fuel economy ( 2.8 TD engine )

[88x4x4]

Hi all, there is a thread for the 3,1 TD so i thought i would start one for the 2.8 TD only....
I have had my 2.8 MU for 3 months now, and although the economy is generaly good anyway for these, i thought i would try to improve it more.
I was getting around 650 km on 65liters.. put in a K&N filter and drove it until the fuel light came on and it gave me 1015 Kms on 81 liters. around 8ltrs per 100 kms.
not bad i thought, but can do better, i have just disconnected and blocked of the EGR (exhaust gas recirculation) and run that for a full tank to see any improvements.
I have dicided to do only one modification at a time, that way i can tell for sure if that mod improves or makes things worse.The next step is to instal the oil breather catch can. then the intercooler.bonnet scoop.then the 2.5"exhaust. If anyone else has any other tips, let us all know.cheers Gazza. ;DTEXT

[geeves]

1015km to 81 liters is extremly good and would indicate a lot about your driving style. My best is only 850km on the same amount although this was in a bighorn which dosnt have the airodynamics of the Mu. The oil catch can and egr removal wont do much for ecconomy but are worth doing for performance and long term reliability. 2.5 exhaust will give a small ecconomy gain as long as you dont use the extra unleashed horsepower same with intercooler. Top mount intercooler will only make a differance if a scoop is fitted You can fit a front mount but its a lot more work.
Good luck and let us know how you get on

[Gobbles]

Im yet to record my economy as i havent filled the tank and tested properly but how far do you guys run the Fuel Guage into the E for the fuel light to come on......ive never seen my fuel light come on and its been down past the bottom mark at times.

For the record tho in the Owners Manual a previous owner has written 9.73L/100km So thats not too shabby

[dani4JB1T]

me 13.7km/L (7.3L/100Km) on highway, driving at 90-100 Km/h, with 30-31 PSI in the tyres. My urban consumption is 12.2 Km/L (8.2L/100Km). About 650 Kms per tank on highway, using 43L from 53 stock tank. And 530 Km in town. I never had the fuel light on.

My best record was 14.7 Km/l on highway (6.8L/100Km).

Also I`m running 2.5" exhaust pipe and EGR systems working on.

I`m very happy
;D

[88x4x4]

Gobbles, you can go a long way with your fuel gauge on empty,when your fuel light starts to come on around corners,think about filling up,around 25km left then.mine was coming on around corners and started to come on along the flat so i filled up, had 3 litres left in the tank. If your getting around 6 ltrs/100km then that is supurb. I have disconected the EGR system and runs the same around town.unsure yet about 110k/h driving yet. I will wait until i fill up again to see if it has improved economy or not. cheers Gazza.

[geeves]

cation on the fuel light. Mine had a faulty sender when I bought it The gauge also only read the top quarter of the tank then went empty though. My light now comes on on uphills when theres not much left ie light starts flickering means 81 liters to fill. Not bad in a dented 83 liter tank.

[Gobbles]

I can see it being just my luck i run it as dry as i can and run outta fuel in peak hour traffic with no where to pull over on a hill ;D

[88x4x4]

well Gobbles at least you will know how far to go next time....got to find the limits..

[Graham]

Limits are fine to discover in this case!

I was out with a friend and he distracted me from remembering to fill up. Was a bit embarrassing running out of fuel.

After scratching my head for a minute, I tried to prime the fuel lines from the pump thing in the engine bay. Took me another minute of turning & pulling before I realised you just push it down, but I heard the sound of fuel flowing. A few pumps of that and the truck fired back up and I drove about 3Kms to the petrol station.

Another time the engine died as I pulled into the station! Got it to the fuel pump no probs with the same trick.

I don't believe running out of fuel in a diesel causes any issues, if anyone know's different, please let me know

Cheers! Graham.

[Jimmu]

I get about 700k.

If I modified the angle of the lead foot I think it would be a bit better.

Jimmy.

[Gobbles]

How do you guys go offroad? do you find that you chew through it alot quicker?....I found on fraser i used $100 in fuel for the weekend so about 90Litres from the gold coast there and back + sand driving for 2 days

[caffa]

geeves said:

... The gauge also only read the top quarter of the tank then went empty though...

What did you do to fix that Al, it is very annoyong aint it ...

[geeves]

new tank sender from the wreckers. When they told me the price though I investigated the idea of rewinding it. Wreckers know there true value

[geeves]

diesels arnt as bad as petrol for ecconomy drop when off road but it still goes up. Sand is the worst. Think what its like in soft sand full throttle in low 5th doing 40kph for 30 min engine has done as much work as it would of done in high 5th on the highway at 150kph. ie 20 km on sand = 75km on seal

[mikep]

Something to consider, is resetting your trip guage when you fill up, then measure the number of litres you add on your next fill. Whether you fill up at 3/4 empty or less, you can divide your total kms travelled by the litres added, to work out your consumption without sucking all the crap into your fuel filters from the bottom of the tank.

[maletimaru]

Well (NZ Dollars) i get around 460kms from $40 (just over 40 litres) for cold start around town driving- but my 4jb1-t is stock standard and running stock boost etc - which is what by the way?

[maletimaru]

I did find a rather surp[rising amount of brown sludge in the fuel filter when i changed it!!! is this normal? I am new to the MU owning!!!

I must say though I do love its road handling abilitie sand having the Ute makes it look wicked going round corners sideways!!!

[draganlada]

Welcome to the club maletimaru.
No it isn't normal to have any sludge in the fuel filter(been talking to the experts),it means whether your fuel tank or your fuel suplier's tanks are dirty.Try to change fuel filter more often
(every 5000 km).
When my motor started to play up,first thing I've checked was fuel filter than fuel tank and both of them were perfectly clean.

Cheers, Dragan

[geeves]

brown sludge will be either diesel bug although that is normaly blackish or rust either from your tank or your favorite refillers. Either way it could be worth flushing the tank when you have time Remember when you get diesel all over yourself doing this that diesel is the third worst smelling thing a car can spill all over you and the smell will take several days to go away. Also not a good idea to be smoking while doing this. Empty the tank completly then pour a liter of clean diesel or kero into the tank and give a good shake Through this fluid away refit and refill changing the fuel filter about 10 km after this A fuel conditioner would also be a good idea in the next tank or 2

[maletimaru]

Cheers guys

I use the Wurth diesel treatment additive and have noticed a lot better results since using this

The Mu only has 118,600 kms on the clock not bad eh for a Mu coming into NZ in 2001/2002!!!!