hello new member here and im not sure where to post this.
about six months ago i picked up a 1985 f250 4x4 ,,302 fi, 4speed,
the tires were bald, shocks were bad,needed a couple u joints etc. i put on brand new goodyear wranglers size 235/85/16..fixed the rest and has run like a top..rusty,ugly doesnt burn oil or leak anything and just turned 100,000 miles..
i dont mean to look a gift horse in the mouth but it gets unusually good gas mileage!!
just took it on a four hour trip at 70 plus mph and got 19 mpg! ..i checked it right to. filled the tank to the top and filled again when i checked it. ive always gotten way better then it should.
it has no belt to the air pump and no cat but other then that is not modified at all..it does have an issue that i wonder if its related or not you have to crank the engine for up to eight to ten seconds before it will even fire???? it starts quicker when its -30 outside then when its warm out.. was wondering if anyone might know why it takes so long to start and why i get such good gas mileage..is it related ?? maybe a bad sensor messing with the fuel mixture??? any info would be appreciated cuz id like to try and reproduce the results on another truck thx.
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I'm sorry i can't help but i just wanted to say that is amazing!

lol, I would live with the hard start's if i was getting those MPG

 

that was my thought too..dont mess with it and just be grateful.

 

Welcome to FTE. That is good mileage for that truck , I wouldnt touch a thing.

 

My personal suspicion is the speedometer being inaccurate, or gasoline sucking from one tank and returning to another, or an error in the calculations, or something along those lines.

 

speed limit 65 and was passing everyone..front tank doesnt work. this truck has gotten that kind of mileage since i bought it. when i fill it to the top it gets filled til another drop wont fit. it uses way less gas to drive daily then my 80 toyota 4x4 .

 

Welcome to FTE.
No offense, but I have to agree with Chris. Really hope your getting that kind of mileage but without overdrive I'd have to see it. I don't believe they had a 4 speed overdrive in the 4X4's but I could be wrong. But if you are, I wouldn't do anything to it.

 

just went and looked at codes transmission "a" and axle "b9" ..i swear it consistently pulls that mileage...runs great but seems a lil doggy in fourth

 

A code tranny is a NP435
Axle B9 is a 9" 3.50 Limited slip

 

It shouldn't be doggy in 4th with no overdrive (4th is a straight 1:1), and 3.50 rear gears.

If it feels doggy, then it's probably just the 302 being a 302.

I would check it to see if it's throwing codes, as well as check all of your gas lines and hook the other tank up and fix it. Just to say you know it's right and that this isn't all a fluke.

An F250 with a 302, 3.50 gears, and no overdrive shouldn't be getting 19 mpg at 70 mph, or even 65 mph. It's just kind of hard for me to hold on to the idea.

Now 19 mpg at 50, 55, maybe even 60 isn't hard to believe. But with 3.50's and no overdrive, it'd normally be around 50 or 55 mph.

 

Hey northrock, welcome to the forum!

Since you are "new", I want to be sure you understand that no one is doubting your integrity, we just have not been fortunate enough to see these numbers and would love to know they are accurate.

Have you made sure the speedometer/odometer is correct? If the tire size has been changed at any time from what came from the factory, the accuracy will be affected. One can test this by highway mileage markers. You need to drive at least 10 miles checking as you go. By using GPS, one can verify speed and mileage.

Please keep us informed.

 

SMOD/SROD transmissions (3 spd + OD) were available in 4wd, so maybe the NP435 has been swapped.
If so, it would help explain 4th being sluggish. Do you have a tach?

 

lol, i hope his truck really is getting those MPG and he can figure out why and tell all of us how to do it

 

sometime within the next week ill check all the variables etc speed, fuel level, etc. and get back to you guys. it has a load of pea gravel and retaining wall caps in it at the moment. ill post the results.

 

My Ford wouldn't get 19mpg if you pushed it out of an airplane from 19 miles in the air but if you can keep your wallet stuffed that's great!