I just bought a SD F250 Power Stroke Diesel. I was hoping for some benefits in fuel economy by going with diesel over gas. The power and amenities are certainly there, but so far, I'm only getting around 11 miles to the gallon on fuel consumption. One thing to note. I only have about 12K miles on the vehicle. I've heard that after you put some miles on the diesel engines, the miles per gallon/fuel usage gets better. Any truth to this?

 

As your mileage increases the engine loosens up. I have 28k on mine and am seeing constant 15-18mpg with F250 shorty 4x4 6spd and 265's, mixed freeway/city driving.

Les

 

I bought a new s/d 250 diesel and have been using an additive called Performance Formula.I have aprox 14,000 miles on the truck. More power, runs smoother, and and I get 16 to 18 miles per gal. Very pleased.......mark

 

Your rear end ratio will make a difference. Do you have 4:10 or 4:73? The 4:10 (what I have) will use more fuel because the rpm will be higher at hwy. speeds.

 

There is about 8 hours of what we call "green growth" in these engines which would equate to no more than 1000 miles. If you've got 12,000 miles on your truck it probably won't get any better. There has been some controversy about fuel mileage and for some unknown reason some trucks get better mileage than others for no apparent reason.

 

I have a 99 250 Ext. Cab. Long Bed with 53000 on it. Has 3.73 LS rear. Get 15-16 around town and 20-21 highway @ 65 mph. The topper gave me about another 1.5 mpg on the highway. Is better than my wife's Explorer V-6.
Dayton

 

5300?? that somewhat brings chevy to my mind? chevy uses that turm.

 

I just hualed my boat up the the lake in a 1994 XLT 7.3ltr turbo diesel 150,000 miles it got 16 mpg with a load I think it gets 17 with no load 5 speed ((4.10 gear ratio..))

 

2000 PSD auto, 3.73 ls 26,000+ miles gets average 17 mpg. Has the dealer reflashed the PCM? I've heard some owners get poor results after a reflash.

 

I just thought that I would put my two cents in about bad fuel economy. First of all, please disregard whatever the salesman said about fuel economy. I am guessing that you have an automatic. An automatic will not get the mileage or have the top end power (highway speed) that a standard will. This is due to the lack of efficiency of a torque converter. An automatic has no direct link between the engine and the input shaft on the transmission. This is why a torque converter is referred to as a fluid coupler. To better visualize how a torque converter works, imagine a two typical and identical wal-mart bedroom fans facing each other only inches apart. Turn one fan on high and leave the other one off. You will notice that the fan that is off will start to turn, but will never reach the speed of the fan that is running. This is because the air coming from the fan that is on loses energy across the gap and then loses energy when its energy is converted from linear motion to rotary motion. Obviously the torque converter pushes automatic tranny fluid rather than air to create power. The power curve of an automatic is rather disheartening in that in the first few gears at low speeds the torque output can be as much as double that of a standard equipped vehicle, because of the fact that the engine (think of it as the fan that is on) can turn very fast relative to the other fan, and therefore it essentially has an enormous "gear" ratio. But eventually the other fan starts to catch up in speed and the ratio becomes more of a 1:1 ratio, but not quite which is again why the fuel economy is worse. The bottom line is that don't expect good fuel economy from an automatic unless you drive like there is an eggshell on the accelerator pedal. I have had three powerstrokes, two six-speeds and now I have an automatic. I averaged 20-23 mpg on the highway, and 18 in the city with my two six-speeds. My automatic gets about 16 on the highway and 12-14 in the city. I am selling my automatic and ordering another standard. The dealer only wants to make money and rarely deals with individuals who have owned several vehicles. I.E. soccer moms (people who live in the city and use their powerstrokes to pick up their kids from school and get groceries) No offense intended to anyone. I can only suggest to go to google and type in something like "how does a torque converter work" it will bring up something interesting I'm sure. I am sure someone has already addressed your concerns, but I feel it is my duty to ford owners everywhere to educate people to the fact that if they want a big truck to get good mileage, get a standard, and if they can't handle a standard, they should get an automatic car instead of a truck.

 

You forgot to mention the new fangled locking torque converters and how they provide a positive lockup between the engine and transmission.
You've confused your opinion with fact. Automatics can and do obtain 22+ mpg on the highway, my '95 does on a regular basis. I learned to drive in a Truck that had a 5x4 and now I drive one with an 18 speed. Frankly, I am tired of shifting and the associated "Manly Man" feelings that go with it. When it comes to a pick up, I'll take an automatic every time.

alanscott



[link:ford-trucks.com/users/alanscott/|http://www.ford-trucks.net/users/alanscott/clubftesml.jpg]...Click!

 

 

99 v-10 5 spd 4x4 4.30 never saw more than 13 mpg usually 10
00 PSD sc 4x4 auto, 3.73 since day 1 averaging 12.3
both trucks run the same way
my buddy has a 99 psd sc 4x4 3.73 with the banks chip, turbo , ex , wastegate, etc just got 20 mpg on a trip to NC
I didnt by the psd and expect to pay for the motor in fuel saving esp since diesel is more expensive here right now
but it is worth every penny to have the extra power
as far as having a 6 spd it would be nice if I was on the highway all the time or even in the flat lands, but every day I go thru town and up and down hills . it nice not to have to shift

 

Everybody I know who has installed a chip for more power has also had a side benefit of better fuel mileage. The larger problen (in my opinion) is the axel ratio. If I were going to buy a Power Stroke, I'd get the highest (lowest numerical) axel ratio I could get and if I needed to pull a trailer with it I'd just drop down 1 gear (automatics would run in drive instead of overdrive and 6 speeds would run in fifth).

 

Let me throw in my two cents worth of info. concernig milage.
I have An f-250 `99 PSD w/3.73 gears Autmatic. My truck`s milage came in at 3,500 miles, it was not good until then. I now get 16-17 local 20-21 hwy. driving, I now have 65,000 trouble free miles on it now. I drove my truck from Texas to California empty w/cruise set at 82 MPH and got 18 mpg every fill-up. I record every fillup in A log that I keep in the truck, I record the milage, date, and gallons of every gallon ever put into it, some of the milage I am not too proud of particuarly when I am towing My 11,000# 30` travel trailer into A strong headwind. let me suggest that you make sure you keep the air filter clean.