Having some difficulties..

[DannyD]

Hiya,

I need some suggestions here if possible please. In a nutshell, the milage on my van is brutal. Generally I was getting about 18 or so MPG. My understanding is winter fuel will make it drop some. My milage has went down to anywhere from 10-13MPG though. That's a bit much.

I've taken it to Auto Zone & ran the computer on it. Nothing showed up. I've taken it to a mechanic & he can't find what's wrong. So far the fuel filter has been checked. Tires are fully inflated. Air filter is pretty clean. I generally drive 65-70, same speeds as usual.
It had a complete tune up about 50,000 miles ago.

A lil side note when I got that, my van hadn't been run over the winter. When first started driving it again my milage was horrible too. When I first drove it after the tune up, I thought the mechanic had broken my gas gauge in there somewhere. The thing didn't seem to want to move. =)

The symptoms are every now & then it runs a bit sluggish. Not very often, just every now & then. The Service Engine light came on one time, that's when I took it to Auto Zone. Nothing showed up on the computer check.

Most of the time it feels like it's running fine though when I look at the gas gauge I can see my milage isn't going to be very good. I know at the full mark (the gauge goes above the full line) I should have 52 miles or so. Recently I've been down to like 32 & sometimes even as low as 28. At the 3/4 line I'm usually at 150 or so miles, now I'm barely cracking 100. You get the idea.

Anyway, if anyone might know of what's wrong I'd appreciate any input.

Thanx in advance,
Danny

ps: For those who've been around when I was having those Sprinter issues, this is nothing compared to that. This van has 140,000 miles on it & it's the first real problem I've had w/ it. I have no complaints on this van, I just can't seem to find what's wrong w/ it.

 

[X1_SRH]

Danny,

Some of the best stuff that I have found is Lucas upper cylinder lube. I add it to my fuel every third fillup. I use it in my Jeep 4 liter and also in my 3/4 ton pickup - (gasoline motors). The stuff is good for a 10% increase around town, and even better on the highway. I don't road trip without it.

I'm willing to bet it will help, I believe in this stuff.

Scott

 

[tec1959]

Danny I agree Lucas Is great stuff.I think Lucas has a fuel product also but can't remember the name...

 

[nightcreacher]

if where your buying fuel is useing winter fuel,and the wind has been abnormal,these two factors will greatly drop your fuel mileage,try slowing down,see if that helps,i got my mileage back slowing down,of course if I were able to get 10 mpg,I'd be rich

 

[tr]

Definately unusually high, but you need to tell us what type of van you are driving, engine size etc. You mentioned the fuel filter was checked, as cheap as they are and rapidly changed, I would go ahead and put a new fuel filter in, also by a K&N Filter, I increased from 6 to 18 in my Chevy Van, Vortec 5.7. Don't know if you mentioned tire inflation checked, if so do that.

 

[DannyD]

Definately appreciate the replies. Lucas was also brought up by a friend so I'll be trying some of that out. My van is a Ford E-250 Cargo van. V-8. Tires are inflated to 65PSI, & I'm pretty good about keeping up w/ the easy stuff.

If I drove any slower I'd have hitchikers askin me if "I" needed a ride. :+ About the only vehicles I pass are the 18 wheelers & the elderly. A long time ago I noticed a huge difference in MPG at 72 or so, what I used to drive, & 68 or so, which is what I drive now. I generally run the cruise control as long as road conditions warrant it. About the only times I top 70 are when I'm passing a truck & a car is behind me. Even then I'm not gunning it. Just a lil speed up to pass & not hold up traffic behind me.

I'll buy a new filter cuz yea, it can't hurt. Mechanic thought it might be an injector problem. I was also told to unhook the battery cable & let the computer reset itself. Something about the computer reading something wrong.

So w/ those things in mind I appreciate the feedback.


Thanx a ton,
Danny

 

[Turtle]

Check the viscosity of the oil in there. If it's too heavy, you'll take a huge hit on your mileage. If you recently had an oil change, I'd look at either half or a full quart too much oil in there, or the weight.

Next, check the oxygen sensor. It's a $30 part and it should be replaced more often than you'd think.

A bad O2 sensor, too heavy an oil viscosity, or an overfilled oil case, can all can give you a 30% hit on fuel mileage.

 

[greg334]

Danny, V8 I assume you have a Diesel

Change the fuel filter(s), put in an additive when you fillup and run in it into the ford dealer. There maybe a problem with a sensor that they could find easier than autozone. All autozone can tell you is what the fault codes are, they can't do a balance test or any other diag on the fuel system.

I would also consider reseting the computer, it can't hurt.

As for oil, I would say it is a long shot to drop 30% but it is known to happen. I run the same oil all year round and never seen a drop like this. I used to run straight 30W in my past cummins and PS, but don't find that much and went to shell multigrade. even with the 30W i never ever had a problem starting an engine even in 0 degree weather - maybe I am lucky.

 

[Jefferson3000]

Turtle is right on the oil part. Make sure you are running oil that is suitable for cold weather.


Drive Safe!

Jeff

 

[iheartfaye]

Danny,

Sorry pal but you cant "Thanx a ton" because your truck is only a 250 not a 350.

Brian

 

[Moot]

If the "check engine" light came on it should have thrown a fault code. Don't know why the twelve year old mechanic at Auto Bonz couldn't read it. As Greg suggested a trip to the Ford dealer might be in order.

