# What is wrong with my f-250??!!??



## Evan528 (Jan 12, 2000)

I own a 2000 F250 with the 5.4 liter v-8 engine. I am getting 8-9 miles per gallon ! what is the problem here? I am hearing from other owners talkin about how there getting 14-15. Im going to be pulling a trailer with this truck come spring.... im nervous to see what i will be getting then! Any body have any ideas to what is wrong with thia truck? 8-9 mpg is unaceptable!


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## John DiMartino (Jan 22, 2000)

Is it 2wd or 4wd? Excab?8-9 is a little ow empty-I wouldnt expect any more than 11 on its best day if its 4wd.Dont forget the Ford has a ton of frontal area,it will never get the mileage of a lower,lighter truck-unless its a diesel.


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## plowking35 (Dec 21, 1999)

I have a sub that plows for me that owned a 99 F -350 reg cab p/u with the 5.4 and the best mileage he ever had was 9.3 mpg.
He traded it for a 2000 left over F -250 with a PS for better mileage. Seems to me that around 8-10 is common for the 5.4 and if people are getting more, they are in denial.
Dino


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## Randy Scott (Nov 6, 2000)

Is it me, or is that kind of mileage pothetic? I thought the guys with the V-10 were getting that kind of mileage!


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## Evan528 (Jan 12, 2000)

John, yes its a 4wd extended cab. why does the fact that its 4wd decrease mpg even when its in 2wd? I was actually hoping you were going to tell me theres something wrong with my truck...lol! I love this truck but the gas consumption is just killing me!


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## BobbyB (Aug 30, 2000)

Hate to give you bad news to but my 93 extended cab 4+4 runs 10 and under around 8 mpg when i'm pulling my 18foot enclosed trailer


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## 2401 (Feb 3, 2001)

Even though the truck is in 2wd mode, there is a lot of extra drag up front (differential gears, U-joints, axleshafts etc) compared to a truck that only has 2wd. This is what "eats" mileage even though you're not in 4x4. If it's any consolation, my '75 GMC dually pulls about the same kind of numbers and it's only 2wd! 


1975 GMC C-35 "Blood, Sweat & Gear$"


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## LoneStarLawn (Feb 28, 2000)

were getting 14 mpg in our 2000 F250 extended cab 2wd std. trans V10...


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## greenquestlawn (Feb 1, 2001)

I have a 2000 f250 SD Regular cab i will check the milage next week and try to get back with you but im sure im getting at least 10 mpg I would imagine that with the hubs locked it would be less


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## KirbysLawn (Jun 13, 2000)

*I really hate to say I told you but.....*

http://www.lawnsite.com/showthread.php?threadid=304

We tried to tell you, can't say you were not warned.


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## John DiMartino (Jan 22, 2000)

Evan,ithink your mileage is normal,especially since you have the heaviest and tallest configuration.Your trucks empty weight is over 6000 lbs,if you've added a bunch of extra's its probably close to 7K.The 5.4 OHC engine is not a good choice in heavy vehicles,and mileage suffers.Fords have always had terrible fuel mileage on gas powered F250-and bigger trucks,they are just heavy beasts.


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## plowking35 (Dec 21, 1999)

That extra 4K for the diesel doesnt sound so bad now ehh?
The diesel option does cost more, but with 2x the fuel mileage and resale you will save money with it. Do your self a favor, trade the truck in while it still has low mileage on it, and buy a diesel. What you save in fuel per month will more than pay for the extra option.
My sub is now getting 18-20 mpg with his new truck with the PS
Dino


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## RNH (Feb 18, 2001)

*Gas Guzzler*



> _Originally posted by plowking35 _
> *That extra 4K for the diesel doesnt sound so bad now ehh?
> The diesel option does cost more, but with 2x the fuel mileage and resale you will save money with it. Do your self a favor, trade the truck in while it still has low mileage on it, and buy a diesel. What you save in fuel per month will more than pay for the extra option.
> My sub is now getting 18-20 mpg with his new truck with the PS
> Dino *


Gas Guzzler

I know what you mean, my 92 F250 has the straight six, with a three speed trans, and sucks gas down like theres no tomorrow. At 3000 rpm its running 65mph, it seem all I do is drive from station to station. But my next truck will have a diesel in it, I herd a rumor that Ford will be coming out with a Cummings diesel soon.


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## plowking35 (Dec 21, 1999)

Cummins not Cummings
And no ford is staying with Navistar, in fact they have a 6.0 liter PS2 coming out for the 2003 model year.Ford has alot of money in R&D in this engine, so they plan on using it for a while. Ford and Chevy both offer cummins and Cat in the class 6 and 7 trucks along with allison trannies.
Dino


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## Evan528 (Jan 12, 2000)

Thanks for rubbing it in kirby ! Now i completly understand why you tried to hard to convince me to buy a deisel! Heres the thing though... 90% of my driving is stop and driving and short distances... with a deisel it it not good for the engine to be turned off and back on constantly. I dont want to leave my truck on at every job or estimate! Ive seen alot of deisels in parkin lots with the doors locked at running. I dont want to deal with that! Well I love everything about my truck expet this.... il just have to live with this I guess!


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## Rob (May 15, 2001)

Evan,
I think that I have the same truck as you. It is a 2000 F250 SD, extended cab, short bed, 4WD with a 5.4 liter and the 4.10 gears. I have had this truck for about 18 months now, and it is not my daily driver. I use it mostly for plowing and some side work that I do. So, the amount of mileage I have on it now is a bit low, only 9000 miles thus far. But I track the mileage all of the time and this truck runs between 12 and 13 mpg consistently. By looking at the other posts here, perhaps I'm just lucky but I thought I'd chime in anyway.

