fuel milage &airbox question.????

[1iwilly]

hello to all
my 97 AWD LS has a complete tune up nothing skip i just had the tranny rebuilt $2,500 about 3 weeks ago
the van drives like a dream it coast like free wheeling nothing binding what so ever
except the the fuel milage is bad the best i can do on the highway is 300 miles per tank on a 25 gal tank
where i read it should be closer to 400.
any one done or know of a mod to the airfilter box to get more cool air in.???
or an adapter plate underneath the throtle body for better fuel metering.???
thanks

[adibv5]

your awd uses more gas...300 on highway is not bad. 14miles\galon

mine i get 11 city and 12or 13 highway. but my ban is also loaded extra weight i have fully shelved with metal everything maybe over 2000lb. plus ladders on top ..i dont know. sems kinda low miles to mee to but the factory sticker say 14city 18 highway new..and stipped not loaded .

[rev_les]

The numbers the window sticker advertise are more wishful thinking than real world driving. My '99 gets around 15 to 16 on the highway with the a/c on, slightly better with it off, I'm typically hauling around tools, a cooler, a couple of portable tables and a 30 gallon air compressor.

[fungus2k]

I put a cold air intake on mine, it gives a little more fuel mileage, but not really noticeable, but the engine does run more efficiently which lowers the wear and tear on it, causing less problems down the line, its always a good idea to put a cold air intake in, mine only cost 50 bucks, it didn't have a shield or anything, it just sits right in the same spot as the old air box did, ill take some photos and post them tomorrow.

[Mr_Bowtie]

I would like to see some pics too. I hardly doubt I can improve much on the stock set-up with such limited room under the hood to run a cold air set-up.

[fungus2k]

here's some pics, she's a little dirty, i know

[1iwilly]

i can't see where you would get better airflow from laying on top compare to the stock box

[webcat]

I was thinking the same thing , mayby if you put the stock box around that filter and then mayby , because the stock box is pullin cold air from outside the engine compartment.

[Mr_Bowtie]

That set-up isn't doing much for you like that. If you could find some way to enclose the filter and get cold air to it then it would be better the stock airbox/intake set-up.

Over on the Crown Vic board a guy made custom airboxes with sheetmetal and then used the the black paint used to paint charcoal grills to keep the underhood temps away. It brought his Intake temps down over just the open cone filter. (he used a Scan Gauge II for the intake readings) Of course the Crown Vics have a huge amount of area under the hood to play with. Just an example of what you could do.....

I'm getting 17mpg with mostly highway and some in town driving. I'm pretty happy with that on a high mileage 17 year old AWD Van. Have yet to give her a tune-up.

[1iwilly]

well today i was hearing a loud rattle in the front exhaust disconnected muffler
and pieces of the cat were just laying there nothing went inside the muffler thanks got
will have to drive it like that until i can get the money to buy new completet cat
if i go universal =$87.99+ tax then anoth freaking 100 to cut old one and well new one here in orlando fl.
complete=$239.0 my 86 astro i had a few years back use to take me 446 miles on a 27gal tank
4.3 tbi and a performance chip i guess i'll have to get use to this one for now

[Mr_Bowtie]

You old Astro only got about 16.5mpg. So, your new one should get about the same maybe more. The CAT falling apart on you could be hindering your mileage a little.

[fungus2k]

the CAT going south really screws up you're mileage, I was getting about 550 km's a tank before i fixed the CAT, now i get around 700, really depends on where/how i'm driving

[Woodweasel]

I went to a Volant cold air intake and noticed a change in performance. Unfortunately there aren't any intakes made with a "Box" and "Snorkel" to pull cold air from outside of the engine compartment. So.... I went and got a 3" inline bilge fan made for boats. Moved my intake and filter to the passenger side and mounted the fan in between the radiator and the radiator barf tank and then some 3" flex into the bottom of the filter "shroud". Since the shroud doesnt cover the filter completely, I am still pulling a little hot engine compartment air, but not close to what it was. The other thing that added power and mileage was getting rid of the battleship sized muffler. I went with the Flowmaster 40 series. If you dont want the sound the 40 series gives, you can go with the 50 series, its a little quieter but still lets the motor breath. Air... get alot of it in FAST and get alot of it out FAST. I also had the computer reprogrammed (and by the way, if you have a 1999 or older Astro, there is only one reprogrammer available made by JET). Talk about a noticeable improvement in performance !! It adjusted the spark advance, firmed up the shifts and changed the shift points a little. My 99' was getting around 390-400 miles to a tank, now I am getting 410-420. It aint a whole lot of improvement, but some is better than none! It is the performance that is real noticeable! It even seems to run cooler than it used to. Anyway, just my 2 cents !!

[1iwilly]

I went to a Volant cold air intake and noticed a change in performance. Unfortunately there aren't any intakes made with a "Box" and "Snorkel" to pull cold air from outside of the engine compartment. So.... I went and got a 3" inline bilge fan made for boats. Moved my intake and filter to the passenger side and mounted the fan in between the radiator and the radiator barf tank and then some 3" flex into the bottom of the filter "shroud". Since the shroud doesnt cover the filter completely, I am still pulling a little hot engine compartment air, but not close to what it was. The other thing that added power and mileage was getting rid of the battleship sized muffler. I went with the Flowmaster 40 series. If you dont want the sound the 40 series gives, you can go with the 50 series, its a little quieter but still lets the motor breath. Air... get alot of it in FAST and get alot of it out FAST. I also had the computer reprogrammed (and by the way, if you have a 1999 or older Astro, there is only one reprogrammer available made by JET). Talk about a noticeable improvement in performance !! It adjusted the spark advance, firmed up the shifts and changed the shift points a little. My 99' was getting around 390-400 miles to a tank, now I am getting 410-420. It aint a whole lot of improvement, but some is better than none! It is the performance that is real noticeable! It even seems to run cooler than it used to. Anyway, just my 2 cents !!

can you post a picture.??????

[Woodweasel]

I would.... but the daughter has my camera on a camping trip with her friends. I'll see if I can borrow one and get a pic up.

[astro355]

here's some pics, she's a little dirty, i know

You really need to get some cold air into that filter. It makes a big difference.

[Mr_Bowtie]

^X2

[fungus2k]

I was thinking about that the other day and i can't seem to figure out how to go about and do that, I could probably get it to fit down between the fan shroud and battery, just can't seem to think of something to extend that tube with any ideas?

[astro355]

I was thinking about that the other day and i can't seem to figure out how to go about and do that, I could probably get it to fit down between the fan shroud and battery, just can't seem to think of something to extend that tube with any ideas?

I'm working on this right now. Hopefully, I'll have it done before my big trip to Idaho. I'd tell you what it is but then I'd have to kill you. TOP SECRET!

[Woodweasel]

Well, I borrowed a camera and got these two pics to come out. I couldnt get a clear shot of the inline fan and flex ducting, to dark down in there. A couple things I forgot to mention about changing the side the intake sits on.... You have to modify the radiator hose a little and the stock Volant ducting. I didnt add anything to the ducting, just switched pieces around and had to trim a little off both rigid pieces. There is just enough room between the radiator and the overflow tank for the 3" inline fan. I couldn't figure out a way to do it on the drivers side without doing alot of cutting. There is just no room with the battery over there.... unless you move the battery someplace..... Anyway, when the daughter gets back from camp, I'll be able to get a better picture of the fan and ducting.