Go Back   EcoModder Forum > EcoModding > EcoModding Central
Register Now
 Register Now
 

Reply  Post New Thread
 
Submit Tools LinkBack Thread Tools
Old 06-01-2017, 11:57 AM   #11 (permalink)
Focused on MPG
 
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Uphill from the river!
Posts: 429

Marinator - '06 Mercury Mariner Premier
90 day: 10.61 mpg (US)

SILVER BULLET - '19 DODGE GRAND CARAVAN GT
90 day: 17.68 mpg (US)

Myrtle - Wife's JKU - '12 Jeep JK Unlimited Sport
90 day: 15.41 mpg (US)
Thanks: 122
Thanked 126 Times in 100 Posts
I run the Dongle and the Dash Command app myself

__________________







Staying Focus'd on MPG
  Reply With Quote
Alt Today
Popular topics

Other popular topics in this forum...

   
Old 06-01-2017, 11:28 PM   #12 (permalink)
Master EcoModder
 
101Volts's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: Pennsylvania
Posts: 506

Woody - '90 Mercury Grand Marquis Wagon LS
Last 3: 19.57 mpg (US)

Brick - '99 Chevrolet K2500 Suburban LS
Last 3: 12.94 mpg (US)

M. C. - '01 Chevrolet Impala Base
90 day: 17.09 mpg (US)

R. J. - '05 Ford Explorer 4wd
90 day: 16 mpg (US)
Thanks: 934
Thanked 34 Times in 28 Posts
What oil Brand, Line and Viscosity have you been using? I read there were three different engines available in this vehicle. If you're using 10w30 switch to 5w30 at the next oil change if your engine's not too worn, 5w30's gentler on cold starts and better for cold start mileage.

Add an air dam for HWY mileage; they can be made cheaply in a moderately robust fashion with floor matting and hardware. Your bumper might already have holes in it that you can add the bolts to. Don't make brackets with bent plastic like I initially did, it broke too easily; metal brackets are mandatory. Don't make the dam scrape the ground either.
__________________




Last edited by 101Volts; 06-01-2017 at 11:35 PM..
  Reply With Quote
Old 06-02-2017, 03:30 PM   #13 (permalink)
Lurking Eco-wall-o-texter
 
Join Date: Dec 2015
Location: MPLS, MN area
Posts: 128
Thanks: 0
Thanked 65 Times in 45 Posts
Quote:
Originally Posted by 101Volts View Post
What oil Brand, Line and Viscosity have you been using? I read there were three different engines available in this vehicle. If you're using 10w30 switch to 5w30 at the next oil change if your engine's not too worn, 5w30's gentler on cold starts and better for cold start mileage.
Hello 101Volts,

I'm Using 5w30 "whatever is cheapest at the gas station" and/or whatever the oil change place uses. This is the 4.0 OHV non-SOHC "Cologne" V6. When I got it it was leaky. I've been working on it and I think I have most of the leaks fixed, but need to do a good scrubbing of the gunk and drive a while to be sure. No synthetic oil until I am sure the leaks are gone, blowby/contamination of oil is low, heads aren't cracked, headgaskets aren't on their way out, etc. It'll take a while to get it at a good starting point, then maybe I'll look at at least a semi-synthetic. For a cheap truck with over 150k miles on it that is known for cracking heads/blowing head gaskets I'm not that keen on putting something in it that could get ruined quickly, and I don't have the secondary filtration/oil analysis tech to do long drain intervals. If I could find info on whether the amount of oil in a filter is enough to replenish the additive package at reasonable change intervals, plus info on what level of filtration is "really" needed to keep the oil film healthy and not sludge things up, I maybe could go synthetic. Not going into the engine for oil system mods, though, so if the stock oil pump can't handle an additional bypass oil system, ain't happening.

Driveline will get synthetic when I get around to changing it.

