I have a 02 PSD Crew Lariat. The console thing says i am getting 12.9 to the gallon all the time. Should i trust this? How much should one of these get, its got a 7.3 in it. About 46000 miles. Would a K&N help, before i go putting mod chips in it?

 

I definitely wouldn't go and totally trust the overhead. The best way to do it is the old fashion way (miles traveled divided by gallons to refill). My overhead has almost always been off. Just in comparison, my 03' 7.3 Crew Lariat gets 16.9mpg on average based on the overhead. I also tow 2500lbs almost regularly for work. I'd suggest you take it a little easier on the gas peddle. Now, I do have a Ford AIS intake and a 2 position (60hp and 80hp) Superchips tuner. Depending on one's driving habits, the intake and chip will improve the perfomance of the engine - including mpg's. You can get a K&N, but they're not perferred because it's best to get rid of the stock intake box all together. They have a history of leaking causing dirt and the likes to get into the turbo and beyond. The Ford AIS and Tymar set ups seem to be the most popular with many other choices. I went with the AIS intake because it is made by Ford and will not void my warranty. Your motor has almost identicle mileage as mine, so for now, maybe just try driving a little slower of the line and keeping the tach around 2k (for me that's 70mph when in overdrive) when on the highway. That seems to be the sweet spot for me. Also, I'd recommend getting at least a EGT (exhaust temperature gauge) before you get a chip or tuner. You can overheat and blow the motor if you're not concious of what you're doing.

 

I have a 2001 Excursion 7.3 4x4. I get 15 mpg average. Reset the button on next fill up and it will recalibrate to your driving habits.

 

I have 01 F350 DRW 7.3PSD, I will agree that the overhead is almost always off. But I do have concern with the overhead...or may be not? At 70mph, 2250-2300 RPM in O/D is says 12-14 mpg. At 60mph, 2000 RPM is says 19.7 mpg. There is only 200-300 RPM differnece.I reset it often when I somewhat watch it. Could there possibly be something else wrong with the fuel consumption/powerplant? Truck is stock so far as I know, just purchased it 5 months ago, 121k on it now. Or should I just plainly ignore it and leave in on miles to go/outside temp?

 

Bug juice, your mpg reports are accurate. Just below 2000rpm's on these trucks is the sweet spot and you will see the mpg drop very quickly after 2000rpm. As far as the first post, you can't rely on the overhead to compute milage, although mine is constantly within 2/10ths, but most are off by quite a bit and if you have a chip, bigger tires they are worthless for accurate mpg. Do all your calculations by hand as stated above, miles traveled divided by number of gallons. I get 15 around town and 16-17 highway if jept below 2000 rpm. Don't install a K&N as they have been reported to leak dirt into the intake and you don't want this. Also make sure you are resetting the overhead with the start of each tank. When filled up push on both of the buttons at the same time and hold for 3 seconds, this will reset the mpg computer. I hope this helps.
KL