InlineDave87
Famous Member
Wouldnt suprise me. People in my are are cheap and willing to do almost anything to make a buck.
That's a big economy drop. Be sure the SPOUT wire hasn't come unplugged. ??Wouldnt suprise me. People in my are are cheap and willing to do almost anything to make a buck.
Im in south texas tho, we dont have winter.Also, keep in mind that whenever you constantly watch your mileage you will notice almost any discrepancy. And it's usually with disappointment. Let's remember the rare occasions we got remarkably exceptional mileage. We didn't try to find or fix anything wrong then though. But maybe something was acting up as a precursor to the now glaring disappointment. Try to reflect on that and what could have made such a pleasing increase, and you may find it correlates.
Better milage is expected in the summer and in the coldest winter months, it will deteriorate noticeably.
Well when you first posted the bad mileage you were having a deep cold snap. And the wind down there doesn't play either when those fronts come thru. But this latest check with more normal weather is concerning. when the '90 was EFI I believe it would have gotten 13 running WOT, since it got just short of twice that normally on the highway.Im in south texas tho, we dont have winter.
Typically it's not enough to call winter, by comparison. I'm in Houston where we never know what the heel it will be like tomorrow.Im in south texas tho, we dont have winter.
Ive done some battery swaps since i replaced the thermostat. So i finally replaced my thermo gun and started taking temps. Yesterday morning i was driving on the highway and around town ambient temp was low 60s. My temp would go up with acceleration, and go down if i was cruising on the highway or decelerating. The first time i checked the temps my cylinder head was at 180 and my thermostat housing was 140. It did the same thing in afternoon when the temps got up the upper 80s. Checked the temps at home again and this time it got to 195 and the thermostat opened up. But again the temp would raise while accelerating and go down if i was cruising or decelerating. It only got up to temp when i got to my house and was letting it idle as i checked the cylinder head, the thermostat housing, and the radiator. I still think my radiator is too big ie, its the 2 row heavy duty radiator and not the standard 1 row. So the question becomes, do i replace the radiator, or just block some of it off cause the summer time does get hot (110+) and it could use the help. Im leaning toward KISS.Typically it's not enough to call winter, by comparison. I'm in Houston where we never know what the heel it will be like tomorrow.
Did you happen to do a battery reset since replacing the thermostat? It's by no means necessary, just an ask
Power seems normal. Its about as good as its going to get being a stock motor. Ive been tempted to take care of some parasitic losses and open up the exhaust but dont know if its going to be worth my time. I want to upgrade the rockers, get rid of the air pump, go with an electric fan. And im even thinking of insulating the fuel rail as when i checked it yesterday too the rail was up at 170-180. I know we can get more umpth from just cooling off the fuel, which is making me think this is why they are prone to knocking at higher temps and the need for the egr. Wish i had the time to experiment but this is my work truck too.It does not sound like the replacement thermostat is acting as it should, in that it may be opening partially at a low temp and then fully opening when a high enough temp is reached. Another thought is during install the thermostat slipped out of place by a small margin, I always found them frustrating because of the vertical position; having to lean over and get two hard-to-manage bolts in far enough to keep it in place. Typically they show some external leaking but not always if a thick enough gasket was used, or enough sealant.
Has your power changed any?
Since blocking off the radiator is a basically free (or very low cost) modification that can be easily reserved (by pulling out the coroplast), it seems as if that would be the most cost effective solution, even as if just a first step. BTW -- that is a common tactic on the Ecomodders forum.I still think my radiator is too big ie, its the 2 row heavy duty radiator and not the standard 1 row. So the question becomes, do i replace the radiator, or just block some of it off cause the summer time does get hot (110+) and it could use the help. Im leaning toward KISS.
Dave- There's a huge radiator in the '90 f150, with 3 or 4 rows. got it from Summit. It ran cold forever with a new t'stat installed 10 years ago when the partial rebuild wad done and that rad was installed. I always said too much radiator. I've already mentioned that I recently installed a FlowKooler Robert Shaw Tstat. Engine is to t'stat temp in 5 minutes, one drop-serge when it first opens, then holds temp from then on. first time there's been decent heat since I've had the thing! You need another t'stat.Made it to my daughters school. So initially the truck warmed up real quick. It got between the N and O then you can see the thermostat kick in and the temp dropped almost all the way to cold, right where the range starts. And as i continued driving the temp slowly came back up which to me tells me the radiator is too big or the thermostat is flowing too much. I let the truck idle for 5 minutes just to make sure she didnt overheat and it seemed fine. While my blockage is roughly 25%, my guess since the radiator is double the capacity, its really more like 12%. Im thinking of cutting another piece 9” wide which would make 33% coverage and i think effective would be closer to 17%. Does that make sense or am I pulling out of thin air? Im having this issue and i probably got like 300 lbs of tools and stuff in the bed of my truck.
Yea thats what mine did, and it looks like the board i cut was sufficient. After some more driving around it got up to temp slowly and stayed there. I got my long road trip in the morning so ill see how she does from there. When the temp finally stabilized and got to operating range, the power felt like it came back and wasnt sluggish like i have been having issues with.Dave- There's a huge radiator in the '90 f150, with 3 or 4 rows. got it from Summit. It ran cold forever with a new t'stat installed 10 years ago when the partial rebuild wad done and that rad was installed. I always said too much radiator. I've already mentioned that I recently installed a FlowKooler Robert Shaw Tstat. Engine is to t'stat temp in 5 minutes, one drop-serge when it first opens, then holds temp from then on. first time there's been decent heat since I've had the thing! You need another t'stat.
As far as a board to block the radiator- been doing that for 10 years, till this new t'stat. Mine slides nicely infront of the rad/AC condenser. That way no chance of coming loose and getting into the fan. Mine is 10" wide, same height as rad.
Ok but on a boat it has a huge flow restriction that allows it to get up to temperature. That flow restriction makes the water move slower allowing the engine to build up heat. Thats why the water coming out is barely bigger than a pin hole and not like a garden hose. In the case of my truck or any truck, the radiator not only cools the coolant but acts as the main reservoir too. Having extra capacity allows the coolant to sit and cool more while in the radiator before it can cycle thru. All i did was create a wind dam so that the cooling effect is less allowing the engine to warm up normally. Im in south texas and we normally see 110+ weather in the summer so getting up to temp wont be an issue then. But right now that we are barely seeing 80, the radiator is performing “too good”. It might end up being the case that im going to have to save this board for the winter months. Diesel truckers do this too via a grill screen up north so the engine can run right and they can have heat in the cab. Which that was my problem too on the first road trip out that my temp barely got into the range and the temps outside were upper 20s.You can't have too much radiator to maintain minimum temperature. Consider a boat, with an endless supply of millions of gallons of cold lake water. It has to come up to temperature and hold it. That's the job of the thermostat, and unless it's not functioning properly, will do that job.
You can't have too much radiator to maintain minimum temperature. Consider a boat, with an endless supply of millions of gallons of cold lake water. It has to come up to temperature and hold it. That's the job of the thermostat, and unless it's not functioning properly, will do that job.