93Toy_Yota

I'm sure some of my questions have been gone over before, but I've got a couple that probably haven't. I have a 93 XCab 4WD V6, and I get 10 mpg in the city, and 16 on the highway. If I drive obnoxiously slow (getting fingers and or horns) I get 13 in the city.

What causes such bad gas mileage?
Will dropping my tire size to 30's instead of 31's make a very big difference?
What about rear/front end? Will a higher geared axle help? Or would it hurt?
How much would basic mods help/hurt? (Headers, Intake, Exhaust, Plugs/Wires)
Would replacing my fuel pump, fuel lines, filter, and fuel rail with better parts be time worthy? Would I see a big enough difference if so?
Would removing the V6 (Runs fine, I think at least) and putting in a V8 help/hurt? Would it be feasible (sp?) to do it?
If a V8 would help, how are Toyota's iForce V8's?
AEM makes a water bypass for Talons/Eclipses, that goes into your intake to keep water from getting in. It's 3" diameter, would it work in our trucks?
Is it possible to do the deckplate mod on my truck? Would it help/hurt mileage?
Will lifting my trucks suspension and body help/hurt?
If I went from a 31" to a 30" but used wider tires (Say 1250's?) would it help/hurt?

If I left anything out that effects gas mileage, or anyone has opinions/answers, please help me out. I spent $100 last week, just using it for work. I can't do anything after work because of the gas situation. I'm not expecting 25 mpg here, but 18 city/25 hiway would be fine. Any help is greatly appreciated!

- Josh

EnolaGaia

Josh:

With all due respect, I don't think your stated goal of '18/25' for a '93 4X4 V6 is either reasonable or feasible. My '93 V6 XtraCab *2WD* never did better than 22/26 in its youth. Today, at 140 kilomiles, it's doing around 18/22 at best. With additional height (wind resistance) and weight (for 4WD) I don't see how your 4X4 can be expected to do even that well.

NOTE: It might be helpful if you provided more info... How many miles on your '93? What's its mpg history (or is this truck new to you)? Has mileage changed noticeably in recent weeks / months?...

PirateFins

Josh,
You won't see that much of an improvment by droping the tire size that little. Yes regearing will help some if you are not set up to run the 31's. A couple of things to check... replaced the fuel filter latley, checked the brakes to make sure the calipers are not "lazy" and letting the pads drag on the rotor also my rear brakes needed to be overhauled and lubed as they were frozen out and draging, changed any fluids in the drive train, repacked wheel bearings, is your cat converter in good shape.....???
These are some things you should look at if you haven't done so. Also more air in doesn't hurt by doing the deckplate or similar mod just make sure you put in a performance filter like amzoil.

Try these things out. But remember it is a truck and will perform like one.

93Toy_Yota

I haven't done any maintenance on it yet, my first 3k oil change is coming due Sunday. At the time, I don't have a jack to get the truck off the ground. It has 180k miles on it, but I didn't get any of the maintenance records. When I bought it, I drove it fairly hard, coming from a 4 banger car. It only got 9 mpg, now I've changed my driving style, and I can get 14-15 sometimes. The truck started out as a toy, but my motor seized, and I don't have any other cars. The bumper has a sticker for Samson exhaust, but other then that I haven't actually looked at the exhaust yet. Now what about a V8? My brother's Dodge 318 held 17 gallons, and he could drive 400 miles to a tank. Do V8's really get better gas mileage? I wouldn't mind swapping motors to save money in the long run, I have to drive this truck. Thanks for responding, I'll check the brakes tomorrow night. Later ..

- Josh
P.S. Sorry if this sounds like babbling, but it's been a long day.

Paul H.

Have you tried giving it a complete tuneup yet? An I-force V8 swap will cost you an arm and a leg with not much better milage. A V8 4X4 that gets 23mpg, are you sure?

Mohamed

Man...if anyone did that, i give props ...that a fairly sized engine and I don't believe it will fit in there with all the requirements necessary for it.

That may seem logical if it was say a 2WD, regular cab Tundra, on the freeway, going down hills. Otherwise, that indeed is a hard number to get with the V8.

