What can I do to improve my fuel economy '88 3L non turbo diesel hilux

[rchap940]

1988 toyota hilux diesel 3L non turbo, 30x9.5" tires, rpm @ 100km/hr is 2900. Is there any advice on what I can do to improve the fuel economy I get around 350-400km/tank

[Muzz67]

350-400 km is about right,

thats about what older Toys get, I think it's because they have smaller tanks. Mates Nissan gets 550km to a tank, but it holds much more than my Surf.

[robnw67]

Fuel economy?

It sounds to me like you're not doing too bad economy-wise for a 3.0L. I am getting around 30mpg from my 2.4tD.

I guess if you want economy - you bought the wrong vehicle. Try looking at the figures for a VW Passat - they get around 65-70mpg!! As someone on here said a while ago - if you're driving around in 2 tons of metal shaped like a bungalow, economy should be the last thing on your mind!!

Rob

[Guest]

1988 toyota hilux diesel 3L non turbo, 30x9.5" tires, rpm @ 100km/hr is 2900. Is there any advice on what I can do to improve the fuel economy I get around 350-400km/tank

A Few things you might want to check.

1. Air Filter.
2. Fuel Filter (if fitted - not sure what is fitted to the 3L motor)
3. Make sure the tyres are running a reasonable pressure. With 265 70 15s on mine (just a bit smaller in height but wider than yours) I run 33psi.
4. Run some injector cleaner through the system.
5. Make sure that the diffs and the gearbox have enough oil in them.

Some of these things are relatively obvious but sometimes get missed.

I'm getting a little more than you get on yours on my 2LTE engined 1993 but then the '88 is less aerodynamic and I'm not sure about the power and torque figures on the 3L but it may have to work harder to do the job than the Turbo 2L engine.

Another thing you could try would be to run manual hubs on the front of the car and disconnect them for highway driving. This can save quite a bit of drag and wear and tear on a solid axled rig.

As everyone said you aren't likely to get great economy out of the Surf / 4 runner (especially the 3 Litre V6 petrol one) but on a run you should see about 450 + to a tank (assuming you have a 55Litre tank like mine).

Oh and one other thing you might want to think about. Get a Turbo from a 2LTE as the head design is the same, need to get the exhaust and inlet manifolds and the piping but it should fit and you may even find that on the 2.8 (3L) it makes a bit of mileage difference as the motor has to work less hard. MIght not though but it would be a pretty fun motor to have.

Cheers

[TonyN]

The ony way save serious money is a Propane assist system, but then you probably don't get shafted on fuel prices like us, and won't benefit that much. LPG is half the price of derv in the UK, so its worth our while.

Just keep it regualy serviced, and stay off the loud pedal!

[Rob]

....rpm @ 100km/hr is 2900.....

Doesn't that sound a bit high? That's 62mph.

[laser_jock99]

A Few things you might want to check.

1. Air Filter.
2. Fuel Filter (if fitted - not sure what is fitted to the 3L motor)
3. Make sure the tyres are running a reasonable pressure. With 265 70 15s on mine (just a bit smaller in height but wider than yours) I run 33psi.
4. Run some injector cleaner through the system.
5. Make sure that the diffs and the gearbox have enough oil in them.

6. Removal of 'unecessary' ironmongery like bull bars, roofracks, spots, towbars, ski racks, winches, wind deflectors, bug shields etc will gain you around an extra 2 mpg (try this on a long motorway journey and you'll see what I mean).
7. Don't use the aircon.
8. Make sure the fluid clutch fan is functioning okay. You don't want it turning fast at high revs.

Appart from that your ecconomy doesn't sound a million miles away from what I would expect anyway.