Poor Mileage or it is just my imagination?

[Vern]

My gage only works at full then drops down out when it hits 3/4 tank. it's so exciting driving down those VA back roads. Luckly my gas light does work. My 22re gets about 21mpg even in the city. It doesn't fair so well over 70, oddly enough it runs best at about 75. Thats her sweet spot, but I pay the price.

 

[03vrod]

Vern I started a thread about the fuel gauge problem and also rekindled one on Yotatech forum.The consensus over there is a bad sending unit in the tank.I'm going to pull mine soon and see if I can clean up the resistor.

 

[s2kpuddydad]

fishrod,

haha well, in 1988 they didn't have indicator lights.

I will try your milk container idea. There's only one way to find out, right?

My 1988 owners manual shows that there is an indicator (low fuel) light. I am running the fuel level as far down as I dare to see if the light comes on.
I put $20 worth of mid grade (around 7 gallons of fuel) in the tank when it was showing just under an eighth. I have driven to Disney/Orlando and back plus, drove all over town today and no light. I am still above E so, I will drive some more to see what happens LOL.
I guess I will know if it has a 17 gal. tank too

 

[WoodsRunner88]

I have got a 1989 1st gen., I have the 3.0L and the 5spd. and I am sitting on factory size 225/75/R15 and depending on how I drive I am getting between 18 and 21 miles per gallon runnig unleaded. When I got my 4Runner it was getting 7 mpg, I would look into the ignition timing, and run some injector cleaner through the system, it helped me get my mileage up to 15 and 17. Also I changed my timing belt and the belt had jumped three teeth (I believe or it got installed wrong). That boosted my mileage by a couple of miles and the power was much better. So check those areas and you might find one is faulty. Good Luck

 

[SKIDPLATE]

A good rule of thumb is whenever you buy anything used, the first thing to do is replace the plugs and wires - both are equally important - the O2 sensor is next and may even be more important than the others. All information out there say that an O2 sensor is only good for about 50k-60k miles. I've found that to be about right.

Secondly, if you are seeing a really really bad fuel gauge indication i.e., half a tank at 60 miles, you may have a bad fuel sending unit. Mine read empty after 100 miles when I first got it. Throw a five gallon can in the back - full, preferably - fill up your tank, reset you trip meter, and run it till it quits. Now you'll know all you need to know.

 

[s2kpuddydad]

My low fuel light works...it finally came on:reddance:

The light came on then, goes out for a bit then...back on again as the fuel sloshes around in the tank.
I filed back up and it took 15 gallons to fill. My guess is that the light comes on with about 2 gallons left in the tank.

I drove for 325 miles according to the odometer. After doing the math to correct the mileage with my tire size taken into account I drove about 355 miles on 15 gallons, my mileage is about 23 MPG.

The family and I will be going on a cruse aboard the worlds largest ocean liner, The Oasis of The Seas. We are going on the vessels maiden voyage Dec 5
I will be driving down to Ft Lauderdale in less than 2 weeks from now, the trip is about 300 miles of mostly interstate driving. I will get a good idea of what the highway mileage is and post that up next:dancin:

 

[03vrod]

Glad to hear your mileage is up a bit s2kpuddydad. Let us know how your cruise goes.

 

[s2kpuddydad]

Glad to hear your mileage is up a bit s2kpuddydad. Let us know how your cruise goes.

I am very happy with the MPG especially since I was only getting 16 MPG with the 94 Gen 2 I had.
I will start a new thread with pics of the big a$$ boat

 

[rustyrazor]

Fuel Economy

Right so I have a promblem when it comes to gas mileage, it's not a problem with the 4runner or whatever. Its a problem with me. My wife says that I'm obsessed with gas mileage.

Here's what I can tell you about the 4runners I've owned. I keep track of every gallon or litre of fuel and the mileage at every fillup. I write it all down on a little notepad and then put it all in a spreadsheet and here are the figures:

1990 4runner 22re standard tranny: (manual hubs)

Average for 10 months: 17.655 MPG

Summer Average: 19.344 MPG

Winter Average: 14.900 MPG (Lots of snow and in 4x4 alot)

1992 4runner 3L V6 automatic tranny (automatic hubs)

Average for 10 months: 14.078 MPG

Summer Average: 14.967 MPG

Winter Average: 13.027 MPG

I think the '92 has closer numbers because of the auto hubs. The mileage was worse when I bought the 92 and I gave it a tuneup to improve the mileage.