Sea Trout

its a 4wd so anything over 13-14mpg is good....as far as guys telling your there getting 22 mpg....i'd question that...before my toy...my jeep was taking 20bucks a day and thats just cruisin around...and i'm paying 80cents+ a litre

cabbage

A few more:
Convert to manual hubs up front?
Synthetic oils all around?
Take off all the extra weight...

Biff

I can barely squeeze out 15mpg with my V8. I could never even get close to 400 miles a tank.

bulldog-yota

But you have a little belt driven fan on your motor. I think they call it a Supercharger or something

I get about 15-16 in town and up to 20-22 on the highway doing 75-80 normally. I average about 18 these days, but 70% is highway.

But swapping to a V8 will be a big pain, just do all the tricks int book, good tune up, air filter, exhaust upgrades, some people say synthetic oil also helps a lot. Smaller skinnier wheels will also help a lot.

Bob_98SR5

93,

Ok, here is the list of what I've done and what I plan to do:

Changed all spark plugs and wires
Cleaned air filter (Amsoil)
Cleaned throttle body
Lubed all propeller shaft points
Inflated the tires in the upper allowable range (mine is 39psi COLD)
Switched to synthetic oils and gear oil

I did not do all of these things at the same time. However as a result, my mileage improved about 1 to 1.5 mpg. In combination with conservative driving (keeping it between 2500-3000 rpm), you'll probably see a difference.

Other things that I've read people do on the board that may also improve mileage:

- Change out O2 sensors
- Clean MAF wire (if you have it)
- Adjust TPS (i dont have one but i believe you might...and its not the memo you should have received )
- Clean out engine crankcase w/ engine cleaner (Dr Z and Midiwall used something...i forget the name but I'm sure they'll chime in; not cheap)
- Roof racks: remove it (drag)

And last but not least, wash and wax it. You'll feel your 4runner will be faster and will effortlessly glide through the air.

Bob

rimpainter.com

Yeah, before you focus on modifications, let's figure out what has caused your recent drop in MPG. Go over the previous posts as there are some guys on here that have pointed you in the right direction.

An i-Force V8 swap would be the furthest thing on my list if I was in your position...that would be quite a feat.

Beartracker

It's really strange to me to read so much of a MPG difference from one mans Toy to another with the same engine and set up. My Taco is a 2001 Exten. cab with 16" tires and 62.000 miles , 2.7 4 banger with auto transmission and 4 wheel drive.
I live in south central WV and i can't go to the store or any place without climbing from 900' to 1800' all day long. I have a tool box on the back that weighs at least 500 lbs. and i weigh 220. This truck will go all day long in these mountains and off road and get 17 mpg. When I'm up in Northern Ohio (Flat lander country) i can get and easy 20 MPG. This is not blowing smoke up anyones butt, just the facts.
My 1998 4x4, 3/4 ton Chev suburban with a 350 and a 3" lift kit and 16.5 tires got 12 MPG off road here and 15 on highway.
If your little Taco is only getting 10 mpg you have something very wrong or your not figureing your gas milage right.Had a guy on here last year who was not figureing his gas milage right at all. Mike

Fink

Well...atleast now I can say that I'm getting better mileage than SOMEONE!

But...I WAS getting that same mileage before I started replacing things.

The things that I have done are:

O2 sensor
Fuel Filter
Plugs, Wires, Cap and Rotor
All fluids replaced
Air filter was really clogged so I cleaned it
aanndd...

Thats pretty much it...the things that made the biggest difference in performance was the fuel filter and O2 sensor. Those made the mileage go up about 2 mpg, and its weird, as time goes on the mileage actually gets better...I'm getting close to 13 with my normal driving habits...man...its gonna suck when I have to start using A/C!

Fink

86 TurboSR5

1986 4cyl turbo 42k. I get 21 city and 28 highway. I think ill get a lot more highway though just being conservative. V-6 5sp R150. I have cruise also with a camper.

Fink

For some reason lately my mileage has gotten MUCH better...I'm now getting about 15, I'm very pleased...however I have no clue what made it get so much better...oh well

Fink