Picking up an 07 UZJ on Monday

[Brock]

looking good...

 

[bamachem]

I have driven it about 1000-ish miles since the fluid change out to all-Amsoil.

MPG's are up on average 6-10% when compared to what I was seeing before the swap.

Some more MPG observations.

W/ 2 adults and 2 kids driving 68 MPH (cruise) I averaged 17.1 MPG over ~225 miles. This was on a 4-lane divided non-interstate highway in rural Mississippi. Change in elevation went from ~ sea level to about 850' and a lot of the drive consisted of hills up to 150' ele change at a time for most of the trip. There was a little mix of speed along the way w/ traffic signals and speed limit changes. In other words, not ideal although at lower speeds than an interstate.

Same trip, on the way back but averaging 73 MPH (ready to get home!) I got 16.2 MPG.

When I'm alone and truck unloaded, I can set the cruise at 61 MPH on flat roads at sea level and the RPMs are dead on 2000 and can get 20 MPG. Drop that to 53 and it jumps up to 25 MPG. It's painful to drive that slow though.

Same exact trip as the above example and driving the same 68MPH yeilded 17.9MPG this past Monday w/ the Amsoil fluids. All other conditions were basically the same. 93 octane, weather, etc...

Also, now when I hold it at 61/62 MPH at sea level, the indicator bar shows about 22MPG instead of 20MPG. RPMs are the same.

One day next week I'll fill up near home and see how high I can get it for my 25-mile commute.

 

[uzj100]

Hyper miler!

 

[bamachem]

Hyper miler!

LOL... The crazy thing is that I'm NOT consciously trying to keep the MPG up, but I do find myself peeking at it since the numbers are right there to see. Driving style is about the same as how I drove the 2000 UZJ. On the same trips, it would get 16-ish, which is very good considering 4-speed trans and 33" LT tires.

I'm still shocked that the fluid change made THAT much of a difference on the efficiency.

I ended up paying just under $250 for all-Amsoil compared to about $200-$220 for the same stuff in Mobil 1 locally. Hell, that much dino lube would have been $150+.

 

[uzj100]

Next you need to install Active Shutters from the focus for the grill opeinings and an active lower front spoiler that lowers when exceeding 45 mph. Shave the door handles, remove the roof rack and install flat hybrid style hup caps.

YouTube - Ford Focus Active Grill Shutters

 

[bamachem]

LOL... um, no.

 

[OregonLC]

So which do you think was key to the mileage? Trans fluid? Or a combination?

Or... new VVTi syndrome wearing off = lighter foot?

 

[bamachem]

I honestly think the trans would be the place you would have the most friction due to multiple gear face interactions. I think the engine oil would make the second-largest impact. Gear Lube in the XF case and diffs would be last on the list. I'm sure we can all agree that the syn grease in the driveshaft does absolutely zero.

I had the same exact driving style for both trips. I was shocked to see the 17.9 MPG on the return trip average after the synthetic fluid change.

Overall, it is looking like a 10% across-the-board improvement in fuel economy at this point. At a cost of $250 for the fluids, I would need to spend $2500 in fuel to reach my break-even point on return on the investment, not counting the beneficial lubricating properties I gained as well. At $3.70/gal, that's 676 gallons, or about 11,500 miles of driving at 17 MPG. Considering that the oil is good for 30K and the rest is good for 100K in addition to the fact that I will be driving 30K+/year, the anticipated payoff is well worth the up-front costs.

 

[OregonLC]

I think your math works if you're doing the fluid swap simply for fuel economy on top of a fresh fluid change. If you're doing it as part of normal maintenance then you're payback is calculated on the price delta from dyno lube to the Amsoil.

The 'upgrade' seems like a no-brainer to me! I'm due for all of the same services (or rather, I've not yet done them during my ownership). Looks like I need to do some sourcing and do the same!

 

[bamachem]

Toyota says the WS fluid is good for 100k. This batch had 54K on it at most (all the truck has on it) and it was a little brownish-tinted, but didn't have a burned smell to it. It was up for an oil change, and since I didn't have the maintenance history, I decided to do it all to get a good baseline for future intervals. Glad I did now.

So, since it wasn't due for ATF yet, and that was a majority of the expense, I included the total cost of fluids for the payback calculation.

If you consider just the cost difference from base dino/WS fluids to the Amsoil, then I would image it would be less than $100, and I am getting ~$7 per fill-up (10%) as dividends. 15 tanks of fuel is all that it would take to pay for the upgraded fuels in that scenario.

