[aqha09]

just bought the truck 96 xe 4x4 5speed. this is my second nissan. what is the deal, the truck turns 3000 rpm @ 60mph in fifth gear? i bought the truck to save gas, and at this rate I would be better driving my 2500hd. it has a 4.8 rear axle. what gears did this truck originally come with? can i change to a lower gear? i do alot of highway miles and do not want to turn the engine that high as i cant imagine it to be good. any thoughts?

 

[rockcrusher44]

I have a 97 four wheel drive and yes those RPMs are normal. I drive my truck about an average of 50 to 100 miles a day and my fuel mileage runs around 21 to 22 MPG. If you want better gas mileage you probably should have gone with the two wheel drive model, I hear they get better mileage and are not geared quite as low. As far as the RPMs hurting anything I usally cruise at around 60 MPH but I can tell you from experiance I have ran the little truck at 75 and 80 MPH continuously for 500 miles and it never complained a bit. The motor was a little busy and the gas mileage went down a couple of MPG but it didn't use any oil and it didn't seem to hurt anything. Any truck with four wheel drive is probably not going to get much better gas mileage. Good luck.

 

[saidiadude]

I switched to Synthetic MT fluid on my 2WD and the hwy mileage went from 24ish to 26 if I drive at 65mph. I get 27 at 60mph. Many years ago, I had a low resistance fan on my Isuzu Amigo and that helped increase mileage by 1 or 2 mpg (and increase HP slightly at high RPM). May be cheaper/easier than swapping out gears. Better yet, do all of the above AND change out the gears

 

[rdixiemiller]

4X4's are heavier than a comparable 2X4. That doesn't help.
They sit higher, more wind resistance.
Wider tires, more rolling resistance.
Lower gearing, higher engine RPM, less fuel economy.
If you compare 2 trucks that are identical, except for the 4X4 differences, the 4X4 will use more gas per mile.
However, 21-22 MPG is usually better than a comparable V-8 powered full size truck will do.
I get 23 MPG around town in my 93 4cyl. mt hardbody 2X4, 26-27 MPG on the highway at 60 mph.

 

[CalHvyMetl]

I set my cruise control at 75 and run about 3200 RPM in 5th. 55 in 4th is about 3200. What size tires are you running?

 

[rockcrusher44]

Chris you have a six cylinder and we have four bangers. Different gear ratios and engines. At 75 or 80 MPH I'm running close to 4000 RPMs. I guess they gear the four bangers lower to compensate for a weaker engine. Or maybe I misunderstood and AGHA09 does have a six cylinder.

 

[CalHvyMetl]

Oh, yeah. I keep forgetting they make small trucks too. Sounds like the gas mileage is about the same though. I got 23 mpg driving mine home from Cleveland. I've never checked my in city mileage

 

[rockcrusher44]

Your trucks the same size, your engines just a little bigger.

 

[CalHvyMetl]

Lol, that's what she said

 

[88pathoffroad]

You have a 96 4x4 4-cyl with 4.8's? That's a new one on me. I thought all the 4x4's had 4.3 or 4.6's. Must be the 4-cyl equipment that got you those gears.

Your build plate under the hood shows Axle Code HG48? Or is it HF48?

My GF's Toyota Matrix runs at 3200 RPM in sixth gear at 65 MPH, some engines are made to run higher RPM's for extended periods of time. It's not bad for it unless you run it hot or out of oil.

 

[hellbent99]

Don't take this personally but, why would you buy a truck with such low gear ratios and expect to get good mileage? I owned a '96 4X4 Nissan HB for 10 years and I got around 21 MPG mixed driving. They are underpowered.

 

[aqha09]

here is the weird part. the build plate has the rear end as hg46, but i have the original window sticker and it has the truck as" solid rear axle w/4.875 ratio" im so damn confused. looked into a set of 3.73's all total would run about 400. im to the point i really dont even care right now.

Off the subject has anyone heard of nissan recalling these trucks? i heard a rumor about the frames being bad and nissan offering to buy them back. sounds a little funny, but i have seen stranger things happen.