| Author | Message | ||
     Sheldon Charron (Rifleman) On Probation Username: Rifleman Post Number: 71 Registered: 01-2004 |
Hey guys. What kind of range do you get on your Disco II's? I have been lucky to get about 400KM per tank. It's cold up here. Today I was very impressed that my Disco started after sitting all night without being plugged in. It was -41 Celsius! With the windchill it was -54C. That -65F! I know that cold will affect fuel consumption, but I'm beginning to think there is another problem. I commute to work and I'm filling up every second day at least. In these dangerous temperatures, I'm not going anywhere without an extra jerry. I hate to carry them inside the vehicle and don't have a rack yet, but I guess I will for now. Could this be something else in combination with the cold weather? I just had all my fluids changed, and I'm assuming they did the air filter. Maybe a sensor or something? Thanks in advance. | ||
| Jaime Crusellas (Jaime) Member Username: Jaime Post Number: 222 Registered: 05-2003 |
If your'e getting 14 mpg you can't bitch...well you can, but it won't do any good! | ||
| Alan Yim (Alan) Senior Member Username: Alan Post Number: 1025 Registered: 09-2002 |
Sheldon, I'm from Edmonton here, similar temps as you. The fuel mileage you're seeing is normal for these temps. Don't forget, you're probably warming up your truck for 20 - 30 minutes (or at least you should be) before you drive right? Do that twice a day plus your commute (which sounds like a long one if you're doing 400km every few days) with heater going full blast and whatever else you have so that sounds about right. These kinds of temperatures have a big impact on fuel mileage. | ||
| Sheldon Charron (Rifleman) On Probation Username: Rifleman Post Number: 73 Registered: 01-2004 |
Alan. I figured that must be part of it, but it seemed excessive. I live about 30 minutes east of the city limits, so I'm back and forth at least twice a day. I'm going to check the mileage. It just seems to be eating way more fuel than my F-150. It's not the cost of the fuel so much as the loss of effective driving range. It certainly means I can't go anywhere interesting without a lot of extra fuel. Running out of gas in this weather can get you killed. Because I have my two young boys with me often, I have to be especially careful. I hope to get my rack soon and I'll get jerry cans rigged outside. I hate carrying it in the truck, but I guess I will for now. Thanks dude. | ||
| Alan Yim (Alan) Senior Member Username: Alan Post Number: 1026 Registered: 09-2002 |
It gets better as the weather warms up but this really cold stuff is quite hard on Rovers fuel-wise. Don't forget you're running a permanent 4WD system as opposed to the F-150 plus I'm guessing you're heavier than it too. Those two things plus this cold weather is going to make your truck work harder. BTW, putting a rack on your truck isn't necessarily going to help fuel mileage out a lot, especially if you put two jerry cans on top. The rack acts like a bit of a sail (not to mention the jerry cans) and catches some wind so it adds to the drag/resistance. You might find that after you add the rack on, you lose even more range. Just make sure you have good jerry cans and carry them inside. You can modify the two side cargo holders to hold the jerry cans something like this (minus the bed rack): http://www.northbyrover.com/preparation%20002%20(Medium).jpg Just an idea but I think you may find the rack a bit counter productive for your purposes. | ||
| David Huddleson (Dhuddleson) New Member Username: Dhuddleson Post Number: 20 Registered: 09-2003 |
And in Ottawa it has not been quite that cold, but around -25 to -28C at night over the last week or two. In my 98 D1, I commute 30km (each way) to work every day, and I am seeing total tank capacity well below 500km (300 miles), so what you are seeing is about right. Tough it out, spring is coming! | ||
| Sheldon Charron (Rifleman) On Probation Username: Rifleman Post Number: 74 Registered: 01-2004 |
