I'm looking at a 1992 Ford F150 that's for sale, but it's a V8 and I've been trying to avoid those, but the sales guy actually said that they've seen the old V8s get better mpg than the old V6s. Is that actually true?

I am vehicle illiterate and couldn't find anything on this topic on a Google search, so thank you for any input here!

 

Well, my father had a 92 with the 300 (inline-6, NOT V-6). Best gas mileage was about 17 on a long flat stretch. The 302 V-8 might do a hair better, but not enough to worry about. The 351 is even worse, but worth it for the power/torque if you plan on pulling stuff.

The salesperson does not have a clue. He is making things up on the fly to get you to buy it.

Daily driver? Go for 300 inline-6 or 302 (5.0)
Hauling stuff, 4x4, anything larger than F-150? Go straight to a 351(5.8) or bigger.
They are all good engines.
When you are moving a lot of weight (like a truck), smaller engines do not necessarily guarantee better mileage. If you are concerned about mileage, get a small car. No point buying a truck if it does not have the power to carry what you want it to.

 

Ah ok, that gives me a much better idea of what to look for because it would be a daily driver and I wouldn't be pulling anything heavy. Thank you so much for the advice!

 

Go for the 300 inline 6. It has good torque low down, very reliable, easy to work on.

 

Mid teen fuel image is the norm. None of the full size trucks had a V-6.

 

My 300 runs 16 to 18 reliably (new they averaged 20 if I recall) I have an E4OD tranny and averaged 14-15 cross country for 900 miles from the flat lands of Arkansas, thru the mountains of Tenn and NC pulling a boxed in utility trailer and bed loaded.

The 300 is a good strong engine, just don't plan on winning any drag races with it.

I had an 86 C-10 with the 262 (basically a 350 with two cylinders removed) carbed V-6 and it got 16-17 for comparison. I'd take the 300 over the V-6 any day.

 

Never got better than 15 mpg out of the six. 5.0 was a couple mpg better and way more power. Yes, you heard that right. The 5.0 will run circles around the 300/4.9 six and get better mileage doing it.

 

That was a GM thing- a V6 the size of a threshing machine...

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You forgot to mention sounding 10x better as well :P

 

How many 1987/96 F150/350's & Bronco's came w/a V6? None!

The 300 I-6 was the standard equipment engine in F150/250 & Bronco.

Some 1982/83 F100's came with the 3.8L V6 that was a POS

 

Personally, I'd go with an I6 over a V8 due to easier maintenance and it only has one head gasket. Plus you can roll up next to toyota supra guys and claim that yours is bigger. Lmao

 

Here is my uneducated opinion:

If you're gonna be daily driving the truck I'd personally pick the V8. Sounds better and it just seems like a V8 belongs in a truck. That said, with that wonderful V8 rumble you'd be more apt to keep your foot in the throttle, which wouldn't be good for mileage. The straight six works well for me but like others have mentioned it's slow and doesn't rev quickly. This means there's really no need to floor it everywhere - so it is possible it can get better miles per gallon than the 302.

Bottom line, as I'm sure others have said or will say - you can't buy one of these trucks and worry too much about fuel economy. My F150 was my daily driver for 3 1/2 years and I just recently purchased a Honda Civic to take the brunt of the daily driving work commute. Get the truck that looks the nicest and that you love regardless of what engine it has, and if fuel economy is of the utmost importance buy a $500 honda.

 

it all depends on what you are doing with it.
a V6 will get better mileage than a 460 in a 2 wheel drive F150 that is used as a commuter on flat ground.
but the 460 will get better mileage than the V6 in a 4X4 F350 dually towing a 15,000 lb trailer through the mountains.

 

Yes, GM put the 4.3L in their trucks but I thought this was a Ford vs Ford question. A friend of mine had an ex state highway administration truck with the 4.3 and he said he probably would have gotten about the same or better mileage with a 305 or 350. He said he had to have his foot in it to go anywhere since the V6 didn’t have much power.

 

Having owned a 4.9, 5.0, and 5.8 I like the 4.9 the best all around. Really easy to work on, good gas mileage and cool becasue you never see inline sixes anymore.

My carb 2wd automatic 4.9 got no worse than 17-18 mpg --Could haul a yard of gravel and pull small loads. The 5.8 is great for actual truck work. The 5.0 was mostly good sounding if nothing else.