Hello, I just bought my first diesel. As I tend to buy things, I went to the biggest and best. 2002 F-250 Crew Cab 4x4 Long Bed with a topper, and the 7.3L Powesrtroke Turbo Diesel. I bought her in Ohio with 119,000 on her, drove back to Georgia after filling up. She went about 650-670 miles on 32 gallons, not completely sure because I drove straight through without a break and that's when I pulled over for a power nap. Unfortunately after I filled up, I reset the trip meter in my tired state. To my knowledge she was driving stock, is this normal? There is a Banks Six Gun hidden under the dash (the dealer didn't even mention it), and when I found it, it said error. So I'm sure it wasn't on while I was driving. I was amazed! I was driving about 70-75 MPH the entire time @2,000-2,200 RPM's. I am about to go to Ohio for Thanksgiving and just wondering, is this as good as it gets... Or will upgrading my intake and exhaust bump me to about 23 MPG? I was looking at the K&N system and a straight pipe. I don't know what pipe is best though, and would like a little input from more diesel experience. Also, would getting the Six Gun operational help? Any help would be awesome. I was driving a 2 door coupe before this that only got 16-18 MPG interstate LOL.
Thanks for your answers. The f350 I am considering does not have the original window sticker so I am going on the sellers word that it has a 4.10 rear. It is not a dually. I found some vin checker from searchng around and it showed a rear of the 3.73. I would prefer a 3.73 anyway and should get better mileage then a 4.10.
I also put in for a 999 report...which I believe I read on one of the forms here..so hopefully I get afew answers there.
Easy way to tell the gearing. @55mph, the rpms should be around 1600 if it's 3.73's. 4.10's @55mph the rpms will be closer to 2000. With my old 450, I had 4.10's, and I didn't like driving it on the highway because she just plain was screaming to go 70. Never gave me that feel good feeling.
BTW, stock, the 4.10's were only an option on the sd's for dually's. SRW trucks all had the 3.73's. That doesn't mean the owner didn't have them switched out.
Usually there is a metal tag on one of the bolts to the diff cover that will have the ratio on it.
Has anyone tried gear changes instead of 3.73 or 4.10s what about 3.43 or 3.55s my 94 f350 service truck had 3.55s from factory i think it had a sterling 10.25 axle. It was also 5spd it did very well on fuel never really calculated it had no reason to was a compnay truck. Ive been looking at buying a 99 to 03 sd i dont haul anything heavy just wonder 3.43s or 3.55s should drop the rpms down right?
off topic, but my brothe and i chipped his duramax dually, (05 6 inch lift 35 inch tires 3.73 gears 4x4) i drove it to new hampshire a couple weeks ago if i stayed below 60 mph i averaged 22-23 mpg i was scratching my head, the minute i went about 70, it dropped like a rock ( get it? like a tock, chevrolet like a rock)
any who. my 95 powerstroke 4.10 gears with 33 inch tires i can get 20 mpg babying it with and egg under the skinny pedal. doing 60 or less. i thought that was impressive. just my .02 cents.
Before the switch to ULSD, I was routinely getting 20mpg or slightly better on the highway. I drive 70mph, so with my 3.73s that puts the revs a hair under 2,000.
After ULSD, the exact same driving nets me 18-19 and no better.
The best fuel economy I ever got was two consecutive tanks that netted pretty much the exact same mileage at 22.2mpg. Other than those two tankfulls, it was consistently 20mpg or so.
20 mpg in a 7.3? I've managed it a few times, but not willingly. I drive mine 1-2K at a time on occassion with CC on 1800-1900 RPM's and get 17-18 with 3.73 gears and 285-75-R16 tires. I keep pretty meticulous records on my fill ups and always fill it up to the neck.
I did get the 999 report and ford said the SRW was 3.73 (so you all know your stuff...but you knew that already.)
I ended up not going with the truck after a test drive and look over. I think she was in an accident as the hood did not line up correctly, there was a small consistent line on the front door with no paint that was showing rust on the rubber seal and the metal door all the way around the top, the engine was leaking oil in the back, one of the back doors had a hard time closing and I just was wondering what other issues it might have that were not immediately on the surface.
