[New2Diesel's]

I have an '83 F-250 with the 6.9 and it has the ATS Turbo kit. Ever since I got it I have been getting horrible mileage and have heard something about a Torque Plate (I believe thats what he called it) which I can change so that I am not dumping a bunch of fuel. Is this true? And if so where is it? Or would I get better mileage without the turbo? Because currently I can only drive about 20 miles on a half of a tank.

 

[LMJD]

That would be roughly 2 miles to the gallon. Are you sure you're not dumping most of it on the ground due to a leak?
No torque plate but there is a max fuel screw but no matter how it's adjusted there's no way it could cause that much fuel consumption.

 

[chuckster57]

Welcome to the Diesel Stop

I have an '83 F-250 with the 6.9 and it has the ATS Turbo kit. Ever since I got it I have been getting horrible mileage and have heard something about a Torque Plate (I believe thats what he called it) which I can change so that I am not dumping a bunch of fuel. Is this true? And if so where is it? Or would I get better mileage without the turbo? Because currently I can only drive about 20 miles on a half of a tank.

The "torque plate" that people are talking about is probably the fuel plate inside the injector pump on the 12V cummins 5.9. Totaly different animal and you should be glad cause your Injector pump is about $500.00 and the 12V pump is about $2200.00 Just got done pulling my Step sons off his '98 Dodge.

Like LMJD says, you must have a massive leak, to get that bad of mileage, If you were burning that much fuel I would figure you'd be able to hide in the balck cloud.

 

[mtnsammy]

I was down to 5 MPG and found several leaks on the top of the motor. Almost all my return lines were leaking. I bought a kit for about $70 and now I avg 13-15. I hear I am supposed to get more but at 7000 feet and no turbo I guess I am good enough for now. Prior owner told me he was getting 18-20 but his math has always been terrible. I have verified odometer and stopped all seen leaks so I am sure my math is right on the money.

I retire next year and am looking at a rebuild, turbo, new injectors and soft fuel line replacements. I am sure I will get better mileage when this ol truck gets some new hardware. I have found the most common leaks are on the passenger side return lines by the firewall and the water drain line.

Also BOTH sending units in my truck are bad. Fill up a tank and use mile markers on the highway to calculate the mileage. Either you will only go bout 35 miles on one tank, 18 gallons times 2 MPG =36, or you will find there are more problems than you knew about. Nice part is these trucks run well even when broken.

Good Luck

 

[New2Diesel's]

alright thanks for the help. After thinking about it I think maybe my fuel gauge may not be accurate as well and that it is saying I have half a tank but truly only had a little bit of fuel. I did have an injector that was leaking but it was due to bad o-rings and stopped leaking when I replaced it. I don't think i have any other leaks because I have let it sit in my drive way running for a while and there wasn't any fuel on the ground. Oh and another thing is does anyone know what the original tire size was for this truck? The guy I bought it from had some larger tires on it and they wine like crazy on the highway and would love to get rid of them.

 

[LMJD]

Holy Crap, you don't figure mileage by what a gauge needle shows. Grade school arithmetic----fill the tank, write down the mileage. Do some driving, refill, write down how many gallons you added, subract first mileage from second mileage at fillup for miles that were driven, divide the gallons added into the mileage for MPG.

 

[Wicked_Rain]

I am not sure of the original tire size but I find that LT 235/85/16 to be perfect.
Which translates to 31.7 tall 9.3 wide

 

[LMJD]

LT 235/85/16 to be perfect.

I think that was the original factory size from way back in at least '81 up until the major body change in about '98+/- for F250's.

 

[flainn]

After thinking about it I think maybe my fuel gauge may not be accurate as well and that it is saying I have half a tank but truly only had a little bit of fuel.

Definitely don't rely on what the needle says. The fuel gauge on these trucks is notoriously inaccurate, and probably was even before they were 25+ years old. Fill the tank to the brim, reset the trip odometer, drive 20 miles or so, then fill it to the brim again and note the mileage on the trip odometer. Miles on the trip odometer divided by the number of gallons you put in the tank = MPG. Do this several times to get a more accurate picture of what mileage you're getting.

You should be able to go a long ways, especially with a dual tank setup. Mine's got a 19 gal front tank and a 14 gal rear, and I can go 660 highway miles before I'm on fumes.

 

[New2Diesel's]

Alright thanks for all the help. One more thing. Should I keep that ATS turbo kit on or would it run better without? Ive been told that these motors werent designed to last with a turbo.

 

[drinkypoo]

They weren't MADE to last with a turbo, but they do anyway. The 6.9 is MORE durable than the NA 7.3, and mine has a turbo with a CARB E.O. sticker for 1992, so it's probably had the turbo for its whole life. You can see I have some miles on it, too.

 

[mtnsammy]

Kep the turbo. If you get some time I would like some install pics for my ATS. I am still trying to get the oil supply plug off the block but one day I will have time to pull it right. Most interested in views of valve cover mod for passengerside, trans dipstick, and oil supply lines.

My friends truck with a 4 spd got 20 MPG on hwy. I still hang around 13-15 with a C6 auto.

 

[artoo93]

I averaged 14 mpg with my '85 F250 with 6.9 and no turbo running around town. Didn't take it down the highway very often. I am actually getting about the same right now in my '88 F350 with 7.3 and ATS turbo. Some days I really miss my old truck but my brother is making better use of it than I could and I need the crew cab with two kids in car seats! Good luck.

 

[tex6.9VegOil]

your back tank is also 19 gal the pick up has rotted and fallen off.