dodge 1500 problem what to buy next ??

[gsxrman2007]

hey i have a 02 dodge 1500 4x4 with towing package and i have got to get something that gets better mpg's i average 6 mpg between pullin and just commuting and it's only got 80 thousand miles and i'm worried that the tranmission might go at anytime it's slippin and i did a fluid change and service it is a little better but woln't shift till it really rev's out ! i was looking at getting a diesel so i could have more pullin power and still get decent mpg's what ya'll think and what problems should i look out for in the cummings dodges if i go that way and are the tougher than the gas burners ??

[k20_chevy]

Wow that's horrible mileage. My 97 dodge 1500 with a 5.2L 4x4 get 15mpg highway and like 10 mpg towing. This was when I towed about a 7k lbs. trailer 200 miles.

I'm not to familiar with the 3rd gen dodge trans. but should go much longer than 80k.

To answer your question, if you do a lot of hauling and towing you can't go wrong with any diesel. Not one brand is any better than another. They all break at some point.

But my cousin has a 3500 dodge cummins and gets about 10mpg towing and 15 highway unloaded.

[bradrhale]

with the few items that you have mentioned, it sounds like you have a TPS problem. high gas consumption, late shifting all points that way. if you have a high idle also, then i would definily be looking into that. my 99 gets 12.
but lets clarify a few things first. have you upgraded the tires to a larger size?? how big of load are you pulling?? do you turn off the OD when pulling loads and turning it back on when commuting?? when was the last time you did a tuneup??

[gsxrman2007]

tire wise i have gone bigger i went from a 31.5/11.5 in tire to a 33/12.5 i get the same mpg's pulling my med size tractor of 9500lbs or running the roads empty the only time my mpg's improve is if i don't go over 40-45 then i get much better mpg's i do turn off the od button when pulling but i alway's turn it back on or i get even crappier mpg's i have done a few tune ups in it's 84000 mile life i usually do plugs & wires/coils clean the mass flo sensor and tranny changes every 35-40 thousand i do oil changes every 3000 miles with full syn. and either k&n oil filter or fram tough gaurd every 3000 as well i also change the rear end oil every 35000 i have a k&n air filter as well i clean it every 5-7 thousand or as needed i also have a cold air intake and throttle body spacer both of those helped my gas mpg's improve then came ethonal in gas and mpg's have sucked ever since. i just don't know and what is a tps problem ??

[bradrhale]

when you increased the size of the tires, did you have the speedo recalibrated either by yourself or by a shop?? a TPS is a throttle position sensor. it monitors the position of the butterfly in the throttle body. when this jewel goes out, it will normally bring up a service engine soon light. is yours on??

[gsxrman2007]

no didn't change the speedo my gps say's it only 1 mph fast and stock was surprisingly accurate so i said why bother and no check engine light but i go get it hooked up to a computer and have them check it i find some older gas stations in the country give me better mpg's am i crazy or could they have a different blend where i live no county has emissions ? thanks

[bradrhale]

i would think a difference in those sizes would produce more than just a 1 mph difference at whatever speed you checked this at. i upgraded one tire size and that netted a 8 mph difference at 70 mph.

[gsxrman2007]

yea thats what i thought to but the speedo was slow with stock tires when it said i was doing 60 i was only doing 56/57 so it actually changed 3 to 4 miles but now its only one mph off so i dont know whats going on thanks for the help though !!

[bradrhale]

if you were off 3 to 4 mph with stock tires, than the bigger tires would not correct it but make it worse. it should have gone down instead of up. 3 to 4 before, now more like 8 to 10 and that right there will throw your mileage off considerably.

[Dash]

I drove my bone stock '02 Dodge 1500 Quadcab 4x4 w/5.9 motor from Michigan to California with about 1000 lb of cargo and got exactly 14.0 mpg. I pretty much drove the speed limit. Cargo was below the height of the cab so no aerodynamic penalty. In city driving around San Francisco with no cargo (but thousands of stop signs and stop lights) and a light throttle foot, I get 12.6 mpg.

Last year, I hauled broken concrete for a couple of days, horribly overloading my truck, and still got 11 mpg with 3000 lb in the bed.

You've definitely got something wrong if your gas mileage is that bad. Bad oxygen sensor, brake not fully releasing, et cetera.