correct me if im wrong but to calculate fuel mpg is fill the tank, drive x miles, fill back the tank and divide number of miles driven by gallons used, right? that is what i did



as for the brakes, i jacked the van and hand turned the wheels, i didnt feel any resistance, the van is a fwd by the way. maximum weight 95% of the time is 3 people.

there is a check engine light on, but nothing to do with emissions, it says torque converter solenoid, however the van runs the same as the day we got it, no hard shifts what so ever

 

Yeah but its more accurate if you drive x miles and then fill up with the same number of gallons.

 

Are you saying that your van is front wheel drive (fwd) or all wheel drive (awd)?
Also a solenoid issue in the trans could be caausing issues with mpg, I think. Is the torque converter locking up as it should? If not I would affect mpgs

 

yes it is a front wheel drive, like i said the van runs as good as the day we got it, the transmission does not feel like its on its way out.

 

Well when I had a 1994 Camry, the only way I knew the tranny was gonna go out was it wasn't shifting at WOT, I had no idea when. And when it finally did, it just went.

 

update- just filled up from empty 17.8 gals, drove 233 miles, 13 mpg mixed city n highway. thats with a new air filter, 6 0z lucas injector cleaner and cleaning out the throttle body. only prob to fill up is 68 bucks!!

 

Another factor that contributes to gas mileage and is never mentioned is parasitic drag due to wheel alignment. I have been experimenting with different toe settings and have found that my 2003 GC reacts very positively to a bit of toe out. Just how much is a matter of trial and error with the sweet spot being somewhere around 1/8" toe out. My instantaneous mpg on the overhead console has been reading 30+ mpgs at 65mph on level freeway. On my last fillup I averaged about 24mpg and ran 475 miles until I literally ran out of gas and had to call AAA. ( I now carry a red plastic 2 gal gas can under the passenger seat)
Damn gas gauge said 1/4 tank but was really empty!

Hope this helps,

Joe

PS: Guys, don't ever run out of gas with your wife in the car, you'll never hear the end of it!

 

Hey dodge, you still messing around with 4cylinders, I used to read alot of your post there, I can attest to the 4.7 dropping vlave seats. Watched a friend of mine work on 2 engines that did that... anyway. i have a post on #1 misfire,, Can you read it and give me some ideas. Man i's brain dead after everything i have checked, need some serious help thanks,

 

i never thought of that, but i do have an alignment issue, it pulls for the right slightly..