I don't have a GenI, but I do have a GenII ('92 5.2L Dak). 12mpg sounds way
too low for a sixer. I get 17mpg around town, 20 on the highway with my
5.2L V8 ext. cab (auto w/3.55 gears) 2wd. If he's never replaced the O2
sensor, that'd be one of the first things I'd check out. That, and make
sure the truck is tuned up.
Geoff, about your pinging: I assume you've checked for spark leakage around
the distributor (this is a leakage-prone area on DC's caps placed behind the
intake)? When checking for leakage, make sure you do it with the engine
warm (more chance for spark leakage) and do it somewhere where it's pitch
dark (this is important).
I think some of those engines had problems with the distributor shaft
wearing prematurely or something. That is something else you may want to
check out. I think you can check the shaft for excessive freeplay next time
you have the cap off by grasping the rotor and jiggling it. It will jiggle
a little, but it should be within spec (unfortunately, I don't know what the
specs are for that).
Also, do the intake belly pan gasket test to make sure that sucker is
sealing. It can lead to pinging and possibly reduced mileage.
HTH
-- Remove .your.underwear to reply --<jon@dakota-truck.net> wrote in message news:9kf5qc$10e$1@bent.twistedbits.net... > I promised a friend of mine I'd check on his gas mileage for him to see > what everyone else is getting. The truck is a '91 (pre-mag) V8 with > a few bolt ons (intake, exhaust, etc.) It has never really gotten > better than 12mpg, *highway*. That, combined with the 15 gallon tank, > means he can only go 120-130 miles between fill ups. Anybody else > out there have any Gen I gas mileage records? How does this compare? > Any thoughts as far as what to do to improve it? > > (Some of you know the truck, it belongs to Jim Knox; honorary DMLer) :-) > > -- > > -Jon- > > .---- Jon Steiger ------ jon@dakota-truck.net or jon@jonsteiger.com -----. > | I'm the: AOPA, DoD, EAA, NMA, NRA, SPA, USUA. Rec & UL Pilot - SEL | > | '70 Barracuda, '92 Ram 4x4, '96 Dakota, '96 Intruder 1400, '96 FireFly | > `----------------------------------------- http://www.jonsteiger.com ----' > >
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Fri Jun 20 2003 - 12:02:22 EDT