Quote:
Originally Posted by 101Volts View Post
Add an air dam for HWY mileage; they can be made cheaply in a moderately robust fashion with floor matting and hardware. Your bumper might already have holes in it that you can add the bolts to. Don't make brackets with bent plastic like I initially did, it broke too easily; metal brackets are mandatory. Don't make the dam scrape the ground either.
Mods will start with a gauge of some sort, then removal of the roof rack, etc. before I get to add-ons. Conveyor-belting type air-dam is on the potential list, as it will hide all manner of ugliness under the rig while I save up for tucking the driveline/gas-tank above the bottom of the framerail and add full skidplates. The plan is to make a daily-driver/weekend warrior off-road rig out of it. Cheaply.

I'll likely mostly be fixing stuff I find wrong with it vs. modding it though, at least for a while. Right now I need to shift my "wrenching time" focus to house projects that have been languishing.

Quote:
Originally Posted by FordMan View Post
I run the Dongle and the Dash Command app myself
Hello FordMan,

How accurate have you found the app to be? What Dongle are you using, any problems with it? Dongle and Forscan is one possibility I've been looking at, and all of the apps appear to use the same basic OBD2 info, though Forscan may have some Ford-specific PID accesses that update a bit faster or similar.

I do want a feedback gauge, and I have a spiffy new soldering iron to play with. Trying to strike the balance between "works great, does most of what I want, but was expensive and didn't need the soldering iron" vs. "was really cheap, requires soldering, but the setup got me so frustrated I threw it in a gallon of gas and burned it out of spite". Might go with MPGuino and a separate dongle/app for code reading. Anyone ever get a 'duino board to both run MPGuino code and the code needed to act as a gateway between the OBD2 port and a wifi shield? IE, be both an MPGuino and an ELM327 wifi dongle in the same package? I love it when I can make one thing do more than one task at the same time.

I need to read up more on the Ultragauge, too. I forget whether it has problems with MPG accuracy when one cuts the fuel feed for engine off coasting (if I get an electric power steering pump to keep air out of the lines, thus preventing the HORRIBLE death-wobble-like-vibration that results) or on-demand DFCO at arbitrary rpm/throttle position (WOT should give less deceleration than "regular" DFCO). I also still can't tell how much less accurate it is than the MPGuino - and with a base goal of "beat 20mpg consistently" I don't even know how accurate I need it to be. I keep a paper fuel log so I always have math to fall back on, at least.
  Reply With Quote
Old 06-02-2017, 05:36 PM   #14 (permalink)
Focused on MPG
 
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Uphill from the river!
Posts: 429

Marinator - '06 Mercury Mariner Premier
90 day: 10.61 mpg (US)

SILVER BULLET - '19 DODGE GRAND CARAVAN GT
90 day: 17.68 mpg (US)

Myrtle - Wife's JKU - '12 Jeep JK Unlimited Sport
90 day: 15.41 mpg (US)
Thanks: 122
Thanked 126 Times in 100 Posts
After buying 2 cheap dongles and having one warrantied twice, (car would die and theft light would start flashing), I bought one that is about $25.00 and it has worked well (except for when I thought it had finally went out and I just had my bluetooth turned off).

The Dash Command app has the ability to put in your vehicle parameters, (gear ratios for up to 6 gears, final drive ratio, engine size, tire size)

The app is free but to do the vehicle specific pids it is $10.00 and you have a login so that it saves.

If you go on dashxl.net, you can get a lot of different interfaces/skins, I currently run the Regal interface/skin, and I switch back to the stock skin when resetting trips and logs, you can also check and clear most computer codes, I even reset a seat belt light code once

Adapter: New BAFX ELM327 Bluetooth OBD 2 CAN V1.5 Scan Tool Android OBD Reader / Scanner | eBay

--- I have found the app to be about 2-5% off, about normal of even factory gauge instrumentation.
__________________







Staying Focus'd on MPG

Last edited by ECO-AKJ; 06-02-2017 at 05:39 PM.. Reason: App accuracy
  Reply With Quote
Old 06-03-2017, 02:00 AM   #15 (permalink)
Lean Burn Cruiser!
 
