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I installed an ScanGuageII earlier this year and have really gotten into monitoring running specs. A handful of times in the sun with a/c on max I could get the gauge needle to creep up, but that was before digital monitoring.
AFAIK the dash gauge has a compensator board on it that turns it into an analog warning light. One massive temp rang for 'cold', one modest range for 'normal', and one large one for 'hot'.
Many manufacturers did this with temp gauges, because apparently people would worry when a 'real' gauge went up or down and contact the service department. So the compensator board keeps the needle steady regardless of the normal ups and downs.
I popped the hood after driving and gave the fan a twirl and it just free spun. So a little parking lot detour and repair has my idling in traffic with the A/C running topping at 191*
30 minutes in 97* degree heat start to finish. I think I lost a few pounds sweating.
Still and all, pretty easy item to replace. Toyota definitely did that one right. My problem is my hands, and fingers, are too big to get in and work the bolts. My wife's hands fit perfectly. She helped me replace the fan clutch in the 99 Runner last summer. I wasn't SURE it was bad, but it was on it's way out, at the very least. When it was "whooshing", I could reach in and stop it with 1 finger easily. It was time to replace it.
A few days and a few hundred miles later, the fan clutch was definitely a problem. The temp has never gone above 193* in a bunch of different conditions.
the downside… all that fan drag now is KILLING my fuel mileage 😓. I’m struggling to break into the 20s.
A few days and a few hundred miles later, the fan clutch was definitely a problem. The temp has never gone above 193* in a bunch of different conditions.
the downside… all that fan drag now is KILLING my fuel mileage 😓. I’m struggling to break into the 20s.
#19MPG4Life
if you're getting even close to around 20, you're doing better than most 3rd gen owners
No doubt, my long term average is around 15, 15.5 mpg.
Uncorrected for 33" tires, FWIW. But certainly reflecting the added rolling resistance and all the added weight of the skids/sliders/winch/bumpers/rack.
When I bought my truck at 189,000 miles, it ran and drove pretty much like new, and I know because I'm friends with the original owner and met him just before he bought it. The fuel mileage has always been 19mpg on the highway. Flat or steep, 65mph or 80, it got 19mpg. Never broke 20 to my knowledge. Now I'm having some exhaust issues and the truck really is starting to feel its age, and I'm getting 17mpg highway. I'm guessing if I fixed the exhaust and looked into some other things I could get back to 19, but this truck won't ever do better than that.
Always bugged me how Toyota could never seem to make a fuel efficient V6. My truck looks efficient and responsible, being small with a small V6, but my friends with full size Chevys with V8s get better mileage than me.
When I bought my truck at 189,000 miles, it ran and drove pretty much like new, and I know because I'm friends with the original owner and met him just before he bought it. The fuel mileage has always been 19mpg on the highway. Flat or steep, 65mph or 80, it got 19mpg. Never broke 20 to my knowledge. Now I'm having some exhaust issues and the truck really is starting to feel its age, and I'm getting 17mpg highway. I'm guessing if I fixed the exhaust and looked into some other things I could get back to 19, but this truck won't ever do better than that.
Always bugged me how Toyota could never seem to make a fuel efficient V6. My truck looks efficient and responsible, being small with a small V6, but my friends with full size Chevys with V8s get better mileage than me.
I don't think the 1998 chevy trucks get better fuel mileage.
Good point. I guess a better comparison would be a more modern Tacoma. If we're going to go with data and not anecdotes, here's the comparison.
I have a friend who recently bought Silverado, somewhere around a 2015, who claims to get around 24 on the highway, and still over 20 when he's got his slide-in camper on the truck. His is the V8 that'll drop to a V6 when you want. I didn't look hard enough to find that option on the website I looked at....
What I see with a lot of people is a negative view of full-size trucks as being wasteful gas hogs. Those same people are at least a bit more ok with, if not completely accepting of small trucks like a Tacoma. When in reality, the difference is minimal. And once you start towing, the full size trucks typically get better mileage than a Tacoma, because they're big & powerful enough to not have to work so hard.
Well since this has gone full fuel mileage, I've been averaging 21mpg per tank for the last several months. As I side before, getting the ScanGauge and being able to see my realtime mpg has been instrumental in changing my poorly efficient habits. Using cruise, sticking to reasonable speeds (no more than 7mph over the limit unless it's 70mph... then top of 72), and of course controlling my acceleration.
I agree that a smaller foreign vehicle should do better on paper.
Did you post in the wrong section by mistake, or are you trying to push traffic to website? I see no relation between this thread and the link in your post.
Aug 2, 2022 | 09:35 AM
