Hey guys, I'm new to this site and hope to get some feedback. I have a 2001 Expy Eddie Bauer (stock) with about 90K on the clock. I have had this thing for a little over a year now and have seen the mileage decrease from about 14.5 when I bought it down to 12 now - according to my stock mileage computer. The biggest change came when I first changed the air filter (filthy fram to new fram - 14.5 to 13.5 mpg almost instantly) No matter what I do now, city to highway, out hunting in 4WD, anything....it will show 12.1 or 12.2 mpg. Even towing a 30ft enclosed trailer on the interstate, it showed 11.5, then right back up to 12 when i dropped the trailer. I know most people's first reaction will be to say it's the filter, but i've changed it more than once since then with no reaction. Tire pressure is full and even, changed engine oil regularly, just put all new seals and correct synthetic fluid in the rear end, motor doesn't miss or ping, and so on and so on. I'm just looking to see what everybody else gets in their Expy's (or used to get for mpg when it was stock). Thanks

 

If they are now blending ethanol with the gas, you will lose mpg. When we went to 10% ethanol, I lost about 1.5 mpg. Also, if you are running a wider, heavier tire, it will take away mileage.

 

Have you done the mileage calculations through pen and paper? The MPG computers are not always correct.

Have you changed the fuel filter?

When did you start noticing the economy drop?

 

Well, I have a 2000 Eddie Bauer Triton with about 112K on it. For the longest time, the meter said anywhere from 11.2 Miles to 12.1 miles to the Gallon. Well, the other day, I put a new battery in it, and the MPG read out reset. I drove all of maybe 30 miles, and the new average was 15.8 miles to the gallon. I almost crapped my pants. Thats the most its ever said, since I got it back in 2003. It tends to run better on 87 octane ( I dont notice much difference but a .5 average difference is still a difference). when I actually took the pen and paper, and did the math (Using no ethanol that tank, or the tank before) 23 gallons divided into 375 traveling miles, I was getting 16.3 miles to the gallon. So the gauge will differ some, from what i'd call, an actual mathematical calculation. What really helped me for the longest time for fuel mileage, was Lucas Injector Cleaner and lubricant. It was just like an oil, you stuck in your fuel tank. one shot of that, and the engine would get great fuel mileage, until about 4,000 Miles later. So to me, that was enough proof that the stuff did do what it said. Cleans off your injectors, and lubes them, until it wears off of them of course. But A lot of it could be your driving habbits. Im in no hurry when im driving the expedition, so I keep about the speed limit 65 mph. Dont jump the lines, or anything. But im sure if I stomped on it, the engine having to carry all the weight, would totally alter my fuel mileage in a negative way.

 

Thanks for the quick responses. I just had the battery disconnected last week whe I put a new stereo system in, so I don't think the computer needed to reset. Also, I'm fairly certain that I have been pumping 10% ethanol gas for forever and a day up here in corn country (Fargo). I guess I cant honestly say that I have have done the straight math with the trip odometer to calculate the milage - just looking at my "miles to empty" feature when I fill up and dividing the number of gallons. Obviously the miles to empty feature and mpg feature use the same computer, so if it's screwed up, it's screwed up. I will fill up and use the odometer to calculate my next tank and get my real mpg and keep everyone posted. As far as my driving habits, it's hard to stomp on the gas with that "12.1" glowing green in my face, but most trips are short and in town which doesn't help. The point of all this is that I just laid down a lot of cash to buy my wife a Pacifica so we could have a vehicle with 3 rows (kids and dog) that gets decent mpg to take to Minneapolis, which we do about once a month. Now that we have it, the evil side of me wants to do a lift/wheels/tires on the Expy since we don't need it for those trips anymore....But it would be hard for me to justify all of that if my milage dropped to 10 or worse with the mods.

 

Full fillups and keep a record of in a spreadsheet is the only way to really know. Make a note of anything that was different such as maybe half of a tank was on the highway.

 

Yea but just think, now the wife cant say anything about lifting the expo up, cause then you'll have the pacifica . And that can be your fuel mileage vehicle, while the expo, can be your toy.
But on another note, i've heard of people cleaning out their throttle body from all the caked material, and doing so, helped them achieve better fuel mileage. I did, and I didnt notice much in fuel mileage change, but the throttle plate, did drop at a quicker rate.

 

I hear ya Hespen...maybe I'll let you tell her the plans - let me know how that works out for you! Anyways, filled up full yesterday and my questionable computer pegged out at 335 miles to empty - 30 gallons = 11.16 mpg = son of a bitch. I guess I can't complain lately - I gassed up for $1.64 / gallon, even though it dropped again today to $1.52 (that always happens to me) and I don't have too far to go everyday, but still I'd like to figure this thing out. If my computer is right when this tank is gone then I am going to pull the plugs and check compression.

 

how many gallons is my fuel tank? 1998 4.6 4x4. I think its 26, but when the light turned on I filled up with 26.7 gallons

 

Well how are you doing your math?
Are you taking the mileage from your MPG computer, or are you setting your trip odometer, and dividing that by the gallons?

 

2000 Eddie B 2wd w Triton 5.4 here...

Did you put new tires on it recently?

I replaced my Contritrac recall replacements at 85k with Continental Sport tires (same size etc)

I notices a significant drop from 1 to 1.5 mpg right afterwards. Since they were low price, I now realized they cost me more since they are NOT Low Rolling Resistance tires.

I have them pumped to 10% over the door sticker air pressure too.

Currently running 14.5 to 15.5 MPG on highway at 70 mph plus

Try drafting trucks and buses, it might help

 

Btw, do you reset your mpg computer every time you fill it?

From the sounds of you disconnecting battery and IT THEN RESETTING, it sounds like you haven't

 

Well, after a few days I noticed that the miles to empty computer was counting down at a rate of almost 2 to 1 for the actual miles I was driving after the last fill-up, so I disconnected the battery for a good while and let it reset. The miles to empty readout went from 265 to 330 instantly, and I immediately hit the interstate for some cruise controlled 60 mph driving. When the computer hit 16 mpg I turned around and went back home...with a smile. The next day I reset it and drove around in town, dissapointingly averaging about 8.9 mpg according to the computer. I will have to drive a bit more and do the math when I fill up again to see what my actual numbers are, but I have a feeling that I AM averaging better than 12mpg, and will have to give a big kudos to Hespen for suggesting the battery disconnect - reset trick. I'll let you know.

 

I got 15 to 16 mpg on my 97 I just got. I did the math, since I dont have the computer and compass in the overhead. Thats with 148,000 on it

 

Easiest thing to do is just figure it by using your trip odometer. Zero it out and divide by your gallons every time.
The mile till empty display averages itself every 100 Mi. But averages, arent really all that close coming from the miles till empty display. And have you ever noticed (given youve filled up when your about empty) that the closer your meter gets to zero, the more it changes. I had 14 miles till empty one time, and then it changed to 36. I then drove until it read 20 MTE, and it rose to 24. So it corrects itself when it realizes theirs more than it thought was in the tank. Great example why I never average anything from that read out. It really doesnt know what its talking about