BabyDiesel's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: Johnston County, NC
Posts: 931

Big Blazin' - '88 Chevrolet K5 Blazer Silverado
SUV
90 day: 14.97 mpg (US)

Chili - '00 Honda Insight
Gen-1 Insights
Team Honda
House of Tudor
Team Streamliner
90 day: 72.29 mpg (US)
Thanks: 835
Thanked 490 Times in 309 Posts
Hi cajunfj40. I came across your thread today and have some suggestions you may want to try out.

1. Find a used Scanguage. I picked mine up for $60 off Craigslist several years back. Best money I have spent on my hypermiling endeavors! It truly turns driving into a fun mpg game. The UltraGauge and MPGuino are both woth considering, along with Torque and others. I'm partial to the SG myself.

2. Read up on Wayne Gerdes. Reread, then reread and implement. He coined the term "hypermiler", and for good reason. I've read that he got anywhere from 40-70 mpg out of his Ford Ranger. Using his techniques to some degree should push you over 20, and perhaps even higher.

3. Aero mods. These are going to be worthwhile on your Explorer, whose coefficient of drag is probably around 0.40. Aerohead goes by "2% aero reduction = 1% fuel savings." This doesn't sound too good. However, the more un-aero the vehicle, the greater the benefit of the mod, usually. A belly pan and grill block would help aero and warm up times

I have more, but work beckons early in the a.m.

Edit: According to Ecomodder's handy dandy drag chart, your Cd is 0.43
__________________



Remember, thank a fellow EM'er for a helpful post!!!
I hypermile better in my cowboy boots

Past threads:
ZX2 modding thread
Ecomodder's Top 10: How they do it!
ZX2 Aerodynamics: Shooting for 0.15 Cd
ZX2 coast-down testing for Cd & Crr

Last edited by BabyDiesel; 06-03-2017 at 02:05 AM..
  Reply With Quote
The Following User Says Thank You to BabyDiesel For This Useful Post:
101Volts (06-03-2017)
Old 06-05-2017, 03:13 PM   #16 (permalink)
Lurking Eco-wall-o-texter
 
Join Date: Dec 2015
Location: MPLS, MN area
Posts: 128
Thanks: 0
Thanked 65 Times in 45 Posts
Quote:
Originally Posted by BabyDiesel View Post
Hi cajunfj40. I came across your thread today and have some suggestions you may want to try out.

1. Find a used Scanguage. I picked mine up for $60 off Craigslist several years back. Best money I have spent on my hypermiling endeavors! It truly turns driving into a fun mpg game. The UltraGauge and MPGuino are both woth considering, along with Torque and others. I'm partial to the SG myself.

2. Read up on Wayne Gerdes. Reread, then reread and implement. He coined the term "hypermiler", and for good reason. I've read that he got anywhere from 40-70 mpg out of his Ford Ranger. Using his techniques to some degree should push you over 20, and perhaps even higher.

3. Aero mods. These are going to be worthwhile on your Explorer, whose coefficient of drag is probably around 0.40. Aerohead goes by "2% aero reduction = 1% fuel savings." This doesn't sound too good. However, the more un-aero the vehicle, the greater the benefit of the mod, usually. A belly pan and grill block would help aero and warm up times

I have more, but work beckons early in the a.m.

Edit: According to Ecomodder's handy dandy drag chart, your Cd is 0.43
Hello BabyDiesel,

As I've mentioned above, I have to finish fixing things before I start improvements, and the gauge will be first. There's some simple low-hanging fruit I can do after I finish the repairs and get a gauge, like roof-rack delete, grille block, airdam/sideskirts, etc. Most of my driving is at 55mph or less, and I already know that sustained freeway driving nets me better mpg than my 10-mile 30-55mph commute route.

I think I'll start a separate thread on gauge choice in the instrumentation thread, after I read up a bit more. For my year stick-shift Explorer, ScanGauge and UltraGauge appear roughly equivalent in function. For apps, ForScan seems like the best bet as it appears to access various realtime monitors directly via Ford codes, rather than generic OBD2 codes, and I think it'll do ABS codes too. I want to learn more about MPGuino and OBDuino as they are inexpensive and could give me a chance to play with my new soldering iron.