 

[OregonLC]

In looking at the Amsoil ATL that you used, it's quite a bit lower in viscosity that the Amsoil ATF specified for the 2000's. That might be a large part of it.

 

[bamachem]

My 2007 has the 5-speed that requires the Toyota Low-Viscosity "WS" fluid.

Your 2000 requires a Dex II/III, but you can use the WS-compatible fluid for improved efficiency from what I've read on Tundras that used the A750/A343 behind a 2UZ engine.

The downside to using the lower viscosity fluid is softer shifts, but you get more fluid flow volume out of your pump and circulated through the system.

 

[ntsaint]

Yeah, I had one of those for a while too in my '00 UZJ. The oil kept gumming up the MAF and I had to clean it every 3K-4K miles or my MPGs would drop way off (2-3 MPG). Ended up taking it back to Advance and got an OEM paper filter and never looked back.



12MPG city is a little low unless you've got a heavy foot. Same for 15MPG @ 75 - but it's not "horrible" for that speed. You might have the K&N oil on the MAF. Clean it w/ some MAF cleaner (from an auto parts store) or electrical contact cleaner and then put a paper filter in it. Maybe add two cans of either Seafoam ($10/can) or B-12 Chemtrol (same stuff but $4/can) to a 1/4-tank of gas and drive hard until the gas light comes on. That will clean out the injectors if they have any varnish buildup on the nozzles. Fill up and run that tank out under "normal" conditions.

After that, re-check your mileage. Wouldn't hurt to check the air in the tires too to make sure you're not a little low, creating more rolling resistance (and heat).

Also, on the highway, that rack on top will suck ~1MPG out of you. That happened to me on an old 4Runner. Take it off on long trips when it's not needed and you'll see a difference - if it really matters to you.

BAMA, thanks for all the tips. Finally got around to cleaning my MAF and TB today (also went back to a paper filter).

Have you checked out the MAF on your 2007? Mine is an '06, and the MAF looked way different on my rig than in all the pics i've seen on this forum...wasn't really anwhere to 'clean'.

Just curious...pics located in the below thread:

https://forum.ih8mud.com/100-series-cruisers/216636-maf-tb-plate-cleaning-pics-2.html#post6505804

 

[bamachem]

Mine is different fron the Non-VVTI version too, as it should be. More HP means more CFM. You spray the wire on the sensor. I also had a "post-filter" element permanently attached inside the airbox preventing easy access to clean the MAF w/o removing it completely. I removed the post-filter element instead.

 

[OregonLC]

My 2007 has the 5-speed that requires the Toyota Low-Viscosity "WS" fluid.

Your 2000 requires a Dex II/III, but you can use the WS-compatible fluid for improved efficiency from what I've read on Tundras that used the A750/A343 behind a 2UZ engine.

The downside to using the lower viscosity fluid is softer shifts, but you get more fluid flow volume out of your pump and circulated through the system.

From my limited research, I don't believe the WS is compatible with the D-III. And I'm not sure I want to experiment with the World Standard fluid in my old-world slushbox. But it does motivate me to flush with some full synthetic.

 

[bamachem]

Yeah, using WS in your trans could yeild you 2MPG at the cost of a premature trans replacement if it proved to be detrimental. I'm not sure that I would want to try it either. I've also heard that you can add a bottle of additive that will cut the viscosity of D-III so that you can get better economy but use the same fluid blend as OEM.

 

[wngrog]

ON the tranny fluid....did you just do a flush or did you do a full pan drop?

 

[bamachem]

ON the tranny fluid....did you just do a flush or did you do a full pan drop?

Neither.

I did a full fluid replacement by removing the ATF cooler hose from the radiator to let the old ATF drain into the bucket as I started the truck. After 15-seconds, I would turn it off and replenish the level in the pan. Once started, the pump picks up the fluid and pumps it through the valve body and into the torque converter, before it heads to the cooler circuit in the radiator, where it drains into the bucket instead.

It replaces all the fluid at normal OEM fluid pressures so that you don't "upset" the system.

 

[bamabrock]

I'm going to swap in Mobile 1 ATF in my 2000 this weekend. Is 12 qts enough?

 

[bamachem]

12 would barely cut it. I would have 16 on hand and plan to use 12-13 w/o spills. Any you don't use can be returned.