cost to own and operate. My issue, I do some towing. My 300, not great for it in my truck. It is geared fast. I get 16mpg, barely. Even when I drive slower. tried it. As for vehicle safety, I'm not running road races. I am hammering 70-75 on a highway. Yes, no truck is good as a car for handling, but I hardly would say that a truck is not safe either. Keep your suspension in good shape and they are just fine. And you can do a lot of performance mods to your suspension that will greatly improve handling.
My issue is this, my 300 get 16mpg. It runs at low rpm at the speeds i drive but still gets 16mpg. I had a bigger v8 Dodge truck that weighed a lot more, had 4x4 and 4 dr cab, and got better mpg. my little bare bones f150 2wd with NO frills, gets 16. Seems there is a better way. I love the 300 for its dependability. But to get worse mpg, and less performance makes me realize why they phased it out.
The big 3 must have stock in oil, thats all I can say. Japanese cars go for mpgs to improve, American car companies only go for it when they are forced. Awesome.
All this said, I just want to find a few tricks to make my lowly little truck do better. I am thinking of adding a bed cover, and a grill block. Easy tasks to do. After that I don't know. Considered lowering the truck a little but don't want to go too far down.

I haven't done anything to the truck yet. Just tried driving it differently to see if it really makes much difference. Not much variance no matter how I drive it, rev it more, lug it more,etc. Still hanging right about 16mpg. Now to try doing something to it.

As we can see, the 302-a/t-4x4 gets far more than 8-11 "no matter how it's driven". Even the 460 m/t in an F250 x-cab long box got at least 13.

increases
 

I have a '62 Dodge D-100 which got 11-mpg stock,with 4:56 axle and 3-spd.
I swapped a 4-speed OD and 3.50:1 axle out of a '77 Dodge and this pushed the mpg (hwy) to 17 mpg.
A softened nose extension with integral airdam and minimized grille inlet,electric cooling fan,partial front wheel gap-fillers,full rear skirts,steel radials,full wheel covers,and aeroshell raised it to 21 mpg at 65 mpg.I tried higher and lower speeds and the BSFC seems to peak with the 65-mph speed.
I had a E-100 Econoline with a carbureted 300 CID six with 4-spd OD,steel radials, which could not be coaxed above 17.6 mpg at 55-mph (Denton,TX to Colorado Springs,CO and back).

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.

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.

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.

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.