2000 Ford Excursion 5.4 Gas Mileage
 

If anyone can help me, I own a 2000 Excursion with a 5.4. We love the vehicle but it only gets around 10-12 miles per gallon. I have a K/N air filter with no other add ons.
If anyone can give me any ideas or tricks of the trade to improve the gas mileage, it was would be very much appreciated!!

What is the current mileage?
What kind of maintenance has been done to the vehicle?

I have been driving thirsty cars myself (90 Cougar 3.8 LS followed by my current 94 Cougar V8 4.6l) and I developed a habit of monitoring fuel consumption in various driving conditions. The 90 Cougar had an electronic cluster which was showing the instant fuel economy, along with an average. I always tried to keep the instant fuel economy below the average fuel economy (except for starts and when traffic required it), that drove the average even lower, until I almost reached the EPA numbers (which, most people would say, are not achievable in normal traffic). I was getting 22-23 mpg highway with the 3.8 liter V6. The worst was 13 mpg in Manhattan stop-and-go traffic, but hey, that's what everybody expected ...

My current car has an analog cluster, so I always drive with a ScanGauge connected to the OBD port. The scanner is a nice addition to the cluster for daily driving, as it shows you your instant fuel economy, along with a lot of interesting "internal" operating parameters of the powertrain. Buy one of these and fine-tune your driving habits.

Aside from that, keep in mind that the higher the RPM, the more gas you're using, so teach yourself to be gentle with the gas pedal and avoid racing the engine. Treat the car gently, and it will return the favor. Step on it, and it'll help you be known by your fist name at all the gas stations in town.

One more thing: there are some guys on eBay selling a "miracle" adapter that replaces the intake air temperature sensor and claim to cut your engine's fuel consumption. Don;t fall for this crap: what the miracle part does is trick the PCM into thinking the intake air is hot, so your engine will run with a lean mixture. Yes., you'll save on gas, but you'll hand over the saved cash to a car shop when it'll come to overhaul your toasted engine.

Finally, your car and its engine actually ARE big, so don't expect wonders...

HTH ...

The Ex has around 150,000. I keep it regularly mainained oil changes at every 3,000 miles. I bought a K/N air filter but did not seem to help much. I keep the tires aired at factory specs. I took a trip to Biloxi last month from Central Illinois. Around 750 miles one way. Got around 12-13 mph overall. This may be good for the vehicle I am driving, but sure cost a lot when pulling to the pump! I have thought about chipping it but always have been conservative to those things. A friend recommended one of the hydrogen fuel cell systems. Checked around a few of the sites and the reviews were mainly it was a waste of $350. Any other ideas? Thank you for your input.

Well, I make ALOT of money off these concerns! Take off the K&N air filter, and put on the original airbox. Then, take the Mass Airflow sensor out of the adaptor, and clean it with Brake clean or Carb Cleaner. Use a soft toothbrush to get the crap off the wires, and put it back in and see. The milage might improve back to near O.E. (around 12-15 or so), but these trucks weren't know for their great milage. Also, look around for any air leaks; this is a very fertile platform for PCV tube connectors rotting out, which sucks air, and drives the fuel trims way rich, which just wastes fuel. Also, check the plugs; it almost always overlooked and can really save money now, and later on! Good luck!

It's a waste alright, but for a lot more. If this gimmick was as good as some people say, how come BMW is still struggling to release a hydrogen-fuelled engine? This is why: hydrogen is a great fuel to burn in a stove. They may say a car can't get any greener than this: it's using hydrogen, not gas, and is puffing steam out the tailpipe. Yeah .. except your engine is made of steel, and steam is great at attacking steel (that is, corroding it) and at washing away the oil film from the cylinders. Mixed with CO2, the steam creates carbonic acid (a relatively soft acid, you drink it in your sodas every day) but nevertheless capable of corroding iron. Should I say more about what happens to your engine once you start steaming it inside?

Chipping works, but not necessarily towards improving fuel economy ... this is usually done to increase the power output and the dynamic performance of the engine, at the expense of ... you guessed, fuel economy (and faster engine wear too).

Bottom line (besides the tune-up that greasemark righfully suggested) ... if you care about the fuel economy so much, then this car is not for you. I bet you didn't want to hear this ...

Good luck!

Dan, I couldn't agree more!
mark

Thank you for all of your imput!

As stated in the above posts and worth considering , maintenance consists of more than oil and filter changes.
Spark plugs will perform even when run way past their replacement recommendtions, however, performance is almost always increased when the new and CORRECT plugs are installed.
It's a safe bet that on that trip you last took where the mileage was not the greatest, you probably drove in the 65- 75 MPH range. With that speed and a heavy vehicle like yours , you need to tow a gas trailer behind you.
I have found a small reduction in road speed will do a lot to help increase MPG . Try slowing down if you can and see if that doesn't give you some better MPG.