I drove to Michigan last Friday to pick-up a 29 foot camper and on the way out I was getting around 14-15.5 MPG which I thought was pretty poor. After getting the camper I was getting 14.1 coming through Indiana and Illinois. We stoped for the night and started driving again at 6am the next morning. I was stormy and some wind until we hit Nebraska. Nebraska had high winds could this cause such a decrease in MPG? My MPG dropped around 6-7 MPG and I also had a check engine light come on. I unpluged the battery and reset the computer and light has not came back on, but gas milage is still poor. Is this typical for winds and towing? I have not changed the fuel filters since I bought the truck which was 12k ago. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

 

If You Are Pushing A Strong Head Wind, Then Yes This Will Change Your Mileage.

 

Personally, I think resetting the computer wasn't too bright. You're looking for a fault condition, the computer detected and alerted you (by illuminating CEL), and you dumped the data? Finding an Autozone along your route and having them read the code would've been the smart thing to do. You could have a bad sensor causing a rich mixture (thus enhanced fuel consumption) or a host of other problems...

Strong headwinds will decrease your fuel economy, especially with something with a large front area like a travel trailer. However, it shouldn't drop it by 60%.

 

I would scan for codes, and if there were none, I would hook the trailer back up, run it hard like you were, and see if you can pull a code. If you have a tall trailer, a strong wind will kill you (since most of your power goes to wind resistance and not other losses, doing 70 mph with a 30 mph headwind is almost as bad as doing 100 mph with the big trailer!!!).

 

I do agree with you about resetting the computer, but my thought was if the problem was significant enough it would trip the computer again. I have had problems with ford's EGR valves in the past and my hunch was the EGR was acting up. I had it replaced about 2 months ago and thought this was the problem. Even though the winds were strong I dont think my gas milage should have been that poor. I will try having Auto Zone run a check and see if they find any codes. How about changing out my fuel filters and air cleaner, they have not been changed in at least 12-13K. I dont know what the dealer did before I bought the truck, they say one thing when they mean another!!!

 

Also, you're posting in the 6.0 forum, but keep saying gas mileage. Does your X have the 6.0, or a gasser? If it's a gasser, 6MPG wouldn't be too surprising... gassers lose lots more MPG when towing compared to a diesel.

If it's a 6.0, the air filter should be fine - check your restriction gauge. As for the fuel filter, it might be worth looking at them, but generally a plugged filter should result in restriction and diminished idle/throttle response, not an excessive jump in fuel consumption.

Are you relying on the lie-o-meter for your MPG readings? If so, do they make sense (were you actually consuming fuel that quickly?)

 

I did both a manuel check and used the truck computer and they were really close to matching each other. My Excursion is a 6.0 diesel.

 

You left out some important info:

Is your excusion 2wd or 4wd?

Were you far away from home when you were getting that 14mpg?

What mpg do you normally get?

Now, as for towing mpg: Towing anything that doesn't fit in the slip-stream of your truck i.e. a camper kills mpg. On top of that headwinds drastically cut your mpg while towing, and for every 5mph faster you drive the wind resistance goes up exponentially.

Definetly change your fuel filters, especially since it appears you were running fuel from stations you have no experience with (and you already are close to the 15k on top of that). I also like the Autozone recommendation from above.

I tow a 30' toyhauler that scales out between 10,000 and 11,500 depending on what I have loaded in it. I get around 9mpg towing and although I almost never run the truck without the trailer behind it, I've calculated 17-18ish on the hwy unloaded.....that's with a 6-speed.

I dont' think your 6 mpg is that far off as you were in an area where you potentially bought winter fuel, were towing a trailer with huge wind resistance, and were fighting some storms. Look at the bright side, if you think 6-7mpg is bad, just think what you'd been getting with a gasser

 

Welcome to FTE and the 6.0 forum ajeffrey
When you get a chance you might want to cruise over to our Tech Folder for some great info.

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/showthread.php?t=303583

 

I just came back from a trip to Florida, (1600 miles each way) and had head winds all the way down and back. I was towing a 30ft' 5th wheel and averaged 10.4 mpg. for the entire trip, driving between 65 and 75mph. When driving unloaded I was getting 22mpg. I would say you have a problem,thats not just winter fuel.
(04 F250, 2wd, CC 6 sp.)

 

6 mpg is jusy plain bad. I get 10-11.5 hauling a 15,000 lb 5ver over hill and dale. 3.73 rear end 2x4 no mods. up tp 18 mpg empty. You did not state what speeds you were averaging.Do you have tow/haul? Don,t know exactly when it came out. Air cleaner as was previously said should be okay. You should have noticed other driveability problems. While heavy winds will definately cut your mpg. You should be getting much better than that.

BYW dont rely soley on the aircleaner valve. They do stick somtimes.Crack open the housing every once in a while and have a look at the filter. My dealer always does that when I have it serviced. 20,000+ miles and it is still A1.