ive had my 96 250 for about 2 months now. its the 4.9 5 speed 2wd with 3.55 gears. the truck was well maintained by the previous owner and i even gave it a full tune up when i got it. my driving is 90% highway and i always seem to get 12-14 mpg. its all stock with no load. my cel isnt on. ive cleaned the maf and throttle body. ive tried injector cleaner and seafoam. i keep it under 60 when i drive and never use full throttle. i had my 600lb motorcycle in the back for 100 miles and my mpg didnt noticably drop. the stock muffler was about ready to fall off so i removed it with no change better or worse. the window sticker that was still in the glove box showed 14 city and 17 highway mpg. why does mine suck so bad.

and no telling me go buy a car. i need a truck and im absolutely in love with mine even though shes a fat selfish petrol chugging B

 

Honestly that kind of MPG from an F250 with a 300I6 isn't bad IMO, my 92 F150 I had with the 300I6 & E4OD got about 9ish(loaded)-12mpg(empty) consistently over the 5 years and 100K or so miles I put on it while I owned it, reguardless of the routine maintenance I did to it to keep it running good. The best MPG I ever got with my truck was around 15 and that was when I would be on the interstate taking it easy and staying 65mph or under.

I knew two other people a few years back that had F150s with the I6 while I owned mine and they both averaged 12-14mpg, both of those trucks were manuals where mine was an auto and I know thats what made the difference between mine and theirs on these curvy rural roads in my area.

 

that aint bad fuel milage for that truck if you want to try to improve it put a more free flowing exaughst on it and idk but if your truck is OBDII you may beable to buy a programer for and turn it to fuel economy

 

Vehicles never seem to get the advertised mileage. One of our customers used to buy a new truck every 2 years and he has never, ever gotten the advertised mileage. He's owned Fords, Chevys and Dodges and was particular about mileage. He has been retired for several years now and has a 2006 chevy 1500 with only 33k on it and it gets about the same mileage your truck does.
Of the people I have known well enough to know they were tracking mileage accurately and telling the truth, I have never known anyone to get the advertised mpg on a stock vehicle.
I've heard people who have newer eco cars say they do, but I don't know them well enough to say whether I believe it is true or not.
I don't think there is much you can do to a straight 6 to improve mileage without spending more than you will save. Possibly what is being referred to as a "six-liter" tune up may pay for itself, reports vary.
Switching gear ratios for your highway driving would probably give a decent increase, but unless you have access to a cheap rearend and can do the work yourself it would take a long time to pay for itself.

 

bdelmar2 you are 100 percent correct, i know of one 300 6 that gets 16-18 high way it has free flow exaughst, 2.72 rear gears with the m5od (mazada 5 speed) its a half ton with heavy duty 3/4 springs and towing package from the factory. (dont ask me why it has that with the rear gears like that stock) EVERYONE seems to have a 300 6 i cant seem to get my hands on one and when i see somone selling one i cant get the money in time

 

Thats the same mileage I get with a F250 460,auto 3:55 2wd. Great truck, I always wondered what a 4.9 would get in an F250.

 

65+ Vehicle modifications for better fuel economy - EcoModder.com

 

my friends 96 150 4x4 5 speed got 15 to 18 mostly highway which is why i was wondering what was wrong with mine. it was the same gear ratio and besides having the friction of the 4x4 stuffhe had my truck beat by 100 lbs. i can get a rear end fr9m the junkyard i go to for 50 bucks if i pull it myself but i live in the lower adirondacks and 2.73 or 3.08 would be horrible here. oh and my tires are also in great shape, stock size, not agressive, and properly inflated. i was figuring that i should have been getting 15 consistently when i bought the truck. oh well guess i have to live with it or start brewing up methanol again.

 

i get 16 mpg with my 90 f150 4X4. i would figure a f250 would get 12-14 mpg. 3/4 ton is not going to get as good as 1/2 ton.

 

If you're up to date on all your maintenance and everything is in good working order, that's about the best you can do. I owned two F-150s with the 300 and they didn't do any better.

As has been said, vehicles don't typically get the advertised MPG, those are EPA estimates not real world numbers. Also, gas in most places now is at least 10% ethanol, which also reduces your mileage. This most likely wouldn't have been figured into those EPA estimates in 1996. If it's available in your area, you could try running a few tanks of non-oxygenated (ethanol free) gas and see if your mileage improves, but you'll typically pay 30-50 cents more per gallon for it.

 

I was thinking how ****ty mpg I was getting with my 17-18 mpgs in the F150...

 

That's normal MPG for a inline 6. I get 9 city, 15 highway, 12 interstate with 4.11 gears. I have a mazda 5 speed behind my 300.

 

Wow thats actually good mpg, its a six cylinder pushing 3/4 ton weight and your still getting good mpg. I dont get that in my 351w 3/4 ton

 

that c6 is your main issue.
those future plans; they wont help the situation lol.


you've got a lead foot on take off.those lower gears should help with economy stop/go over 3.55 a bit.
try taking off much,much,much easier and that 9 city will sky rocket for ya.

at these fuel prices,that's very true.even high teens suck by today's standards.however for this era truck your doing very,very well.give yourself a pat on the back.
there is one drawback to getting high teens with one of these pickups though.it tells you your driving them like a car instead of a truck and brings question if driving a small car pushing over 30mpg's accomplishing the same thing may be a wiser choice in transportation.
still,if your happy enough and can afford it,and prefer driving a truck,then your getting the top end of the reports and have little to worry about.
it also shows your likely driving for long distances and or hwy miles a lot.in which case aerodynamic mods (and perhaps speed reduction) will yield you some nice results.be sure to check out belly pans,partial grill blocks (aftermarket temp gauge recommended) and front air dams on ecomodder.com just for starters.
many focus on engine efficiency mods,but nothing helps a truck like aero mods can.

 

Yeah I know but I haul stuff all the time. Plus, if I see a trail or small old road I have never gone down I hit it. I avoid the city if I can but I usually cruise at 45 MPH. If I cruise 55 I get 16 and hot roading I get 15.