Hi, I am new to this forum. I just got a 1996 F 150 with a I6 300. A few things, It was getting bad gas mpg, so far i replaced the air filter, plugs, PCV, will be changing wires, cap and rotor, and fuel filter this weekend. One question is there any other thoughts outside of this for performance? Second, it is a 5-speed, and it seems when going into gear there is a thud, like a rough shift, and ive tried different methods of shifitng, all the same end, any ideas? This was my uncles, and he had "someone" fix/rebuild this tranny, but was curious to any ideas what may be the culprit. Any feedback would be appreciated.

 

my tranny is hard to shift some times to.

i got the same truck just a 95 and i get 10-15 mpgs driven to and from school
5-6 stops normaly and i drive 55-65 70% of the time or im goin slower

 

I see, does it shift rough, like with a thud sound? Mine once I go into gear its like you can hear something banging, one sound. Mine also is a single cab 8ft bed.

 

Welcome! Give us more info. If you're getting 12MPG or better you may have to settle for it. The mileage/gallon was my biggest complaint when I first got my 92 I-6 E4OD, Ford advertised the truck will get 14 city and 18 highway, but that was always a stretch. The I6 is a big engine! it is 300 cubic inches of solid torque. My truck has some awesome towing capability. With 1500 pounds of trash in the back it still has no problem getting up to speed. The engine is setup for doing work, not saving gas, get used to it. The older carburated trucks got better mileage, however, they didn't have enuf torque, Ford fixed all that with subsequent generations of computer-controlled fuel injection systems. You can spend alot of time and money tweaking the truck to improve the gas consumption, but it may not be worth it.

The stock wires Ford gave you (assuming you still have the originals) should be good for a very long time, they were good quality, mine came off at 150,000 miles and there was nothing wrong with them.

Get some more info about the repair history of that tranny. Either you need to adjust your shifting habits, or someone may have installed a low-quality pressure plate and clutch in there. Maybe they cheated and and didn't replace the throwout and pinion bearings. Do you hear any strange rattling in the tranny while the truck is in neutral and your foot is off the clutch??

 

Mine is a 92 and exactly as f150hog described. The trany you have is a mazda and is not very good for a truck with that much torque. It was originaly for a small truck. A guy I work with said that his shift fork throughout bearing for second gear kept going bad on him. The funny thing is I have only heard people with the I6 complain about the mazda trans. I think it is becuase you are hitting your peek torque really soon when you engage the clutch. I don't know why this would matter but it might. The other thing that might help is they make an 11" clutch rather than the stock 10". Anyone know if this is better or worse for this trans?

 

Hey thanks for info. Well the truck has about 191,000 miles. My uncle to my understanding allowed anyone to work on his truck, mine now, that claimed they knew what they were doing. I know this is a big engine, and defeately not throwing a ton of money on it, but the usual stuff that should be done. The air filter was really clogged, and after replacing that and the plugs ive noticed a big difference in mileage, i dont see the gauge rushing towards E. As far as the tranny, I have had other people drive it with the same reaction while shifiting. Its a thud as it engages, so is this Inherent to the design of that tranny? Im still in works of calculating MPG, and when I get that, ill post it here. My uncle claimed he had the tranny rebuilt, but like i said, he allowed anyone to work on this truck, and I would say thier knowledge is at best questionable...lol

 

I had the same problem w/ the "thud" upon clutch pedal release. The spring on the slave cylinder/throwout bearing assembly was weak and bound up on the second turn from the t-bearing. Get ready to replace the slave cylinder. My trans man told me this was typical of speed shifting one time too many. My truck was previously a maintenace crew truck (YEE HAW RIDIM' COWBOY! )for a quarry in Ga. Go figure.