Poor Mileage?

[Kevin 007]

My fuel economy is MUCH MUCH better with the IP timing slightly on the retarded side. And it has way more pep and less smoke on hills. But its still retarded a bit and doesn't start as well when its warm so I advance it to where it fires up instantly when hot like they all do and my mileage suffers and I loose a bit of power.

This is with a fresh IP and rebuilt injectors. And My fan clutch has been stuck engaged for a while now (won't unlock) Just can't sleep at night after spending $300 on a fan clutch

 

[Diesel JD]

Set by a meter or by ear? I guess it could be, I've actually heard it both ways but I know I timed another member's truck here and he felt like his mileage and power improved but maybe it was different for him after he drove it around a bit.

 

[Kevin 007]

I am now setting by ear.

 

[FORDF250HDXLT]

oops.i meant to post that other reply here in this thread lol.
http://www.oilburners.net/forums/showpost.php?p=540296&postcount=6

ahh well,as long as you see it Kev.
with a locked up fan clutch,you cant properly time the engine.it's too much load and will throw the timing by ear method out the window,and give false readings on your meter.
well,at least the lumy meter type does.
i know not only from the snapon instruction book,but when my fans kick on because iv got her revved up to 1400 rpm i have to wait for them to turn off to take my reading and go from there.
so in short;
too advanced timing isn't your problem(not the most pressing anyway),its the locked up fan clutch.they rob a lot of power from the engine,and drain fuel economy when locked.
have you considered ditching that old thing for some electrics?
its much better,and cheaper than an old stock,energy robbing,failure prone stock mechanical anyway.

 

[Diesel JD]

I don't even know if my fan clutch works. Hard for me to tell with all that other diesel noise around. See I've heard that no electric fan that is comparable pricewise will even come close to moving the same CFM as the stock fan. It is logical from a physics standpoint that that big old piece of metal will rob a ton of poer and economy but then I've heard at least one pretty knowledgeable member here say that it doesn't make much difference if any. Just wonder how significant it is in the grand scheme of things with the size of these engines. For those wanting to go the e-fan route there exist fans big enough to keep the truck from overheating but I had heard 400-500 bucks and that they still may not be quite as good for heavy hauling/towing. Maybe those folks are wrong, it would be interesting to see someone do it right, IE the fan(s) are on at idle and when it works hard, off at other times. These things cool themselves down pretty well except idling in hot conditions with the AC on and working hard with a big load in my experience and from what others here have said.

 

[FORDF250HDXLT]

I don't even know if my fan clutch works. Hard for me to tell with all that other diesel noise around. See I've heard that no electric fan that is comparable pricewise will even come close to moving the same CFM as the stock fan. It is logical from a physics standpoint that that big old piece of metal will rob a ton of poer and economy but then I've heard at least one pretty knowledgeable member here say that it doesn't make much difference if any. Just wonder how significant it is in the grand scheme of things with the size of these engines. For those wanting to go the e-fan route there exist fans big enough to keep the truck from overheating but I had heard 400-500 bucks and that they still may not be quite as good for heavy hauling/towing. Maybe those folks are wrong, it would be interesting to see someone do it right, IE the fan(s) are on at idle and when it works hard, off at other times. These things cool themselves down pretty well except idling in hot conditions with the AC on and working hard with a big load in my experience and from what others here have said.

most people will tell you they will not work.
most people are incorrect.

here's my experience;

1.i bought the truck last winter and fixed it up to get me going.
i haul heavy often.a couple to 3 ton on the back,and pull a small 1 ton chipper.
2.my fan clutch never worked.
however all last summer,i never had any overheating issues doing all this work.
3.i put a plow on this winter.
STOP.problem.i blocked the grill off,and now i had problems.
since i never required a stock mechanical locking up to keep me cool working the truck all last summer.......
you betcha!i didn't think twice.converted to the windstar assembly.
wired it up with a fan controller to turn on/off with A/C control and all and no issues.
4.now i have WAY more airflow on call than i did with a free spinning/non locking stock,so i predict no trouble this summer either.

total price;less than a stock mechanical replacement.

i used these:
http://www.oilburners.net/forums/showthread.php?t=17484
and one of these:
http://www.dccontrol.com/fancontrol.htm
(2sp)
works so well,im going to grab the dropping resistor from the van so i can have low speed,because always directly turning on high is overkill.
if you use the dual 3.8 car fans,that already have the two speed motors,then your all good to go with just that.


i wish i just sprung for the FK50P now,because now i know there is no need for them to spin full boar very often.
perhaps i'll upgrade to that eventually,rather than messing with the dropping resistor.hard to say.

