my FJ62 has no endurance... (1 Viewer)

[toddw83]

Hi all,

First off, this forum has been awesome to learn about my new fj62...so thanks to you all.

I did a search and read that the fj62 has a 23.8gal fuel tank. Is this correct? I can only travel 120 miles on a full tank (gas pump said it put in 12.8gal). I am wondering if this is a symptom of the "crazy gauges", but it is also confusing since the craziness is consistent. i know i could just run until i am out of gas, but i dont like doing that. my gas gauge does fluctuate a 1/4 tank or so and the temp gauge never goes above the second line. do you think i need to clean the connection on the fuel gauge? i did check the connection under the rear carpet hatch and it was a little dusty, but not corroded. Could it be the sender unit? How could i check that? All i know is that 120 miles on one tank is weak sauce.

any advice is greatly appreciated.

thanks
-todd

 

[Von Hayek]

Welcome Todd. You definitely have electrical problem, be it a sender, gauge, or connection. Wish I could tell you which

I would use your mileage to calculate range and not worry about the gauge right now. At 10 mpg, which is very conservative, you should be able to go 240 miles before running dry. And you should be getting much better mileage than that, thus increasing your range. Calculate your mileage at your next fill up and figure your range from there.

 

[Eldorado556]

I never put too much faith in the accuracy of gas gauges. Mine barely moves for the first 60 miles. I also don't care for running out of gas. After I fill up I can drive 200 city miles until the gauge hits the empty mark. When I refill I end up putting in 20 gallons. So I know that I have a 3 gallon reserve that will hopefully take me 30 miles to a gas station.

I'd try to drive 200 or so miles, then fill up and see what sort of mileage you are getting. Never a good idea to run your tank dry so have a gas can in a safe place outside the truck if you do some experimenting.

 

[Lugal]

My gauge doesnt budge for the first 70 miles, and then drops down to E across the next 50 miles. Whenever I fill it back up (usually around 130 miles), it only ever takes half a tank. I wish that the gas gauge was more reliable, but I've gotten used to resetting my trip odometer at every filling, and using that to tell me when to fill up next.

 

[Benjaman]

Hi all,

First off, this forum has been awesome to learn about my new fj62...so thanks to you all.

I did a search and read that the fj62 has a 23.8gal fuel tank. Is this correct? I can only travel 120 miles on a full tank (gas pump said it put in 12.8gal). I am wondering if this is a symptom of the "crazy gauges", but it is also confusing since the craziness is consistent. i know i could just run until i am out of gas, but i dont like doing that. my gas gauge does fluctuate a 1/4 tank or so and the temp gauge never goes above the second line. do you think i need to clean the connection on the fuel gauge? i did check the connection under the rear carpet hatch and it was a little dusty, but not corroded. Could it be the sender unit? How could i check that? All i know is that 120 miles on one tank is weak sauce.

any advice is greatly appreciated.

thanks
-todd

Should be safe going to 200 on the trip meter. I've never run out @ less than 200.

 

[BG_TX]

Tire size? If overstock are you adjusting your mileage for the added diameter?

Engine temp? Is the temp gauge getting up to operating temp or does it stay cold?

I get about 190miles per tank (a mix of city/highway) and run 33s. I have never done the math to determine the actual miles traveled nor do I pay attention to the actual amount of gas consumed so I'm prob off by a few miles/gallons.

 

[toddw83]

Tire size? If overstock are you adjusting your mileage for the added diameter?

Engine temp? Is the temp gauge getting up to operating temp or does it stay cold?

I get about 190miles per tank (a mix of city/highway) and run 33s. I have never done the math to determine the actual miles traveled nor do I pay attention to the actual amount of gas consumed so I'm prob off by a few miles/gallons.

I'm all stock for now. Engine temp stays cold (according to the gauge). my driving is 6 miles per day of city driving. 1 mile of that is up into the hills to my house after work.

my last fill up calculated out to 8.6mpg ~ 110miles/12.8gal. I was very surprised at how bad the fuel economy was. I did not have unrealistic expectations of 10-12 when i bought it, but 8....ouch. I just figured climbing the hill to my house shot the fuel economy down. i will try and drive 180 miles to be safe

 

[toddw83]

Welcome Todd. You definitely have electrical problem, be it a sender, gauge, or connection. Wish I could tell you which

I would use your mileage to calculate range and not worry about the gauge right now. At 10 mpg, which is very conservative, you should be able to go 240 miles before running dry. And you should be getting much better mileage than that, thus increasing your range. Calculate your mileage at your next fill up and figure your range from there.

When i bought the FJ62, it had already had all the tune-up parts replaced with genuine toyota parts. i dont really know what else to do. i still smell brakes from the back wheel wells when i am done driving. i posted about it a while back and was advised to check for build-up. did that, and brakes are fine.

i am kind of anal about everything working as it should. so for now i will drive 180 miles like i said in the post above, but i will probably rip apart the dash this weekend and clean the connections to the gauges and see if that solves the problem.

