Anyone want to chime in?

[KFette]

Posted a thread after I bought my truck 5 months ago about the terrible fuel mileage. I have since, based on advice, done the following:



Put more miles on it (obviously)

Had the first oil change

Never broke 2000rpm and/or 60mph... followed to the letter... 12. 78 hand-calc.

Drove it like I stole it... 12. 34 hand-calc.

Drove it on a "full moon".

Sacrificed not one, but two chickens.

Got on my hands and knees and begged to break 13mpg!



Hey, I love the truck, but the mileage is going south and doesn't seem to be getting any better.



I waited until some of these things (advice) were accomplished before I posted a new thread, to be patient, and now my patience is running thin.



Does anyone have any new suggestions? I have felt all along something is not right, but being a first time diesel owner I thought I would wait it out.



Thanks for any response, Kfette

 

[klenger]

Bad injector? Has it been to the dealer? Has the spedo been recalibrated for the bigger tires? If not, you are already getting better milage than what your calculations show.

 

[RRoton]

I see by your sig. that it is a 305. (so is mine)

You should be getting a LOT BETTER MILEAGE

Take it to the dealer and make them fix it.



At 60 MPH I get 19 MPG and I only have a little over 8300 miles on it. It's not even broke in yet. I must admit though, at higher speeds, it drops off a lot.

 

[thejeepdude]

Posted a thread after I bought my truck 5 months ago about the terrible fuel mileage. I have since, based on advice, done the following:



Put more miles on it (obviously)

Had the first oil change

Never broke 2000rpm and/or 60mph... followed to the letter... 12. 78 hand-calc.

Drove it like I stole it... 12. 34 hand-calc.

Drove it on a "full moon".

Sacrificed not one, but two chickens.

Got on my hands and knees and begged to break 13mpg!

Tow heavy? Seems I've seen a few reports of people with 12MPG towing ~12K up and down some mountains about 700-1000 miles and when they unhook they're getting 15-17MPG... I agree with the rest, though... there has to be something wrong. However, we all know there is no guaranteed economy with these beasts, so poor MPG is not a reason for the dealer to tear into it. Somehow you've got to narrow down what you think the cause is, and give them a reason to look it over... ie "it idles rough, smokes, stumbles, stutters, etc"... whatever excuse you can give them to look it over. If they can't duplicate the problem it may take a few trips to get them to start replacing stuff, but eventually something has to improve your MPG... you may never have a 20mpg truck, but sounds to me like you'd be happy with 14-15 at this point!

 

[y-knot]

You never said anything about it's performance... . So I will assume it runs just fine. The dealer can not wave their magical wand and make the truck get better mileage, it is running well so as far as they are concerned you are the one who is at fault. You are the guy that added larger tires, these are both taller and heavier. Not saying I agree with the situation, just looking at the problem from their point of view. I have never personally like mixing larger then stock tires with small gears, while it may or may not be the sole colprit, they do not help the situation. What was your expectation for fuel mileage? If you took the time to notice, the sticker does not give a fuel mileage listing, so I do not think Dodge can be made to do anything about your low mileage situation. You, and everyone else, bought your trucks with nothing in writing as to was the expected mileage might be, so how can you hold them accountable? Yes you had a percieved notion as to what it should get, but so does everyone else, and each is different based of experiance, and hog wild stories of high mileage claims like withnesses on here.

I feel sorry for you, because your new truck experiance has been tarnished by higher mileage expectations that were not meet. There are several on this site that claim to get very, very good mileage. While I believe most of the reports, I am sure several are full of bull. I have had my truck since it came in from it's order, and I have writen down every drop of fuel,oil,antifreeze, it has used over the last several years, and my mileage extremes go from 9. 1 to 18. 3, with 14. 9 as the average. Many factors go into getting good or better mileage. Driving style, fuel type and quality, weight and type of oil used,vehicle weight, weather, wind and truck (geras, tires,engine, transmission , 4WD, accessories).

