MPG Question.

[bigjake710]

I recently purchased a 2002 F350 Lariat. It has 19K miles on it. The truck had a Bullydog chip in it. 315's for tires. I changed the Air cleaner,Fuel filter and removed the chip. Also downsized the tires to the stock size.

I know that the overhead computers are not always accurate. But, with everything as I bought it, The computer showed an average of 12-13 MPG. After doing the above mentioned things I anticipating that average to climb a bit. Instead it has seemed to drop below 11MPG. I was wondering if changing the fuel filter would cause anything like this. I do smell raw diesel mostly after I run it for a bit. I can't see any sign of leaking. I did spill a little fuel while changing the filter. Any ideas??

[Isakson]

Well i would look for a diesel leak somewhere, i jsut recently had my water sensor on the fuel canister leak, so i replaced it for 40 dollars. Also it depends on the truck, do u hav an auto tranny, r u treatin ur fuel, how do u run it, etc. My truck is a 5 spd, and i run it a little bit, and with winter fuel and treatment, i get about 13 mpg. Also if u haul anything around or have anything heavy, that will decrease it.

[BGJ]

Dang Big Jake, way to score that truck. I thought I had the lowest mile o2 truck around. Got any pics?? I dont get the mileage these guys brag about either. If you search it you will find lots of good ideas. I read about the exhaust back pressure tube coroding & filling up with soot, I took mine apart & cleaned it, it had junk in there but wasn't completely blocked. Also read that the fuel filter bowl will leak out the drain tube. They say not to drain it too much or the orings will certainly fail. I put a rubber hose on the metal tube underneath the engine & taped a water bottle to it to see if it was leaking there. Not a drop.
Guys on here know a ton more about the 7.3 than me, sorry.
Here's a pic of my DIY intake:

[lcducote]

you probably lost those 1 or 2 mpg because you took the chip off... as for better mileage, DIY intake... there are threads on here on how to it in the 7.3 TECH FILES link. open up the exhaust with either larger down-pipe or straight pipe it. most 02's didn't have cats so you don't to worry about that. put your chip back on and you should see anywhere from 3-6 mpg with all those upgrades