 

[LegShot]

I run 33" tires on my 62 and can squeeze 300 miles on a tank doing only highway miles. For in town driving I would say I get anywhere from 180-200 miles per tank. I would say on average I am getting 10-12 miles per gallon. Terrible gas milage is really the only downside to these vehicles.

 

[oleblue62]

I run 33" tires on my 62 and can squeeze 300 miles on a tank doing only highway miles. For in town driving I would say I get anywhere from 180-200 miles per tank. I would say on average I am getting 10-12 miles per gallon. Terrible gas milage is really the only downside to these vehicles.

So true, bad mileage is the sad truth. Keep being anal about it running as it should and keeping it as light as possible will make the difference.

Now that I'm thinking about it I remember noticing I get better mileage if I use the whole tank. Mileage is worst at a full tank due to extra weight and best toward the end. If a gallon weighs approx 8lbs then 10 gal will be about 80 lbs of weight its lugging around. When I fill up at a half tank I'm in the 9-11 range consistently, but in the 10- 13 range on a full 20 gal fill up.

Anyone else notice this?

Also, maybe your thermostat needs to be check out if you engine isnt warming up.

 

[Callahan Offroad]

yes you always get better mileage in the last bit due to weight. Although technically since there is more air in the tank you will loose more fuel to evap. Its really negligible either way. I just fixed all of my vacuum issues last week and i shot up from 9 mpg to 15 mpg. What would really save fuel is to strip any additional weight that isn't necessary from your car. Ie all the crap in the trunk, the spare tire, and anything else you can live without. My old civic got 28 mpg when i bought it, i put light weight rims on it, intake, full exhaust, and pulled out the spare, and i got 35 mpg. Another tip is to not run all the accessories in your car, that helps with mileage a little too. Not sure how, but they proved on top gear that it does.

 

[toddw83]

yes you always get better mileage in the last bit due to weight. Although technically since there is more air in the tank you will loose more fuel to evap. Its really negligible either way. I just fixed all of my vacuum issues last week and i shot up from 9 mpg to 15 mpg. What would really save fuel is to strip any additional weight that isn't necessary from your car. Ie all the **** in the trunk, the spare tire, and anything else you can live without. My old civic got 28 mpg when i bought it, i put light weight rims on it, intake, full exhaust, and pulled out the spare, and i got 35 mpg. Another tip is to not run all the accessories in your car, that helps with mileage a little too. Not sure how, but they proved on top gear that it does.

what was your vacuum issue if you dont mind elaborating?

 

[ylexot]

I went a year without a working fuel gauge with my old Trooper. I just watched my miles and refilled when I figured I had an 1/8th tank or so. At ~10mpg, you should be safe to run 200 mi regardless of your malfunctioning fuel gauge. (That may be a benefit to getting sucky mileage no matter whether we drive on the freeway or city.)

 

[T-bones 60]

Seems the factory fuel guages like to not move for the 1st 50-70 miles or so. Mine does the same thing. But it does make me feel good for those 50 miles thinking I have a full tank seeing as how it is now $80 to fill it here in the peoples Republic of kalifornia.

 

[Kurtis]

I'd check out your sensors as well. 10-12 in that kind of driving would be about right. 8ish sounds pretty low. Check the o2 sensors, check for vacuum leaks, check whatever equivalent the 62 has to a maf sensor. Vacuum leaks/dirty egr/ non working smog equipment can really suck down the mileage.

 

[rusty_tlc]

Have you ever run it dry?

Get a 1 Gal gas can, fill it up and throw it in the back. Fill the truck up and note the Odometer reading. Drive until you run out of gas, note the odometer reading. That will give you a base line to start from.

 

[shotgun12321]

I normally get anywhere from 10-13(on an excellent day) mpg and that's about 160-170 per 3/4 tank.

Most of it is city and light highway though.

 

[Callahan Offroad]

my vacuum issue was a combination of different 2f systems, high altitude compensator, hot air intake, spark advancement, egr, pcv. All of my vacuum lines were wired completely wrong. Sensors were getting the wrong data completely. It was a total mess, and only took maybe 15 min with a vacuum diagram to re-wire it properly. I'm not super familiar with the 3fe motor so i don't know if you even have these systems.

 

[toddw83]

I'd check out your sensors as well. 10-12 in that kind of driving would be about right. 8ish sounds pretty low. Check the o2 sensors, check for vacuum leaks, check whatever equivalent the 62 has to a maf sensor. Vacuum leaks/dirty egr/ non working smog equipment can really suck down the mileage.

I will get a list going and check it all. i will post the conclusion this weekend probably.

 

[BG_TX]

I'm all stock for now. Engine temp stays cold (according to the gauge).

How well do your front heaters perform? If they are fairly weak that could help identify the tstat/oring as part of the mileage issue and if your temp gauge is way off.