Introductions first, since this is my first post. My name is Fred and I own a 95 D21,XE-V6 2WD that's pushing 200,000 miles. I bought the truck as a second vehicle because it's hard to haul motorcycles or half a ton of fertilizer in the back of a Honda hatchback.
This forum has been a big help for me once in the past, when it was the only site on the entire internet with info on how to read ECU codes on this truck.
Lately I've been giving the truck some much needed TLC. I've replaced the O2 sensor, upper and lower balljoints, centerlink, tie rods, idler arm, air filter and PCV valve. I even cleaned the engine, sorta. Tension rod bushings are next on the list along with a remote oil filter.
I'm on the hunt for anything that will increase gas mileage. I'm seriously considering the electric fan option described on this forum. I work at an AutoZone and with the employee discount I can swing this mod for about $70. I'm not sure if it's worthwhile, though. It's my understanding that the fan will run whenever the AC compressor is on. I live in Texas, so the AC is always on. This means the total engine load won't change much, it'll just be load at the alternator instead of at the fan clutch. Right, or wrong?
I'm also thinking about Pacesetter headers. I can't run the Thorleys because I have a manual transmission. Given that I'm chasing economy and not power, are these worthwhile? In my mind, a more efficient exhaust equals better fuel economy, but I'd like to hear from anyone who's put these headers on. How did it affect your fuel mileage?
Are there any other good tricks to improve gas mileage on these trucks?
I wanted to follow up to my last post. I did some more reading and decided to clean the throttle body. Man, was it nasty in there. Before cleaning the truck's idle was at a perfect 750RPM. After cleaning it was up to 1250RPM! That's a good indicator of how much flow restriction that dirt was causing. I reset the idle and it's doing good now. Still need to check the TPS and put on new cap, rotor, wires and plugs. The one plug I pulled had a gap of 0.052", and I gapped that plug correctly when I put it in six years ago. Talk about plug erosion!
You're on the right track of first getting the vehicle up to par with the maintenance.
The electric fan idea is a good one especially if it's thermally controlled. This means that it will only be on when it needs to and off when it doesn't. Much more efficient than the mechanical fan.
I've been considering the electric fan conversion myself. If you do that, lemme know how it goes.
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I often tell people that I hate Fords with a passion... and I do. But honestly, I don't have a problem with them - they allow me to pay the bills, and keep myself fed!
IMO, I would go with a twin fan setup, one will be on whenever you use the a/c and the other will come on when the temp sensor reaches a certain degree ( usually around 218-220 ). electric fans will improve mpg only a little (because the engine wont have to exert extra force to turn a fan, just like you get better mpg without using a/c) I have thought of doing this to mine its just not a top priority right now. as golfer said your on par with the maintenance stuff, biggest thing for mpg. the fan clutch is a much bigger load on the engine(especially when engaged) than the alt.
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Dave
96 4WD XE Reg. Cab ka24e
Calmini 3" SL, Steering, Lock-rite rear, LSD front
IMO, I would go with a twin fan setup, one will be on whenever you use the a/c and the other will come on when the temp sensor reaches a certain degree ( usually around 218-220 ).
I'd been considering the same thing. Maybe a small pusher fan for the condensor and a large puller for the radiator.
Even then, the small fan will be running almost fulltime since it'll be linked to the AC clutch. I'm looking into alternate ways to control the condensor fan.
I've got one idea. I could have the fan connected to the AC clutch circuit and then through a relay that's triggered by a microswitch on the throttle body. So in order for the condensor fan to be on, the AC compressor would have to be running and the throttle would have to be at or near idle (stopped or in slow traffic). At highway speeds the throttle is open farther, so the fan would not come on unnecessarily.
This same circuit could be made to work with a single large fan as well, since the fan controller I'm looking at has a temperature probe and an override wire for when the AC is on. i could just jook the above circuit to the override wire and it should do the trick.
I'll be a while before I do this, though. Remote oil filter, back brakes, stereo speakers and clutch throwout bearing all take priority.
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Admin of NPORA, mod for Nissan-Infiniti Forums, NissanForums.com, NissanHelp.com, AllNissans.com and VGPowered Forums
'88 Pathfinder: 6" of lift, 33x13.50 Swamper LTB's, Rancho 9000's, L&P Stage 3 steering system, K&N, Pacesetter headers and 2.5" exhaust, Lock-Right locker, 110A alty and electric fan swap, dual batteries, 700W+ worth of PIAAs, etc.
A properly tuned engine should idle around 800 rpm. Also the elec. fan draws alot of power that can rob from other things. The engines alone consume alot of amperage as it is. I done the elec. fan mod on a toyota and personally dont think you gain much in power(slight low end gain) or greater fuel economy to justify. Check your fan clutch and for leaky injectors. The reality is that the VG30e is thirsty and not very powerful engine but reliable as hell.
Hey all. I finished up the tuneup of the truck. I changed out quite a few parts.
PCV valve
Sparkplugs
plug wires
distributor cap
rotor
air filter
fuel filter
clean the throttle body and reset idle.
Doing all of this made the gas mileage jump from 19mpg to 23.6mpg!
I did one part at a time and test drove in between. I didn't find a single item that made a major difference, but all of them together made a difference. Power is increased to the point that I keep spinning the tires by accident
Linear Mode