-- The majority of driving I do is mostly around town / short highway trips of less than 15 miles


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## KirbysLawn (Jun 13, 2000)

Sorry Evan, couldn't help it.


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## plowking35 (Dec 21, 1999)

Evan your concers are really unbfounded. With the new type of injection systems, and lower ends, they arent prone to the stop and gp cycles that used to bother the older designed diesels.
Dino


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## mike48114 (Aug 13, 2000)

I hate reading people argue about this... everyone who buys and drives alot of trucks like me knows gas millage is affected dramaticly by driving style.. for example i usally drive a 98 GMC 34 ton 4x4, and i get 10 miles per gallon... we have a fleet of 7 trucks and that is the best of any that arnt deisel...oh ya and the guy that was preachin deisel deisel deisel---We have a 2000 Ford ps deisel and it gets at best 13 .... its all in how you drive.
Also for better gas millage i recomend a K&N air filter... it really works no b.s

Mike

[Edited by Eric ELM on 02-18-2001 at 10:10 PM]


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## plowking35 (Dec 21, 1999)

what truck is that PS in?
Application also makes a huge difference, along with gear ratio.
Also no argueing with the FACT that I can plow for 30hrs on 40 gallons of diesel, and the same type truck with a big block will take 2x that amount of fuel. You cannot, I mean cannot sit there and argue that the same truck with the same body, tranny, and gear ratio will get the same mileage between gas and diesel. Just wont happen ever!
Dino

[Edited by plowking35 on 02-18-2001 at 09:22 PM]


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## Evan528 (Jan 12, 2000)

*onther problem with my 2000 f-250.. this one is kind of weird!*

Every time I get out my my truck and push the door shut I get a shock! My passengers always laugh at me... I get out and say "ouch!". Its more comical to me than it is a problem. On another ford forum other f-250 owners discussed how they had the same thing. I just thought I would throw it at you guys because im sitting here with nothing else to do..... I get shocked about 98% of the time I shut the door! Passengers side dosnt do this!


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## Waterchikn (Dec 19, 2000)

2000 mountaineer......I have the same problem. Sometimes I think I might actually miss a heart beat because of the shock. I am not sure, but I am guessing that it is static.
The two issues that ruin my static theory are that this only happens on this truck ('00 Mountaineer) and sometimes I can "see" the shock taking place, like at night. It is very bright and hurts really bad.....anyone?
As far as mileage, I think some of the newer trucks are getting terrible mileage. The mountaineer gets about 13-15, 
(full time 4X4 and V8). But my 1990 F-250 gets 15-18. It is 4X4 and 351. I don't get it......


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## FIREMAN (Apr 8, 2000)

OK YOU SHOCKED PEOPLE......HERE'S A FIX FOR THAT....HANG A METAL STRAP FROM THE REAR AXLE..OR SWAY BAR IF YOU HAVE ONE...MAKE IT SO IT IS NOT SOLID BUT WILL FLEX ID HITTING ANYTHING...IT'S CALLED A GROUNDING STRAP AND THEY WORK...GOOD LUCK


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## 85w/350 (Sep 15, 2000)

*more no more shock*

Another way to prevent having the crap shocked out of you speaking from personal experience....hold onto the door handle or something until your feet touch the ground...then feel free to touch you truck as you please shock free...I know that feeling and I have also seen myself get shocked at night


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## landscaper3 (May 2, 2000)

Our 1997 F-350 4WD with auto gets 20 to 23mpg in the summer!!!!!!! and thats with a 4x4!!! While plowing and sanding we do get alot lower mpg but still well in the double digits. Also as the statement goes that your gas engines get more mpg then your diesels you better bring them in the shop!!!! change the evoporator filter, diesel treatment among other things (our 444CI Powerstroke F-350 gets on an average summer use 19mpg, our late 80's Dodge 3/4 gets an average of 10 mpg and that has a 318 2bbl carb, and the late 80s Chevy 3500 with 350 gets average 9mpg (due to dump body, more GVW) so the diesel gets 100% better milage then the other fleet trucks!!

[Edited by landscaper3 on 03-11-2001 at 04:48 AM]


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## LiVe2 (May 24, 2000)

I was going to trade in my 95 f-350 ps 4x4 until i found out how much its worth $8000.00 is all I have 146,000. I want to trade it in on a 99 f-250 ps 4x4 but they want 26,000 or more for them. I got my truck paid off and there is nothing wrong with it I just want a little bit newer truck, what would you guys do?


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## KirbysLawn (Jun 13, 2000)

Only you should be able to answer that. A guy with limited funds or tight spending habits will say keep the old one, the guy with lots of funds may say go for it. Only you know how bad you want it or how much funds are avalable. If you finance the $18,000 balance for 5 years your payment will be $360.00 a month. Hows your funds?


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## John DiMartino (Jan 22, 2000)

If there is nothing wrong with your truck now,and it is good enough lookinmg as to not take away fromt your business im amage-then Id keep it.Take the 340 a month the newer one will cost ans save it ,if something breaks,use that money-it wont tkae long to see the savings add up ,if its a good truck.On the other hand if its tired,using lots of oil,and the driveline is getting sloppy,the truck leaks everywhere,and the body is in need of repair,doors sagging etc..,you might want to sell it now,before you have to put a lot of money into it-,the new onw will be worth every pennt if thats the case.good luck whichever you do.


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## LiVe2 (May 24, 2000)

Its still in good condition, it leaks a little oil from the rear main seal but other then thats its still a nice truck. I have to do a little work to the front tie rods (4X4) The 99s drive so much nicer then mine


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