I feel your truck may very well get better mileage as it gets older, Yours is on the low side of the scale. It is very hard to predict with so many differances and influences. Many seem to think I too should get better mileage, and seem shocked when I tell them of my mileage figures. I never expected great mileage numbers when I ordered the truck, it's two to three times the weight of most cars, and is capable of easily towing our 16,000lb trailer, what else could do that? I senserly hope youe mileage figures impove, you seems to be upset and disappointed. Try not thinking about it so much, and just enjoy the truck. You are not that far from what I get, just 2-3 mile per gallon shy. Ok yes it would be nice to get 2-3 MPG more, but it isn't going to make or break anything, hopefully you will find a happy median and get on enjoying your new truck and life.

 

[BrentKaiser]

I notice you have 315's on it. Have you checked if your odometer is calibrated for those bigger tires? Not sure, but I would imagine that it would decrease your mileage.

Brent

 

[KFette]

When I said I was getting 12. 78 and 12. 34MPG, this WAS was adding 8. 7% to actual mileage to compensate for the bigger tires, I should've clarified that.



Hey, I have said it before, and I'll say it again. I NEVER, EVER expected to get Honda Hybrid mileage. But I do, however, expect to get better that 13mpg's EMPTY! The truck seems to run fine, so I cannot afford to go to a dealer and let them pencil whip the problem and tell me it is OK. I am trying to get a reply to see if someone has had leaking injectors, bad injectors, etc...



If I could pull 15mpg, I think at this point I could die a happy man...



Kfette

 

[Big_Daddy_T]

This has been a problem on the twelves and twentyfours. Some trucks suck balls the others are totally awesome. Luck of the draw. I have had two cummins. Its like jeckyl and hyde. The first one was the ONE. The next one is a bit lackluster on mileage and performance. Its been doing much better as of late but I miss my first truck dearly.

 

[Thoennes]

i have a 04 short bed 4-door 305 ,3. 73 open rear ,2-wheel drive that i bought new in april. it has 5000 miles on it now and here is what i get using overhead and getting my fuel from wal-mart. 17 to 20 driving around town. when it had 2500 on it i took it on 800 mi trip to carlisle pa. pulling a 7500 lb enclosed trailer [with my car in it] always in overdrive running 65 to 80 most of the time. at 65 i got 14mpg. at 75 i got 11. 9- 12mpg. flatland or mountians it never changed much. this truck was flawless.coming home i would slow to 60 for a hundred miles and i got 15. 5mpg and i was still in hills. got to ILL running 75-80 on mostly flatland pushing a 10mph head wind i saw low 11mpg. after i got home i had a 80 mile trip to make on flat interstate running 65 with cruise empty i got 22. 9 coming home i tried 60 on cruise and got 26. 1 i learned this, its all about weight and speed and i have never been so impressed with a truck as i am with this ctd ram. i have had 5 new rams since 1995 all 360 gas with towing pks and never had any problems but this ctd is a beast where i need it most . towing and a very good daily driver that gets good mpg. now tell me why the price of fuel is around 2. 00 a gal again in ILL???????

 

[Mike Ellis]

KFette,



What was your mileage before you put on the Six Gun and different filter? Shouldn't make a big difference, but you never know. The bigger tires hurt you too, could be a factor. From the posts I have read on the 3rd gens, I would have expected you to be around 15 mpg range on highway.



On the older trucks sometimes poor mileage can be addressed by looking at injection pump timing, but with the common rail setup the computer ought to be keeping everything up to snuff.



How's your transmission temp? If the engine is OK, a gimpy transmission can suck away your mileage converting useful power into wasted heat.



Hope you find the fix

 

[KFette]

Big Daddy T,



I appreciate the input. I am beginning to believe the "luck of the draw" theory. I'm in Texas, and there are no shortages of CTD's around here. I talk to anyone I can who has a similar setup, i. e. 3500, tires, etc... Everyone seems to be averaging at least 15-16, the manual guys a little more. They all say "take it to the dealer".



Just wanted to find out if anyone has had any probs I needed to be aware of. May just have to break down and have a local diesel shop have a look at it, I really do not trust a dealership.



BTW, Empty on a 200 mile trip, I eeked out 14. 9 hand calculated (with the tire adjustment) and never broke 60... wow.



Take care, KFette

 

[RRoton]

I know this would be a little expensive, but you might want to look in to a set of after market injectors. You could have one or several bad injectors.

