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94 chev hard on gas

A

Anonymous-0

Well-known Member
Hi all, I have a 94 chev 1/2 ton 4x4 305 engine that gets only 13 miles to the gallon at it's best . It's auto with 3;73 diff. Any thoughts on how to improve the milage.
 
That sounds about right ot me. 4x4 auto 3.73 all take more fuel mileage away.

Don't believe 1/2 of the high MPG stories found here. Yours is right in line with what mine do.
 
What size tires do you have on it? Bigger tires take more power to turn.

My '89 heavy 1/2, 4X4, 5.7 with 245/75/16 tires will get MAYBE 16-17 on the road. If yours does 13 all around, that's not too far from normal.
 
(quoted from post at 05:18:14 10/28/11) Hi all, I have a 94 chev 1/2 ton 4x4 305 engine that gets only 13 miles to the gallon at it's best . It's auto with 3;73 diff. Any thoughts on how to improve the milage.
Click to expand...

Duramax = much money
 
You can do one of several things all of which can be expensive and unless you use the truck as a daily driver may not pay for the mods.

1. High flow exhaust system from the manifold back, cat back high flow systems look coll but raly don't do much for you. The high flow system may get you a couple of MPG.

2. Replace the intake and computer with a vortec system. That should bring you up to maybe 18 MPG but may be less.

3. Trade it in on something newer keeping in mind that if you wind up with payments it may cost you more per month with the payments than gas is costing you now. Lot of lower income people got bit on that when they were running the cash fer clunkers thing. People got rid of 25 MPG cars that were paid for in excahange for something that gets 35 with a 250 dollar a month payment and full coverage insurance!

Bascially what everyone else has told you, for that year/engine/gearing thats normal.

Rick
 
A good, complete tuneup maybe?

I have a 97 C2500 heavy 3/4 with the 8600 gvw, 5.7, same ratio, and I have always got 17 mpg.
 
Earl,BIG difference between your 97 and the 94 that Black has.Throttle body vs. multi-port injection.Yours should get the 17mpg you claim.
 
Earl,BIG difference between your 97 and the 94 that Black has.Throttle body vs. multi-port injection.Yours should get the 17mpg you claim.
 
13 MPG is normal to pretty good for those 4WD pickups. My '94 K1500, 4x4, 350, 3:43 ratio pickup gets around 12 MPG average. My car gets 25-30 average MPG, and will it can haul 300 pounds in the trunk OK, so I just drive the car whenever I don't need a truck.

2WD pickups may get 2-3 MPG better milage than a 4WD.

I don't put a lot of miles on my truck. The repairs, insurance and licence fees are all low, it's in good condition, and it's paid for, so for me it's still much more economical than trading it for a newer truck and unknown new repair bills.

You didn't say how many miles you drive, or the condition of your truck. If you haul for a lot of miles a different truck may be best for you. If you drive empty most of the time for a lot of miles almost any car would be much more economical than your pickup or any other pickup.

Do the math based on your miles driven, you may find it difficult to get a payback on modifications or trade-in costs to get to 15-18 MPG from a pickup. You may find it's cheaper to keep your present truck and use an extra car for everyday driving.

Good luck.
 
change your spark plugs to Bosch, the kind they guarantee or money back 2 mpg more than you presently get. These plugs have 4 electrodes & you do NOT set the gap. I checked the mileage & they worked for me.
 
You guys have been helpfull. I run 265/75 16 and thought the bigger tires roll farther for better milage. The guys around here with the 2-3 year old trucks claim they are getting 18 in town and 25 on the highway . Anyway, she is a good workhorse for my trailering my tractors. I heard about an after market inline fuel restriction valve that improves milage without loss of power . Anyone familiar with that ?
 
I have a 1994 C2500, 5.7 (350), 4.10 axel ratio, 2 wheel drive, and 13.5 mpg is what it gets, so yours is pretty well average.
 
Not that I'm an expert given the amount of trouble I have with my truck, but a few things that have seemed to help my mileage on a 1997 Sierra is working it hard when it's hot. Cleans the engine out I think. Best I've ever gotten with the Vortec engine(305)is about 22 mpg(imp. gal.) and that was just short trips. I'm sure if the engine would work that way on a road trip it would get 25mpg. ALso find that higher tire pressure helps. I have 235/85/16 (load range E) on the truck and try to keep the pressure around 50-60 psi. For the sake of mileage 235/85/16 are better than 265/75/16. It should have less rolling resistance with the same circumference(actually slightly bigger). If you want good mileage a 6.2 diesel would work with a bunch of work.(only if you seriously need mileage) I put Bosch dual tip platinum plugs in the truck and it did nothing. They likely needed changing anyways though. It doesn't exactly pay to do mileage mods.
 
Restriction? Yer uel pressure has to be at a certain level or the TBI to work. The computer will adjust how lon the injectors are open. Sounds like a baited hook er yer money.

Rick
 
Bigger tires, your odometer is being fooled. Odometer will read lower numerically. Need a correction factor. Go on freeway and check with mile markers. Several if possible, notjust one mile. Dave
 
My 96 chevy, Z71, with 5.7, auto, gets 13mpg. I am loaded with carpentry tools, but don't remember mileage being much better with out them back there!
 
If your tires are larger than stock, you can probably have your speedometer recalibrated. Check your odometer over a measured mile or two and see if it is correct.

Anybody who claims they get 18 mpg in city driving with a full size gas 4WD pickup is lying. And 25 mpg highway with a full size pickup is just plain dreaming.

Anything that restricts fuel flow limits power. If Chevy could have got an extra mpg with such snake oil products, they would have installed them at the factory.

Is your torque converter locking up properly?
 
Best to find these people with the 25mpg claims. Sober them up, teach them basic math then connect them to a lie detector. Now ask about mileage.
 
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