95 3500 gas mileage

kmac · December 28, 2002

Have a 95 1 ton 4x4 with a 5.7 liter. I am geting about 10 mpg on the road and about 8 around town. I have owned this truck for about 7 month now. Changed the plugs no difference in gas mileage. What kinda mileage should I be getting out of this truck?

December 29, 2002

You have a problem.

I have a '95 CC 4x4 and get 12 in town and 14-16 on the highway. A tank usually averages 13.5-14 mpg.

How many miles on the truck?

kmac · December 30, 2002

The truck has 187k. This is a lot maybe with this mileage that is all I am going to get

December 30, 2002

The truck has 187k. This is a lot maybe with this mileage that is all I am going to get

That is a lot of miles. Are they hard miles(towing, hauling, etc)?

How about oil consumption?

It may be beneficial to have the injectors cleaned or replaced, there's only two on that motor. Maybe a real close inspection of all the hoses, pcv, good tuneup, check the 02 sensors, if they're old and not reading correctly, you could be running too rich of a fuel mix.

My truck has 97k on it, but the motor was replaced at 60k.

I'm really grabbing at straws here as far as you mileage woes. With 187,000 miles, that may be the best you can do.

Oh, one more thing; Are you buying good gas or that no name junk? I've found that brand name gasoline(Shell, Texaco, Mobile, etc) is much cleaner and more efficient than the crap you get at discount joints.

kmac · December 31, 2002

The truck has hauled a camper in the past. It does not use oil. I bought this truck back at the first of the summer and the guy I bought it from told me it had a crate motor put in it and it had 60k on it, but with no proof with records or such I assume it to have 187k. It does run rich you can smell the gas so maybe the O2 sensor could be a cause. I have burn amoco in all my autos. You are right the outlaw gas is not good stuff.

Colorado Kid · December 31, 2002

I would say bad O2 sensor, late ignition timing, plugged catalytic converter and bad fuel injector are the prime suspects.

Since it is a '95 (pre OBD_II) things can get way out of whack before it sets codes.

I'd put the timing first on the list except that you mentioned a rich smell, and didn't mention low power. Check it anyway, as fixing it doesn't cost anything! Also make sure the airfilter is in good shape (you didn't replace plugs without replacing the filter I'll bet) and that there are no obvious constrictions in the intake plumbing...a nest in the snokle will really screw up fuel economy!

Good luck!