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Old Apr 6, 2011 | 05:32 PM
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new guy

Hi everyone i just joined the forum and the diesel world i just purchased a cherry 1988 7.3 diesel club wagon i was wondering what i could do to boost fuel mileage right now im getting 17-18 highway with a little stop and go, also if there are any problems that i should look out for. the tranny is a three speed auto
 
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Old Apr 6, 2011 | 05:38 PM
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IDIDieselJohn
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If you getting 17-18mpg in a big van with the C6 tranny (3 speed) you've got nothing to complain about. Alot of guys on here would dream of getting even close to that with your setup!



Just curious, what's the mileage, history if known of the van, driving style (speed etc.)?
 
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Old Apr 6, 2011 | 05:43 PM
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ah1988
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Hello blapinski661 welcome to FTE, sounds like you are getting real good mpg's! Do you have a turbo ? What rear end gear ratio do you have ? Do you have factoy exahust ? A little more info on the van would help a bit, your tranny is a c6 auto, a e4od with overdrive would help the mpgs there a little .

The only problem you have to watch out for in the 7.3 Lis cavitation here is a article on it this should anwser all your questions on cavitation
Cavitation Article
 
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Old Apr 6, 2011 | 05:47 PM
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oreocreaming
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its an 88 so it should be the e4od, its a 4speed. the third emblem is actually a O with a D inside of it. and you are right in the area as far as mpg. if you want more, try doing a turbo, step the exhaust up to 3", run a better air cleaner and make sure its sucking air from outside and not under the hot hood. what kinda rear gears do you have? whats your rpm's at highway speeds? do you do more highway or city driving?
 
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Old Apr 6, 2011 | 05:49 PM
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IDIDieselJohn
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Oreo, the E4OD came out in mid 1989. So his '88 is defenently a C6.


Typical gearing combo'd with the C6 was 3.55 (or 3.54 for the Dana axles in those vans).



He says he does all highway driving.
 
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Old Apr 6, 2011 | 05:57 PM
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yea i thought it was a c6 because i had a car with the same tranny it shifts twice and pretty crisply, im not sure what gears are in the rear but i do have a gear bender on it which seems to help i usually cruise 60-65 im not a speed demon. as for the origin of the vehicle im not to sure but it was garage kept and only has 163,000 its in very good condition the dash or seats are not faded.. i did notice the exhaust is small only two and a half my dads turbo 7.3 is three and a half thanks for all the insite fellas
 
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Old Apr 6, 2011 | 06:01 PM
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Probably the original exhaust, witch is only 2 and a half inchs.

Gear Vendors defenently help!

With 163k miles, I'm sure it's also got the original Injector Pump and Injectors on it, so if you were to change those, you would see a MASSIVE difference in power, performance and MPG!

It'll feel like a completely different van! And with a fresh tune up + Gear Vendors, I wouldn't be surprised if you'd hit the early 20's for MPG's.
 
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Old Apr 7, 2011 | 08:34 AM
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so what would a good size for the exhaust be
 
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Old Apr 7, 2011 | 09:49 AM
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3inch is all you need for a n/a IDI, but if you plan on turboing, you should go 3.5 so you don't have to do it over if you turbo your engine.
 
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