 

[Diesel JD]

Impressive....it's late, or early as the case may be but I will have more questions for you later. This was a well done and thought out conversion. No kidding, it would probably work really well for my use of the truck.

 

[HammerDown]

Factory spec calls for + or - 2 degrees, so 9.5 is well within. With the crap fuel we get around here and Ray's truck being C6 powered, we were comfortable leaving it there...Just not sure what else to blame it on, but possibly a tired torque converter. He does have quite a few miles on it.

Very possible...but, I'll let the next owner take care of that expense.

 

[Diesel JD]

So is it sold? I can't remember if I still have a TC from a C6 laying around. You'd be welcome to that very cheap if I could locate it. It should be pretty fresh as I had a complete rebuild on mine only a few thousand miles before I ripped that energy hog out of my truck for good. I guess pulling a C6 is a lot of work for a couple mpg maybe. But Ray I'm going to look when I get home and if you (or the new owner if it is sold) are interested it is yours cheap.

 

[BlueOvalBud]

I finally got around to changing my engine oil last week. It had been since last June @ 104,140 miles. Last week I changed it @ 119k and some change. It burns a quart a week, I think the rings are toast. It was a farm truck in it's previous life. Since I keep adding oil, I figure it's too new to change so I just try to keep it topped off. There have been many times where I've pulled the stick and the oil level wasn't even registering on the stick.

With that said, 12 mpg has been my average since January 1st with a lot of WOT driving.

I recently began taking my foot out of the floorboard, and my mileage has gone up to 14-16...and I'm still driving harder than most folks.

I am also still sporting the awesome flowing factory Y-Pipe and totally un-restricted intake

Replaced my IP and brand new injectors about 25k miles ago, and they have gotten a lot of WFO treatment.

How are you calculating your mileage? Miles driven divided by gallons filled? That's how I do it.

Sorry for the off-site linking, but it seems appropriate to help a fellow Oil burner out
http://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/garage.php?do=showfillups&vehicleid=6245

As you can see, there have been a few 5 and 9 mpg days. Those were extended idling (yep on the 15k mile oil) for about 8 hours while clearing snow at my accounts. The 5 mpg fill-up was during the ice storm where my snow blowers crapped out and the truck idled awa for 18 hours straight. Other than that, you can tell where the WOT treatment was and where I recently began pulling my foot off the floorboard.

My truck weighs 5,700 pounds according to the scrap metal scales, I have mis-matched tires (225/75R16 fronts and 235/85R16 rears and none of the 4 tires are the same brand, they were free! ) and I haven't checked the air pressure since putting them on last summer.

I don't run any special aditives either, if I remember I'll add a quart of ATF every once in a while. Sometimes I'll add a quart of straight 10w-30 to the tank also. Nuttin' special for this truck, and it starts instantly every time I turn the key.

 

[HammerDown]

So is it sold? I can't remember if I still have a TC from a C6 laying around. You'd be welcome to that very cheap if I could locate it. It should be pretty fresh as I had a complete rebuild on mine only a few thousand miles before I ripped that energy hog out of my truck for good. I guess pulling a C6 is a lot of work for a couple mpg maybe. But Ray I'm going to look when I get home and if you (or the new owner if it is sold) are interested it is yours cheap.

Well, "sold" wouldn't be the word I'd use but, it will have the best home and care giver I could ever hope for.
Thanks for the TC offer but I won't be diving into that job.
PS > I just increased the tire psi from 60 in the front to 75. Rear from 55 to 75 and now she rides like you're on a buckboard...knocking my fillings loose

 

[flareside_thun]

most people will tell you they will not work.
most people are incorrect.

here's my experience;

1.i bought the truck last winter and fixed it up to get me going.
i haul heavy often.a couple to 3 ton on the back,and pull a small 1 ton chipper.
2.my fan clutch never worked.
however all last summer,i never had any overheating issues doing all this work.
3.i put a plow on this winter.
STOP.problem.i blocked the grill off,and now i had problems.
since i never required a stock mechanical locking up to keep me cool working the truck all last summer.......
you betcha!i didn't think twice.converted to the windstar assembly.
wired it up with a fan controller to turn on/off with A/C control and all and no issues.
4.now i have WAY more airflow on call than i did with a free spinning/non locking stock,so i predict no trouble this summer either.