In the meantime, Life Goes On and I have house projects to attend to, so my wrenching time is limited.
  Reply With Quote
Old 09-06-2017, 05:59 PM   #17 (permalink)
Lurking Eco-wall-o-texter
 
Join Date: Dec 2015
Location: MPLS, MN area
Posts: 128
Thanks: 0
Thanked 65 Times in 45 Posts
Unhappy Well hello there, potential cracked head/head gasket...

Slowly developing a baseline, and getting stuff fixed.

I seem to be settling in at about 18.Xmpg average when mostly commuting.

Got fed up not knowing whether the check engine light was the known rear O2 sensor, or something else, without having to stop at the parts store to check it all the time. Bought a Bosch OBD1100 scanner. This truck has very few PID's.

Hello pending misfire on Cylinder 3! Had a misfire code there earlier but it was cleared the last time I had it checked, so it is only back as a pending now and then.

Trouble is, when I put that pending code together with the following tidbits:
Happens only on 1st cold startup in the morning.
Occasional coolant smell.
Slowly dropping coolant level in reservoir (pint/month?).
When I changed the spark plugs, all were nasty/old, but Cylinder 3 was brand new and different from all the others.

That points very dismayingly towards a likely flaw in the head gasket or cylinder head, causing coolant to leak into Cylinder 3 overnight, and cause the misfire in the morning until it gets blown out.

So, I need to pull the #3 sparkplug this weekend before starting the truck up and see if there's coolant in there. Might as well do a compression test, too, to check whether the cylinder bore is chewed up by coolant washing off the oil. If the compression is low in that cylinder, that means this engine isn't worth expensive repair.

If the bores are fine, it's still $1000+ to fix, as when you do head gaskets on this engine you are likely to find cracked heads, and while you have it apart why put back in the likely worn-out pushrods and rocker arms (poor top-end oiling on this design + non-hardened pushrods = wear and valve clatter over time), plus all the bolts likely to break, etc.

Finding a used 4.0 OHV of the right configuration ('97-'00 only) that's any good would be difficult, as the problems are common. I could put an SOHC in it - much wider year range - but I'd need to swap the PCM and engine wiring harness in, as well as either get the PATS redone by a tuner or swap the dash, too. Plus the SOHC only came with a manual behind it after 2001, so there's that complication.

So I may be doing one of those "head gasket in a can" fixes, and just driving it.

Wonder how it would hold up to lean burn mods? If the engine is toast, might as well get it toasty...
  Reply With Quote
Old 09-06-2017, 09:40 PM   #18 (permalink)
CruzeMTgrind
 
Join Date: Mar 2017
Location: Wisconsin
Posts: 139

BlueBawls - '14 Chevrolet Cruze Eco
90 day: 48.47 mpg (US)

Eddie - '02 Ford Explorer Eddie Bauer
90 day: 23.07 mpg (US)
Thanks: 56
Thanked 9 Times in 9 Posts
I wish I could take your manual in my 02 4.0 SOHC. Last tank I pulled 27.6. if I had manual trans I would guess closer to 31-32 with no EOC. Mostly short drives under 20 miles. I think 1 was 13 miles to town grocery shopping then 13 miles home. Warmer weather helps obviously. From mpg standpoint SOHC seems to be all around better. Roof rack xbar delete seemed to help but I blocked the main opening for the radiator during last 1/4 tank as well I believe. So can't attribute any exact numbers. Original tanks when the wife drove it were around 18-20 though so would say 8-9 mpg improvement lol. Before tweaking things my first tanks we're about 22. I have a cracked rear drivers coil springs and will be hockey pucking it to stabilize. Poor man's replacement lol.

