Poor gas mileage and bad brake install

[Raist11]

Just posting this in case it helps someone down the road. You can believe me, or not.

When I picked up my 2011 1500 5.7 in 2015 I was getting around 17L/100km (just according to truck computer). I was pretty happy about that since my previous Ford Edge was getting around 15L/100km. I'm not sure exactly when but at some point I noticed my truck started getting around 20L/100km. It was winter time and I'd be letting my truck warm up so I thought, meh.. Then in the past year I had hit 22L/100km, even during the summer. My brakes had been pulsing for some time also, I just assumed due to warped rotors and lived with that until a time I could replace them.

I've been doing a bunch of work to it lately including all new brakes. I quickly found out that whoever had done the brakes before me had mangled the rattle clips on the back brakes. The pads were worn at a wicked angle because they couldn't move inside the clips properly. Now through the week after doing the brakes, my mileage has suddenly jumped back to 17.2L/100km! No signs of any extreme heat, but obviously enough dragging to cause some mileage issues.

So just wanted to share that, in case someone is looking for a shot in the dark.

 

[R.L.K.]

Thanks for posting , definitely something to consider for a sudden mileage decrease especially if brakes have been changed recently.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

 

[RoadRamblerNJ]

Thank you for that info. This is why I've done my own work all my life.

 

[JPT]

I'm not sure I understand this "L" you speak of, or "km"...


Thanks for the info.

 

[stimpy433]

I'm not sure I understand this "L" you speak of, or "km"...


Thank thanks for the info.

This will explain it all for you:

 

[JPT]

This will explain it all for you:

Super Troopers 2 is out... very relevant post... I can't wait to see it.

 

[Raist11]

Thank you for that info. This is why I've done my own work all my life.

Yup, and I refuse to pay someone to do brakes with how easy it is to do. Hard to say if the previous owner or a garage had done it but definitely buggered it, whoever it was.

 

[RoadRamblerNJ]

Yup, and I refuse to pay someone to do brakes with how easy it is to do. Hard to say if the previous owner or a garage had done it but definitely buggered it, whoever it was.

That's my reasoning. It happened to you. Who's next? That guy's/gal's still doing brake jobs. (Like how I was fair there for all the lady mechanics). It's BRAKES! Stupid kills sometimes. Gotta say, it is gettin' harder to get up off the driveway lately. I'll do it until I can't.

 

[tidefan1967]

I'm not sure I understand this "L" you speak of, or "km"...


Thank thanks for the info.

The ****** at work say 3.8L=1 gallon so that's what I use as a reference point for all that metric stuff.

 

[JPT]

The ****** at work say 3.8L=1 gallon so that's what I use as a reference point for all that metric stuff.

LOL. I actually grew up using the metric system (I grew up in Asia) and Celsius. I just love messing with metric system people now that I haven't used it regularly in 20 years.

 

[chrisbh17]

Ive never actually done it (stupid me!) but Ive always wanted to take a brand new vehicle, jack it up and "feel" how much drag there is while spinning the wheels. Assuming everything was correct from the factory, its essentially a baseline for what spinning them should feel like later on in life. That way you can kinda hopefully tell if something is out of spec (bad brake change, wheel bearing/axle going out, etc).

Could even take it one step further and use a scale to pull on a given spot of the wheel or tire, note the scale reading and keep on record.

 

[RoadRamblerNJ]

Old role of thumb on drum brakes when using a brake spoon to spin the adjuster wheel was set it where if you pull the tire down to spin it (on a lift), it should go around once and stop.
Disk brakes are not adjustable for that.

Ive never actually done it (stupid me!) but Ive always wanted to take a brand new vehicle, jack it up and "feel" how much drag there is while spinning the wheels. Assuming everything was correct from the factory, its essentially a baseline for what spinning them should feel like later on in life. That way you can kinda hopefully tell if something is out of spec (bad brake change, wheel bearing/axle going out, etc).

Could even take it one step further and use a scale to pull on a given spot of the wheel or tire, note the scale reading and keep on record.