Hey guys, i'm new to the whole question posting thing - so i hope i am doing this properly.

I have a 2002 F150 Screw King Ranch with the 5.4. I have 282000km on it. Over the last month+ i have been getting HORRIBLE gas mileage (was getting at least 500km to a tank, now can hardly squeeze out 400km). I thought it might be the cold weather or crappy gas, but there's no way it would affect it that much, it never has before!

The only thing i can think of is i cranked up my torsion bars around the time the mileage went south. I know an alignment is suggested, so i asked the dealership when i had it in for an oil change to check it, but they said it was fine. Could that affect it?

Any other thoughts? What is going on here??

 

could be ethonal gas. could be that since its cold out that your letting it warm up and it takes longer to enter closed loop in the winter. could need a tune up. when was the last tuneup done? and with what kind of plugs?

 

You need to check actual miles driven and gas consumed. If you have ethanol in the gas, that can cost you 10%.

Oh, and Welcome to the site!

 

How far do you drive after each time the truck has pretty much cooled down? Shorter trips in cold weather could cut the 20% gas mileage your experiencing. I know you said it didn't before, but.

 

I'm getting awful mileage around town. It's cold and all fuel here is E10. Highway mileage is still pretty decent.

 

Thanks guys! I'm going to try a few things...get a tune up (it's been quite a long time), double check my tire pressure (should be fine), clean my MAF sensor, and check out the status of my lines and filter.

I appreciate the input!

 

You say you cranked up the torsion bars. Was that to allow for larger tires ?

 

When you said it has been quite a long time, how long has it been since you done things like.


Plugs, air filter, fuel filter, even you tranny flushes.

The biggest improvement will come from a new Fuel filter, especially it hasn't been done in like 50 thousand miles. Also if your front O2 sensor has never been done it diffinately is going to be poouched and that is going to be killing major milage.


Your front oxygen sensors contantly make changes to the engine with the way fuel is delvered, when they wear out, the computer uses a default setting which generally eats more fuel.

Now if things have been done then I don't know. Maybe your bearings are worn and the truck has more drag,

 

Winter gas and it's cold out brotha. I'm back to getting 50 km's less than summer months on my first quarter tank. At least gas is cheap.

 

JoryWLU...its been quite a long time since a "tune up"...likely at least a couple years. Plugs were redone last winter when i had an issue with my cylinder coils biting the dust. So they should be good. My K&N is good...check it regularly. But since i've owned the truck (about 3+ years) i haven't touched the fuel filter. If it's not too big of a job, i may do that over the holidays (in a freezing cold garage). And O2 sensors? No idea how to check those...can a rookie swap those out? Thanks so much for all that info - huge help.

And B-Man, i just cranked the t bars to level it out - sat quite a bit lower in the front, and now it just sits a little nicer. Bigger wheels/tires not quite in the pocket book right now!

Thanks again guys, may have to use these forums more often for all the help!

 

Glad the site is a help to you!

You really need to keep the fuel filter fresh. I change mine every 15,000 to 20,000. It's scary what comes out the filtered side when you pour it out!