Alan: Are you serious? The LR weighs more than my F-150? Wow. I never even considered that possible. I have never found a jerry can that didn't stink up my truck. Can you recommend some that would work. Nice set up you've got there. I have the jump seats in mine, so I'll have to figure out another system. I will though for the time being. Thanks. I do plan on getting a rack and tent though. I don't mind the low mileage, as long as I can get out in the boonies. The cottage is WAY up there far from any gas stations. I like it that way.  David: Good to know. I just thought maybe something needed looking at. Sound slike you are getting similar mileage, or somewhat. I didn't check the litres, but I topped up today with premium. It took $40 and my trip meter said 156km. I must admit though I have left it running to warm up a couple of times since I filled up Thursday afternoon. I'm not sure if it's true, but someone told me that letting my Ford idle is as hard on fuel as driving at highway speed. Maybe same for the Rover. 30 minutes of idle could be 50km of driving. Spring is indeed coming. Woo hoo! | ||
| Jamie (Rover_puppy) Senior Member Username: Rover_puppy Post Number: 800 Registered: 05-2003 |
Sheldon, Good old american steel blitz cans for around $20 each were recommended to me. I was told to carry mine on the floor of my backseat. Jamie | ||
| Sheldon Charron (Rifleman) On Probation Username: Rifleman Post Number: 75 Registered: 01-2004 |
I'll do a search for them. Thanks Jamie. | ||
| Alan Yim (Alan) Senior Member Username: Alan Post Number: 1027 Registered: 09-2002 |
Sheldon, Just to clarify, that's not my truck you were looking at. That's Alan Stuart's truck (I think he's on here occassionally). He's from Texas somewhere and did a road trip with his family from Texas to Alaska. I came across his site from EE's site and thought he did some really cool things with his D1, one of which was his jerry cans. I just store mine in the back like anything else at the moment but I do want to do something similar to him as I don't intend to get a roof rack. There really isn't a lot of need for one in my case and the trails here in Alberta are too tight for them. You'll end up whacking it against trees and branches potentially doing damage so the jerry can thing basically ends up having to be inside. The big thing is finding a way to secure them so they don't tip and I thought Alan had a good idea. Judging by your previous post of $40 for 156km, it sounds like your driving style may also have something to do with the mileage you're seeing. Typically 150km on my truck is at around 1/4 tank. In this colder weather it's slightly past 1/4 tank. If you drive your truck a bit harder or if you're going faster than 120 km/hr, it will make a difference. As an example, in the summer, I can drive from my house to my friends house in Calgary which is approximately 311 kms in just a bit under 1/2 tank. That's travelling at 110 km/hr. As soon as I go 120 or faster, my mileage drops quite a bit. It also helps if I have a tail-wind. I just went and checked Ford's site on the specs for the F-150 and it looks like I wasn't quite accurate. The F-150 depending on which model you pick is anywhere from 4400#s to 5500#s (curb weight) it looks like so if you were to compare a heritage regular cab 4x4 F-150 to a Disco, the weights are very similar (the D1 being slightly heavier I believe). So if you think about it, the Disco considering it's a shorter truck, is actually quite heavy for it's size and with a small V8, it's working quite hard. | ||
| James Briscoe (Rockywood) New Member Username: Rockywood Post Number: 6 Registered: 01-2004 |
Not sure if disco II has a an electric fan or viscous drive but my disco I had a seized viscous drive so the fan was always turning the same speed as the engine. Talk about bad fuel economy! I was lucky to get 11 mpg! I bought a K&N filter and it helped a bit but the real problem was the viscous. I live in Wpg also. - James | ||
| Alan Yim (Alan) Senior Member Username: Alan Post Number: 1028 Registered: 09-2002 |
My fan clutch siezed recently too (Dec). I had it fixed not too long afterwards but didn't notice any adverse affects on mileage. That damn thing is expensive though! | ||
| James Briscoe (Rockywood) New Member Username: Rockywood Post Number: 9 Registered: 01-2004 |
