F150 4.9

[greyduck69]

Howdy everyone,

I sure hope I can get some better mileage out of this truck of mine.
Gas is killing me, And I don't drive it much. I'd have to get a second job if I drove this thing to my first job
I plan to build a smacks booster (or something like it).
Hope it works. My only concern is the O2 sensor.
The truck is a 94 with a four wire sensor, I unplugged it the other day to see what would happen and no lights came on and it seemed to run the same????
I plugged it back in. I'm getting about 14-16 mpg now.
would like to get 75-80 but I'm not going to get my hopes up

[theholycow]

That's pretty decent mileage for a '94 v8 full size pickup. Hang out here and read other threads. The easiest and most effective (as well as cheapest) way to increase your economy is to change your driving style and behaviors and employ various driving strategies. Does your truck have a manual or automatic transmission?

[greyduck69]

It's a straight 6 with manual tranny.
People say that I drive like an old lady....Maybe I should floor it
I just think it could do better

[greyduck69]

Mine isn't even 4WD...

On another note I did get 3 mpg more out of a Nissan that I had while living in Montana just by Changing the gear lube in the trans. and diff.

changed it to synthetic..... I't was twenty below and the truck wouldn't shift

[greyduck69]

winter into spring.. I was more going for the ability to shift than anything, also a diesel mechanic told me that they change there transmissions after they get 500,000 miles on them.(Also using synthetic.) I thought that was really good for an eighteen wheeler

[greyduck69]

I almost change to synthetic for the wheel bearings but I moved before It got cold again.

[R.I.D.E.]

greyduck 69

I had a 99 F150 that was a stripper with the 4.3 V6 and managed to stay around 18.5 to 21 MPG.

That 300 CI straight six is a torque monster, so you should be able to use the lowest rear end ratio you can find to improve your mileage. .308 or lower should help if yours is a higher ratio.

Can't remember if your 94 was carb or FI.

Shift as early as practical, get it in high gear at the lowest speed without significant vibration.

Max pressure in tires.

Experiment with covering the bed for better aero.

Coast as much as possible.

Pulse and glide if you are comfortable with that at lowest overall revs.

regards
gary

[theholycow]

Originally Posted by greyduck69

It's a straight 6 with manual tranny.
People say that I drive like an old lady....Maybe I should floor it

Do both. Floor it while you're driving like an old lady. Instead of using the gas pedal to control your acceleration rate, use different shift points. In my car with its little engine, I shift at 1300 rpm on level road unless I'm in a hurry. Don't 100% floor it, though; at or very near WOT, the computer may go straight to dumping as much gas in as possible to give you every little bit of speed (this is called "open loop").

[91CavGT]

The '94 F150 4.9L straight 6 was a fuel injected motor. I owned an '85 version of that motor I got an average of about 17-18 mpg on the highway with my 3.08 gears till I swapped entire rear ends with a friend of mine that had the same year model truk. I ended up with 2.47 gears which improved my highway gas mileage to 20-21 mpg at 65 mph. I had a 3 speed auto though.

[jcp123]

Very nice! That 300 I6 is damn near indestructible, one of the best work motors that's ever graced the roads. The long stroke hurts fuel economy, but if you're getting 14-16, you're in good shape for it.

FWIW, I had a '92 Bronco with the old speed-density, gang-fired injectors on a 302/automatic and averaged 13.3 on my commute, but when I drove it from California to Texas with 800lbs of crap in the back, I had a best tank of 18.5 and averaged over 17mpg with no knowledge of hypermiling, just using cruise control. Those 90's Fords are tough, good-looking, and IMHO got pretty darn good gas mileage considering.