I don't rely on my fuel gauge for accurate information. I keep track of my m.p.g.'s using my odometer and topping off the tank at every fill.

I don't believe a fuel filter problem would result in poor mileage. But some form of air restriction would. If the filter is good check the airway after the filter for dead bugs and other debris.

Also check or better yet just replace the O2 sensor. This is a cheap part and should be replaced every 100,000 miles or so.

With winter comes a drop in fuel mileage. But your's seems excessive. Hopefully the problem can be resolved cheaply. Good luck.

 

[davebeckym]

Sounds a lot like my problem with a E250, turned out to be one of the distributors.

 

[DannyD]

Turtle,

Gotcha on the oil vicosity. I run synthetic & I agree w/ ya that oil can make a difference. Before synthetic I was getting high 16's/low 17s. After it went up to high 17's/low 18's. I mostly run Mobile 1, but sometimes Penzoil or Quaker State. It's always synthetic though. Same oil I've been running for a few years now. As for the O2 sensor, I think ya might be right. First thing I did was reset the computer though. Then I'll see what my milage is. Then do the next thing & the next thing.

Greg,

I reset the computer already. By that I mean I unhooked the battery cables, let it sit for a couple of hours, & hooked it back up. Hopefully this will be the cure. I'm still going to change the filter, but hopefully this will be the cure. If the tips I'm gettin in here don't work I'll be heading to the dealership. No one likes a repair bill, but the bill on this van w/ a $250 payment sure beats making a $750 payment (my previous van) every month.

Hiya Jeff,

Haven't talked to ya in a bit. I hope things are going well for ya. I never did find a local company. I'm still w/ EGL right now but it's kind of a mess. The old manager & I agreed my last day would be Dec 15, but he resigned last week. The new manager asked if I'd give him some notice. I'm doing it though not sure how much frieght I'll have. Odds are I'll be paying for insurance for a week or 2 w/ not much work.

Brian,

LOL!! ok, ya got me there. I shoulda said "thanx 3/4 ton"

Moot,

I do the exact same thing for the milage. See how many gallons it took to fill up & divide the number of miles by it. I fill up pretty much the same everytime. I top off the gas. Every now & then ya don't put as much in so you're reading is off. But the next one will balance it out. Like one time I got over 20 on my milage because I didn't quite fill it up I guess. The next time though I was down to 17.

On Sept 16 I got 454.3 miles/24.948 gallons = 18.2 MPG
On Oct 15 I got 471 miles/30.398 gallons = 15.49 MPG

I had thought it went down some because of the stations changed over to winter fuel & didn't think much of it. Now I'm down in the 13's though & one time I was around 10. So yea, I use the amount of gas rather than the gauge to figure out my milage. I'm just sayin the gauge is going down pretty fast. Plus, the gauge usually was pretty consistant. I'd be at 52 miles at the full line. About 150 or so at the 3/4 line. That kinda thing. I'm not exactly sure how many gallons were at those marks because I generally fill up at 1/4 full or so.

Dave,

I had a tune up about 50,000 miles ago. It should be good but ya never know. It could have went bad. I'll look into it if these other things don't work. I appreciate the input.

I've reset the computer & hope that works. I'll put Lucas in w/ my next fill up. Then on to the fuel filter & 02 sensor. I'm doing it one thing at a time so I know what the problem is. If I do em all at once my thinking is I won't have a constant to know which item was the cure. My logic may be flawed here, but then again I'm an expedited driver. That's par for the course!! :+

Happy Holidays

 

[Moot]

Danny, resetting the computer will only turn off the check engine light and may remove any stored fault codes. You definitely have a problem that is causing such a serious drop in fuel mileage.

 

[iheartfaye]

I had a similar problem recently with the check engine light and poor fuel economy. I replaced the distributor cap/rotor, plugs/wires, and fuel filter. That combination solved my problems.

B

 

[DannyD]

A lil update here. I appreciate the help & tips. Fuel filter has been replaced & not much help. Started on the o2 sensor but there's like 3 or 4 of em. Upstream/downstream/ & no instructions on how to put em in. A friend was doing it & it started gettin late at nite so I held off on putting em in. I think the best thing to do is get it in the shop. No sense beating around the bush w/ it. Even if it's a few hundred dollar repair it's:

1) still won't take relong to recoup it in terms of gas savings.

2) still a lot better than a van payment.

Ya all have a great holiday & thanx,
Danny

 

[greg334]

A little bit of serious advice, when ever dealing with emission sensors, take it to the dealer.

 

[Aviator]

You could also try a K&N Air filter.

Aviator

 

[bryan]

Hi
Danny is the tempuature guage reading where it usually runs?Do you get really hot air from the heater vents?

 

[DannyD]

The temp gauge, all gauges for that matter, are right about where they should be w/ the exception of the gas gauge. I'm going to take it to the shop. The quick fixes didn't do anything & it would be to expensive to keep getting 10MPG.

This van has been good to me. I'll be good to it back & hopefully get a few more years out of it. While no one looks forward to a repair bill, it sure beats a payment. I'm guessing the repair bill will be a few hundred dollars. Not to bad for a vehicle w/ 140,000 miles on it. I think I've kept it up pretty good. This is the first thing out of the ordinary that I've had to do to it except for a blower motor. It beats some of the horror stories I've heard about a Sprinter, which I had one for about 6 months there. All in all I'll take it.

Thanx again for the responses.

Merry Christmas