If you want a copy of the spreadsheet just message me your email and I'll send it to you. I also track gas prices and the amount that I spend on gas in the spreadsheet.

 

[yotarunner4]

sounds about right...

my '88 v6 got 350-425km's to a tank, so it sounds like yours is about the same.

 

[bshinn]

The hubs are in the center of your front wheels. These hubs on the 90 and newer 4 wheel drive 4Runners are automatic and have a Toyota center cap on them to match the rear wheels. The auto hubs can be removed and manual ones installed. You can use hubs from an older 4Runner/pick up or a set of aftermarket hubs such as Warn.
It will take a few hours to install them and cost about $100 for the hubs.

They are not "Automatic" they are LOCKED! Toyota wanted to market the truck as "shift on the fly" and not pay AISIN for their hubs. :wtf:

Find a pair of IFS hubs, buy new gaskets, o-rings, & cone washers (optional) from the dealer, get rid of the garbage Toyota gave us and enjoy ~3mpg increase in mileage, & a better driving truck.

If you clean & paint the new hubs, study the manual, & plan ahead it's 30 min swap. The only tricky part is removing the cone washers. If you're lucky you won't even need to remove the wheels.

Make sure you have a brass punch, & BIG hammer. You can beat the hub body to break the cones loose, but you risk more than you gain, buy the punch! It helps to soak the cone washers in PB Blaster, & relax. The parts from the dealer will cost you ~$20.00 (if you spring for the new silver cover bolts), 8 bucks if you don't.

I've done this on 4 trucks/runners over the past 25yrs. You won't regret spending the time/money.


Bob

Check out this link if you don't want to rebuild the hubs yourself. http://www.wabfab.org/aisinmanualhubs/aisin.htm

BTW, if you want "shift on the fly" just lock the AISIN hubs!

 

[03vrod]

You can take a cheap pair of pliars and grind one end down like a blade leave the other side flat.put the blade side in the groove of the cone washer squeeze and twist them out .They sell them on tool trucks but the set I made work as well as the ones I bought.Just make sure when you reinstall them you orient them so you can get them off .

 

[s2kpuddydad]

Very good to know info:thumb3:

 

[rustbucket]

well I get~6mpg maybe 7. Full tune up this past spring( about a year ago now),minus the coil it self and run injector cleaner every couple of tanks, even took injectors out and cleaned up, and haven't replaced O2 sensor yet. But hell id be happy with 12mpg.

 

[fishrod]

well I get~6mpg maybe 7. Full tune up this past spring( about a year ago now),minus the coil it self and run injector cleaner every couple of tanks, even took injectors out and cleaned up, and haven't replaced O2 sensor yet. But hell id be happy with 12mpg.

Something if definetely not right there. The O2 sensor should cause the check engine light to come on though I think. Unless its been disconnected. Might be worth paying someone 30 bucks to run a code scan on your truck to see if there are any codes being thrown.

 

[rustbucket]

Something if definetely not right there. The O2 sensor should cause the check engine light to come on though I think. Unless its been disconnected. Might be worth paying someone 30 bucks to run a code scan on your truck to see if there are any codes being thrown.

There is the cel on but no one around here can scan obd1 vehicles. Can the jumping of te1 and e1 be done on our trucks?

 

[Tornadom]

My first full tank of gas in the 4Runner yielded 14.5mpg, mostly country road driving with a lot of stopping and starting. While it is not stellar gas mileage, it is still better than what I was getting with my lifted '06 F150. The real savings for me comes in the way of cheaper insurance and not having a huge monthly payment.

True story: don't buy an SUV if you are concerned with fuel economy!

Seriously though, I thought the 4Runner would be in the high teens with a V6/5spd, but those 4.56 gears and all terrain tires are probably hurting me a little. I might look into removing the A.D.D. system and locking the differential in 4wd, then replacing my full-time hubs with manual hubs. Not turning the CV axles has got to help, right? I guess a basic tune up would be another good place to start. In the end, I don't worry too much. I primarily commute on the CBR, and it yields a consistent 45mpg no matter how much of a hooligan I pretend to be on it.