I have read several posts where guys that were getting poor mileage fixed the problem by replacing the injectors.

Have you ever used any fuel additive that is suppose to clean the injectors?

I use STANADYNE myself. I put in 4oz everytime I fill up.

 

[y-knot]

With the truck running as well as you said, I do not see how there could be anything of major importance wrong with it. What I would do is put it back as close to stock as you can, and start over from there. Not sure how much stock equipment you still have, but take off everything possible and run the truck in that form for awhile. See what is different and how the mileage goes, then add one item in at a time. Give it plenty of time so computers are reset and mileage figures can be compared over a wide range. There might be a programing problem in one of the fueling boxes you added. I really don't buy the "Un-lucky draw" therory but who knowns, maybe after you have exhausted alll your options then you can give in and except defeat. Please keep us informed, it's interesting.

 

[klenger]

I think I tend to agree with y-knot.



Strike 1: RE48 Auto

Strike 2: 315 tires

Strike 3: 2. 5" lift kit



It all hurts, and added up, could be 2-3 MPG, especially if the bigger tires cause you to put your foot into the accelator to get it moving.

 

[Ol'TrailDog]

Strike four might be the Bank's Six Gun???



I 19. 5mpg from my 04 at 65 mph. Or 22mpg if I drive through Yellowstone at 49. 999 mph (45 speed limit), yawn.



Have a neighbor who was very unhappy with the mileage in his 03 2500. He went to the dealer several times. It finally did much better. He thought it was a software (ECM) problem and wonder if they didn't have them programmed to do poorly until after a certain number of miles. Or perhaps they reflashed the ECM when he had it in complaining??? He is in Cordova, AK fishing until the end of Sept, so I can't ask him.

 

[XJSuperman]

Regardless of the 8. 7% calculation you still need to get your speedo recalibrated if you have not done so. If I were a bettin' man I would put $100 on that being your problem.

Spend the $50 and I bet you see 15 MPG.

 

[BIG BOB]

Guys, I also am not getting good mileage. I am getting between 13 & 14 MPG and have stock tires and engine is also stock. I have over 26K on it and the mileage stinks!

 

[RonsRig]

"... wonder if they didn't have them programmed to do poorly until after a certain number of miles. "



I have been wondering the same thing recently. My mileage jumped from the mid 14's to the low 16's after 4000 miles. I generally try to drive conservatively, then other times I really whip it. I haven't had an opportunity to do any towing and I think that would help a lot. My alternative is to take on some of the 6% grades that we have here in AZ. Like the Phoenix to Payson; I was taking some of those uphills at 90 mph, passin’ Ferds, man those gassers are weak. I don't have my gauges installed yet, but I know it is getting hot when I had an opportunity to accelerate while passing. In the next few days after these episodes I experience better milage when driving conservatively.



Previously I drove a 96 Dodge Dakota Sport over the same roads I traveled this weeked and with it I got 17. 5 mpg. I couldn't get it over 55 in 3rd gear (5 speed) going up those hills. My Ram probably weight twice as much, still accelerating going up hill at 90 and the round trip on the overhead computer was 16. 8. I trust my overhead because it is pretty close to my hand calc. I would use 12 gallons of gas with the Dakota and with the Ram I used 15 and I ended up driving more at my destination. Some 4 wheeling. I love my truck!

 

[RonsRig]

By the way, my Dakota had a 2. 5 four banger with a 5 speed.

 

[KFette]

Members,



Thanks for all the input. I think I'll try Y-knot's idea to return to stock, and then go forward...



Mike Ellis: The Banks system did give me about 1-1 1/4mpg better.



I assumed the bigger tires would knock 1-1 1/2mpg off, am I wrong about this? I will get the speedo recalibrated soon, the OBC is a joke right now, reads 9. 4!



If there were "leaking" injectors injectors, what would be the symptoms? Seemed like a read a thread once that the injectors will bypass the extra fuel and you may or may not notice the difference. I would think if an injector were "bad", you would have some studdering, hesitation, etc... Truck seems to have great balls when needed, but I find myself not exercising the pedal for fear of the already horrible mileage.



I'll keep you guys informed, Thanks again...



KFette