Well as a New expy owner,97' 4X4 XLT, 5.4 373 LS, I had to check the gas mileage, I have to admit , love to hear that throaty V-8 , but did'nt get into her to much. I live in Eastern CT. many hills in this area, as it turns out around town driving at like 1500 RPM, ( 50 mph approx ) she got 14.6 MPG (272 miles @ 18.6 gallons)So I am pleased with that,more would be better, but oh well , I have heard alot of horror stories about fuel milage.

PS, My Expy has 88 k miles on her, It is kinda squirrley feeling at faster speeds,,70 mph and faster,, it has miss-matched tires on it,,Good year wranglers in front, ( half worn out )and new Uniroyal Laredos on the back, (this is how I bought it), Is this a good reason for that squirrley feeling,,???? Opinions Welcome Please ! What is a good set of tires to make it handle better ?? 16" wheels on it, I will be doing shocks to, any comments on them would be helpful! Has any one gone with Air-Shocks on the rear ?? No load-leveling system on my Expy! thanks to all .

Mark,,

 

Can you provide more details on what you mean by that "squirrley feeling"?

 

>Well as a New expy owner,97' 4X4 XLT, 5.4 373 LS, I had to
>check the gas mileage, I have to admit , love to hear that
>throaty V-8 , but did'nt get into her to much. I live in
>Eastern CT. many hills in this area, as it turns out around
>town driving at like 1500 RPM, ( 50 mph approx ) she got
>14.6 MPG (272 miles @ 18.6 gallons)So I am pleased with
>that,more would be better, but oh well , I have heard alot
>of horror stories about fuel milage.
>
>PS, My Expy has 88 k miles on her, It is kinda squirrley
>feeling at faster speeds,,70 mph and faster,, it has
>miss-matched tires on it,,Good year wranglers in front, (
>half worn out )and new Uniroyal Laredos on the back, (this
>is how I bought it), Is this a good reason for that
>squirrley feeling,,???? Opinions Welcome Please ! What is a
>good set of tires to make it handle better ?? 16" wheels on
>it, I will be doing shocks to, any comments on them would
>be helpful! Has any one gone with Air-Shocks on the rear ??
>No load-leveling system on my Expy! thanks to all .
>
> Mark,,


Hi Mark, I have a 99 Expy XLT 2WD, 5.4L, 4R100, 3.73 Limited Slip, Load Leveling Suspension, approx 28,000 miles, OEM tires (GY Wrangler HT 255/70-16) (bought used with approx 23k on the clock) Since I got it have kept a log detailing any maintenace as well as oil & gas usage. I have changed the oil twice (get the Fomoto Valve, you'll like it) and rotated the tires once. She has never burned/leaked (check your passanger side head gasket) any oil and has returned an average 14.8 mpg (some tanks better not many worse) with a 'best' tank mpg of 16.8 mpg, all driving is combined city/urban interstate/rural road/rural highway/interstate highway.

Check your tire pressure with a good quality gauge. What ever pressure you decide to run (I like mine about 2 PSI above the factory recomemnded pressure) make sure that both tires on each axle have the same pressure. Check when tires are cold (less then one mile of travel after having set overnight is best. Also have the alignment checked by a reputable tire dealer when you get those worn out front tires replaced. Check to see if the spare has ever been on the road, you might save a little cash by having it remounted on one of you front wheels and then will only need one new tire (use an old one for spare)

Petrol

 

Yeah, the expy's can be a little squirrely, but it's hardley noticeable to me since I drive my Bronco most of the time. The Bronco's are very noteable for squirrely steering.

I would check those tires, as they are probably part of the problem. Also, check the front sway bar links, as the stock links tend to break often.

We average closer to 16 mpg, mostly because my wife is the primary driver. I have to admit, a heavier foot does cost more.

 

Mark, I put a steering stabilizer and Rancho RSX shocks on my Expy and love the results. It is much more responsive and so much easier to drive on the open highways. All said, everything cost just over $200 and took a couple hours to install.

 

Hey Jim,,So you like the Rancho RSX shocks ? Did you notice a difference in control after installing them,,? I see at 4wheelparts.com they want $ 209,00 for the RSX shocks, and like $ 120.00 for the steering stabalizer! Where did you get your shocks,?

Thanks for the info,, Mark

 

Thanks guys for the info, this site is very interesting, and lots of great ideas.

I will get new tires for her soon,,probobly just get 2 more Uniroyal Laredos , so at least there all the same,, Then shocks, for her,,see how it handles then,,! But I want to clean and paint the frame first ( she is kind of rusty looking )Has anyone done this or found any good spray on rust preventer ?? I will pressure wash it first, scrape where it needs it,( it is just surface rust ) thanks to all

Mark

 

The squirly feeling you refer to is pervasive with the XPs. If you look at the sticker on the driver door it tells the recommended pressure for the front and rears. On my 99 it says 30 front and 35 rear. I followed these recommendations and the squirlyness went away.

99 F250SD EC 5.4L 3.73 285 BFG/ATs...
99 Expy EB 5.4L