I bought a 96 eb 5.8 a few weeks ago. it has a 3" and 33's..i haven't had much of a chance to go through it..it starts, idles fine, drives nice, trans shifts normal, oil looks and smells good. less then a week after purchase, I had to replace a fuel pump. last weekend, the fuel gauge stopped working. I filled the tank, guessing I was good for at least 10 mpg. filled again yesterday at 166mi, and it took on over 28 gallons!..less than 6mpg? what is normal? the rig has 165k on it but is clean and tight?

 

My 460 gets more than 6 mpg, so something is wrong. Is the odometer working correctly?

 

I have a 96 with the 5.0. I get about 14-15 with a 4" lift and 33s so you definitely have something wrong. I have 213k also.

I'm not too sure how the mileage of the 5.8 compares to the 5.0, but I've heard it can be better because it has more torque to pull the weight of the bronco around. It should be close to what I have I expect though if you have somewhat near stock gearing.

Is your check engine light on? If it is, you should definitely address those issues. If it isn't I would go to any auto parts stores and have them try and check codes anyways. The Bulb for the CEL could potentially be out, or maybe you have some stored codes. Otherwise, if you just purchased it, a good tune up would be beneficial. New plugs, wires, cap/rotor, fuel filter, and potentially ignition coil also.

If you have no codes, do a full tune up, and still have that low of mpg, I would start checking for fuel leaks. (Well maybe even a quick check now wouldn't be a bad idea)

Edit: Also like 1985 Bronco said, check to make sure the odometer is working correctly. It could be that after the lift and new tires, it was never calibrated to them. If it wasn't, it will be saying you are traveling less than you are, which in turn makes it appear as you are getting worse mileage. Just use google maps or something and see how many miles a trip is, and check the miles with your odometer.

 

Pulling codes would be huge in this situation. may also need a tune up and yes the speedo more than likly needs calibrated.

 

I have no check engine..it did when I purchased, I replaced all O2 sensors and cleand maf. check light went out. it runs (surprisingly) strong the speedo is close enough as I compare to local "your speed' lit signs. I will give a full tune, as i'm sure it wouldn't hurt. I do have a squeaking brake. wonder if i'm dragging it? it wanders also, getting the front end trued up will help..anyone have a estimate as to expected average mpg?

 

33's with stock gears you should get 11-12 mpg on a good day. 10 most of the time when hammering it all the time. (I know from experience )

Could be more, I just had timing chain and timing gear done, as well as new radiator, water pump. I've noticed I've been able to get more out of 40$ of gas. Gas is going up a bit around $3.47/gal

 

thanks N E..and be glad..$3.81 in my part of town.

 

I suppose I'm lucky (or I put too much work into my bronco) because I got 16.2 mpg on my last fil up! Thats with 33" and stock gearing on the 5.0

However I usually get around 15. But I drive mainly highway and have a manual transmission.

I would say 11-12 is safe or potentially up to 14 if most stuff is stock.

 

Last time I was able to do a constant 45 -50mph for a 1hr drive with no traffic on a road going north I was probably getting 13 or 14. When I go to work I'm only on the highway for about 2 miles the rest is city driving which kills my mileage. Last time I saw 3.81/gal was probably in 2012