It still was a nice truck, just not for me. I think it would have gotten some good mpg, but while I don't have to have a show truck (ok maybe I would like one in that condition) this one was just not for me.
I'm still looking casually...still like my 2005 8,200 gvwr with 5.4 f150
Thanks for the info...first time I've used the form and you guys are very helpful
I've been running W85 in my 2000 7.3 4x4 with a 4" pipe, intake, 75hp tune and I got 19.xx mpg cruising for 6hrs at 70-75. RPMs were slightly over 2k (maybe 2100 so I don't know what gears I have). Its alot better than my previous 5.4 triton that would max at 12mpg. I'm only paying about $1/gallon making my own fuel too.
Riverdelaware - the 7.3 engines can look like a rear main seal leak but that is just where any oil/fuel in the valley of the engine drains too. It could be a HPOP o-ring leak, turbo pedistal leak, or fuel bowl leak. Not necessarily expensive repairs. Might be worth noting in the future.
I just took a trip to Lake Jackson Texas from Mobile Al and averaged 18.60 mpg at 70 mph roughly 2100 rpms. My truck is stock execpt for a 6637 intake mod.
I have an early 99 with a 4.10 LSD which at 2000 rpms touches 66 mph. I have driven this truck for 8 1/2 years over 120K miles and I typically get 17.5 mpg to 19.0 mpg to work which is around 70% high way. I don't drive over 60 mph to work. On trips I drive right at 70 mph CC on I get around 17 mpg.
Best I have ever done is some slow site seeing in the Florida Panhandle was 20.5 mpg but at a slow 45-50 mph.
I have a crew cab, short bed with a ARE hardcover over the bed, AIS intake and 4" exhaust with a 60 hp towing SCMT flash. I have had those on this truck the entire time I have owned it.
I have not noticed much difference in fuel. However since I live in the Panhandle the weather is usually warm and only gets down to 20F for maybe a few days and not for more than a 1/2 day before warming. I think that does help to improve fuel mileage but I think a 3.73 would help improve it some too but not worth the cost of changing out the pumpkin for what might prove to be 1 mpg improvement.
Also my 7.3L has never used any oil and I change it out at 5K. I also have used Evans coolant for 7 years now at no pressure in the cooling system...
my truck gains 2 mpg if i run kwick trip fuel, and sweet spot is 70-72 mph, empty 19mpg, add a boat and its 14 mpg even tried slowing to 68mph dont help milage
I'm getting 17.5 MPG consistently in mixed highway/city driving with my 02' CrewCab Long Bed 4x4 with a ZF-6, 3.73's, and 285x75R16 Michelin LTX A/T2's. I've verified the accuracy of the odometer with a GPS. It is bone stock in the performance category. If I keep it under 60 on long trips, I can get 19.5 MPG.
I just sent my PCM to DP Tuners for the 80 economy tune. I'm excited to see how much it improves MPG.
Just got my PCM back in today and drove 135 miles at 70-75. I'd gone 373 miles since the last fill-up, so 238 miles were OEM tuning, and 135 were DP 80E.
My mileage this tank was 19.65. WOW! I can't wait to see a full tank of only DP tuning.
Does anyone else get a LOT of black smoke with Jody's tunes? I've got a manual, so I'm losing boost with each shift, and every gear just lays a smoke screen, unless I go to 2,300 RPM to shift, or go real easy. Looks like a Tymar intake is in my future.
just purchased my 99 month ago, mine is an early 99. I picked up from tx and drove to tn. i was getting 18.9 and thats at 75 - 80 mph. last recent fill up i ran around 2000 rpm and got 20.5 so lets see if next gets better?!
My truck smokes a little at the bottom of each gear, or a light haze all the way through if i'm getting on it. Or a thick cloud if I'm hammering on it in the 140 tune lol
How long have you had it? Takes a little bit to adjust to shifting to optimize the truck with the turbo and the tunes
Recently drove 200 miles @ 70 mph on 4 lane hwy and interstate--then 150 miles through the North GA mountains. Then, we reversed our route on the way home. We got exactly 20 mpg--manually figured.