total price;less than a stock mechanical replacement.

i used these:
http://www.oilburners.net/forums/showthread.php?t=17484
and one of these:
http://www.dccontrol.com/fancontrol.htm
(2sp)
works so well,im going to grab the dropping resistor from the van so i can have low speed,because always directly turning on high is overkill.
if you use the dual 3.8 car fans,that already have the two speed motors,then your all good to go with just that.


i wish i just sprung for the FK50P now,because now i know there is no need for them to spin full boar very often.
perhaps i'll upgrade to that eventually,rather than messing with the dropping resistor.hard to say.

No flaming from me, I'm another advocate of E-fans. While I have yet to do this conversion on Burt, it's comin. And when I do, there's no doubt in my mind a Cougar/Taurus/Mark8 fan will find it's way behind my radiator. Those fans flow 3000 cfm on high and around 1800 on low. i currently have one on my gas truck, Elvira, and it definitely does the job.

I finally got around to changing my engine oil last week. It had been since last June @ 104,140 miles. Last week I changed it @ 119k and some change. It burns a quart a week, I think the rings are toast. It was a farm truck in it's previous life. Since I keep adding oil, I figure it's too new to change so I just try to keep it topped off. There have been many times where I've pulled the stick and the oil level wasn't even registering on the stick.

With that said, 12 mpg has been my average since January 1st with a lot of WOT driving.

I recently began taking my foot out of the floorboard, and my mileage has gone up to 14-16...and I'm still driving harder than most folks.

I am also still sporting the awesome flowing factory Y-Pipe and totally un-restricted intake

Replaced my IP and brand new injectors about 25k miles ago, and they have gotten a lot of WFO treatment.

How are you calculating your mileage? Miles driven divided by gallons filled? That's how I do it.

Sorry for the off-site linking, but it seems appropriate to help a fellow Oil burner out
http://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/garage.php?do=showfillups&vehicleid=6245

As you can see, there have been a few 5 and 9 mpg days. Those were extended idling (yep on the 15k mile oil) for about 8 hours while clearing snow at my accounts. The 5 mpg fill-up was during the ice storm where my snow blowers crapped out and the truck idled awa for 18 hours straight. Other than that, you can tell where the WOT treatment was and where I recently began pulling my foot off the floorboard.

My truck weighs 5,700 pounds according to the scrap metal scales, I have mis-matched tires (225/75R16 fronts and 235/85R16 rears and none of the 4 tires are the same brand, they were free! ) and I haven't checked the air pressure since putting them on last summer.

I don't run any special aditives either, if I remember I'll add a quart of ATF every once in a while. Sometimes I'll add a quart of straight 10w-30 to the tank also. Nuttin' special for this truck, and it starts instantly every time I turn the key.

What oil did you use? I've noticed if I use Rotella, it'll suck it down and burn it off. I've been having much better luck with Motorcraft brand oil. Instead of topping it off every few days, it's around 2 weeks,if not longer, before I need to add more. JAT

 

[Diesel JD]

Hey you aren't the only one to notice the higher burn off tendency of Rotella. When I switched to amsoil my burnoff got better but it is still on the high side and some would say too much consumption to economically use a synthetic. I've added about 13 quarts in the 17 months I've been switched over and about 12,000 miles of mostly suburbia driving with some stop/go and some highway mixed in.

 

[BlueOvalBud]

What oil did you use? I've noticed if I use Rotella, it'll suck it down and burn it off. I've been having much better luck with Motorcraft brand oil. Instead of topping it off every few days, it's around 2 weeks,if not longer, before I need to add more. JAT

Regular Carquest brand 15w-40. It's the same jug as the Napa brand 15w-40. And both are manufacture by Ashland.

 

[Diesel JD]

The cheap stuff then. It won't hurt your diesel engine any. It is plenty sufficient, but I bet with some better stuff you'd have less burnoff. I don't mean synthetic. It might be cheaper to just keep feeding it oil. You could try couple AutoRX treatments. If the rings aren't excessively worn, just coked up from farm life and your snow plowing work and excessive idling it would greatly improve things. If you have a busted ring or a holed piston you should run it till it blows then fix it if it makes sense for you or put it to pasture if you really don't like it.