Have you made any advances towards an air dam out of the conveyor belt. I am looking to do something of those sorts on mine. Don't know if you know of Al(RIP). He's the only guy I know of that had consistently managed 30+ mpg (SOHC). Must break 30 is all I can say. I put 25 as the manageble limit without EOC on the OHV. Good luck on your wrenching endevours.
  Reply With Quote
Old 09-07-2017, 12:07 PM   #19 (permalink)
Lurking Eco-wall-o-texter
 
Join Date: Dec 2015
Location: MPLS, MN area
Posts: 128
Thanks: 0
Thanked 65 Times in 45 Posts
Quote:
Originally Posted by 14'ecocruze View Post
I wish I could take your manual in my 02 4.0 SOHC. Last tank I pulled 27.6. if I had manual trans I would guess closer to 31-32 with no EOC. Mostly short drives under 20 miles. I think 1 was 13 miles to town grocery shopping then 13 miles home. Warmer weather helps obviously. From mpg standpoint SOHC seems to be all around better. Roof rack xbar delete seemed to help but I blocked the main opening for the radiator during last 1/4 tank as well I believe. So can't attribute any exact numbers. Original tanks when the wife drove it were around 18-20 though so would say 8-9 mpg improvement lol. Before tweaking things my first tanks we're about 22. I have a cracked rear drivers coil springs and will be hockey pucking it to stabilize. Poor man's replacement lol.
Hello 14'ecocruze,

If you are up for a project, 2002 was the last year a manual could be had in the 4-door Explorer, so the swap could be done with all factory parts. Or you find one that's in great shape with a blown motor (2002 SOHC's are still in the window for poor factory design on cam timing chain tensioners.) and swap your good one in.

My trans won't fit your truck - changed from M50DR1 to M5ODR1HD or similar in 2001 and the bellhousing has an extra hole to fit the SOHC. An SOHC trans will bolt to an OHV, but not vice-versa.

If you want EOC in your auto trans rig, you'll need to do something like what they do to auto trans vehicles for RV flat-towing - add an electric pump to keep the fluid circulating. You'll need a hydraulic diagram to get it hooked in right, and to verify that you can get fluid flow to the places that need it for lube without extensive tapping and porting of the valve body. You'll still lose power steering, power brakes, and A/C, but at least you won't burn up the trans.

As for the cracked rear coil spring, you should be able to find one in a pull-a-part yard, or via car-part.com salvage yard site, or similar, not too expensively. All the tools can be rented, but you may need a chunk of credit or debit to cover the tool price while you have it - the part store by me has me basically buy and return. You break it, you keep it.

Quote:
Originally Posted by 14'ecocruze View Post
Have you made any advances towards an air dam out of the conveyor belt. I am looking to do something of those sorts on mine. Don't know if you know of Al(RIP). He's the only guy I know of that had consistently managed 30+ mpg (SOHC). Must break 30 is all I can say. I put 25 as the manageble limit without EOC on the OHV. Good luck on your wrenching endevours.
No progress on any mods, still playing whack-a-mole with repair needs as they arise. Have a right rear axle seal leaking, need to tear apart the parking brake mechanisms on both sides to get the parking brake functioning, need to install the shocks up front, etc....

Good luck to you, too.
  Reply With Quote
The Following User Says Thank You to cajunfj40 For This Useful Post:
ecocruze (09-07-2017)
Old 09-07-2017, 09:41 PM   #20 (permalink)
CruzeMTgrind
 
Join Date: Mar 2017
Location: Wisconsin
Posts: 139

BlueBawls - '14 Chevrolet Cruze Eco
90 day: 48.47 mpg (US)

Eddie - '02 Ford Explorer Eddie Bauer
90 day: 23.07 mpg (US)
Thanks: 56
Thanked 9 Times in 9 Posts
I'm not quite as mechanically inclined as the majority of you guys on here. For me replacing the diff pinion seal was enough of a task. So tranny swap probably out of the question for my limited ability. Always learning more though. The coil spring I will probably try pucking otherwise junkyard pull like you stated.

  Reply With Quote
Reply  Post New Thread


Thread Tools




Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.
Content Relevant URLs by vBSEO 3.5.2
All content copyright EcoModder.com