i would like to get better than 15 mpg i used to get over 20 i put a new pcm in my 2001 and lost a ton of mileage i now have the newes juice with attitude and find that level 5 gives me the best mileage if somebody has any advice please help me i drive alot !!! I have a 2001 7.3 with an edge juice newest model/4:10 gears 4wd/ballbuster turbo/ upgraded fuel spring/fresh built moter with mahle pistons bored 30/custom made air intake plenums from wide open/afe stage 2 intake/5 " mbrp aluminized exausted/ custom built trans from transmasters with 3 disk torque conv with tuger shift kit and bypassed the radiator with daul hayden trans coolers/powerslot brake roters/weld race wheels with toyo mts/x2 bateries 100 gallon bed tank/h.i.d light kit with 5000k bulbs/custom two tone seats with heat/kenwood navi deck with voice controll/kicker ss midswith macintosh 6 channel mid amp/ kicker l 7 12 inch subs/kicker 1250 sx sub amp/stinger 20 farad power cap/audio control concert series eq /dynamat
My '99.5 got around 15 unloaded MPG all its life of 197,000 miles before I sold it. I saw 16 MPH only one tank, and that was returning home coming down the mountain from Ruidoso, NM to Midland. I tried every trick I read about to get better MPG - intake, exhaust, tunes, taller tires with a corrected speedo - but the only thing that worked was to slow down. Life is too short to be the pokey in the slow lane, so for over 11 years I put up with 15 MPG unloaded. I usually got 11 to 12 MPG when towing my 8,000-pound 5er @ 62 MPH, but the MPG would drop to below 10 if I tried to tow at 70 MPH, or below 9 MPG when I cruised at the normal 74 MPH of other interstate traffic.
Two things are required to get accurate MPG on a 7.3L.
1]. First, you must have an accurate tripmeter, verified by interstate highway mileposts for at least 50 miles and preferably 100 miles without crossing a state line or changing interstates. If you don't see 99.1 to 100.9 miles on the tripmeter after 100 miles per the interstate mile markers, then you need to change the tire revs/mile parameter in your ABS module to correct the odometer and tripmeter. Search on "calibrate speedometer". (Mine said 99.7 miles per tripmeter in 100 interstate miles)
2]. Then the hard part - you must fill up with liquid diesel to the cap, both before and after each MPG check. It takes about 10 minutes extra time to fill up to the cap with liquid diesel (not foam), so most folks don't bother.
I suspect all those guys bragging about 20 MPG are not filling up to the cap, or don't have an accurate odometer, or both.
Brian I wonder if it could be the turbo. My truck us to get over 20 and it now get's mid 17's on highway. I thought it might be the new fuel, but I have a ball buster turbo also. My truck is a 01 7.3 with a S&B intake Edge programer, and walker big truck muffler, 3.73 auto. I'm going to intall new boots, A&E intake spider and billet intake plenums. Tring to get my boost up and maybe my mileage also. Also did you notice how od this post is?
I have a 97 4wd, 4 door short bed 7.3L and the best iv ever gotten was 23 mpg. That was once and the closest iv come to that again is 21. I still have the stock muffler and im not running a chip on it.
man! i am doing something wrong. you guys are getting awesome mpg! i just bought my 7.3l. it had a blown head gasket so i swapped the whole engine (same price as a valve job but went from 260k to 135k) it now has an '02 7.3l . the best ive gotten is 12.5mpg. i havent filled up till i see diesel in the neck as you guys recommend (i will now). it came with an edge evolution tuner on it. im running on the 1st, lowest, tune. i'm sure my 37's kill my mpg. is there anything i can do improve the mpg? any advice would be appreciated for this newbie
You lift plus the big tires are costing you about 2.5 MPG. If you went back to stock suspension and tires, you'd probably get about 15 MPG unloaded, which is what I got.
A big part of MPG is luck of the draw. Nothing you can do about it. Mine was near the bottom of the barrel - others claimed around 17 to 18 while I was getting 14.5 to 15.5. Do you feel lucky today?
I get a consistent 18-18.5 with straight #2 at 2000 rpm on the highway. That number bumps to 19-19.5 with the PHP 80hp DD tune. When I have slowed to 65, I get 20-20.3. That is all hand calculated over many trips. I think the 6spd and the bed top help.
No. Bill is a very bright guy, and has been writing tunes for the 7.3L for over 13 years now, but he's no better at squeezing MPG than Tony or Jody.
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