Unfortunately I didn't notice my fan problems until it was too late. I now have to replace my water pump as well. I remember hearing more fan noise but didn't think much of it. Then I got used to it until I noticed I was leaking antifreeze. Figure I probly spent a couple hundred dollars in fuel just for running the fan alone! Of course when my parts arrived from BP they forgot the viscous. I was thinking, because it is so cold here, that I would try running without the viscous and fan and see if I notice any increase in power, just as a test of course. If it doesn't run too hot them I might be able to see what the change in fuel economy is as well. I would have replaced the viscous with electric had I been aware of these conversion kits prior to my purchase of the replacement parts. | ||
| Sheldon Charron (Rifleman) On Probation Username: Rifleman Post Number: 79 Registered: 01-2004 |
I just noticed tonight that my oil dipstick is covered in a weird looking dark coating that almost looks varnished on. There appears to be chunks of gunk further up the stick that can only be removed by scraping it away with you nail. The oil is still relatively transparent, and ins't due for service for another 1000 km or so. I never drive over 110 km/h on the highway. Our limit here is 100 km/h and we get demerits for tickets that make our license and auto insurance premiums increase drastically. I just topped up again tonight. I drove 234 km and it took 44 litres to fill for a total cost of a little over $35. If I'm not mistaken, that's 17 litres/100km, and that's quite a bit better than the couple of days before that, but it's gotten much warmer. It's amazing how -50 can make you think -25 is warm. Oh, and my F150 is a 1994 extra cab short box with heavy duty suspension and 33" tires. Not sure of the weight. I realize though that constant 4x4 makes for a lot of things turning. I'm starting to winder if the dealer put in synthetic gear oil as recommended by the manual. Somehow I doubt it. I paid over $600 to get my transmission, diffs and rad fluids changed out. I'm going to check. I'm also going to switch to synthetic oil. Hopefull oil doesn't start leaking all over the damn place. | ||
| Alan Yim (Alan) Senior Member Username: Alan Post Number: 1030 Registered: 09-2002 |
Hehe...ya no kidding. It's now -25 here and it feels balmy compared to a couple days ago of -40 to -47 weather. I walked out the door this morning thinking a chinook came through. My dogs sure appreciated it. Don't have to worry about peecicles on them. That mileage you got recently sounds about right on for this weather and as the weather warms up it'll get better. | ||
| Sheldon Charron (Rifleman) On Probation Username: Rifleman Post Number: 80 Registered: 01-2004 |
Cool. Thanks Alan. | ||
| David Huddleson (Dhuddleson) New Member Username: Dhuddleson Post Number: 25 Registered: 09-2003 |
Sheldon, There could be moisture (water) in your oil from the extremely cold weather. Possibly you do some shorter journeys and don't get the moisture to evaporate out of the oil. Then you might see this as ice on the dipstick or under the oil filler cap when the engine is cold. Not sure on your driving style/requirements, but stop-n-go, short journeys are very hard on the oiling system in extreme cold temps. In a way, I am glad my daily trek to work is 30km, as that helps to ensure everything gets warmed up. Maybe you should schedule your oilchange sooner. Just a thought. | ||
| Jason Lord (Ronan) Member Username: Ronan Post Number: 151 Registered: 10-2002 |
Sheldon - If you are still looking for jerry cans, I recommend the red Wedco cans from Canadian Tire. I have travelled with these in the truck for long road trips. No fuel smell whatsoever and no leaks. Some other canucks over here have them stored on their sides up on the rack. Have yet to see one leak. Ps - Hey Alan - I am driving out to Calgary on Monday for business reasons. I will be out there for a month. It would be good to hook up if you are interested. Jason ROXS 47 | ||
| Alan Yim (Alan) Senior Member Username: Alan Post Number: 1031 Registered: 09-2002 |
Hay Jay, Sounds good. I'm tentatively scheduled to be in Calgary on February 18 & 19 for some meetings. Not sure if I'll have time in the evening afterward but if so, we should get together for a beer. Milan, Kevin and Wei are also in Calgary so maybe we might be able to have mini Canadian Dweb gathering. I'll let you know as the date gets closer. I'll talk to the other guys too to see if they're free. | ||
| Jason Lord (Ronan) Member Username: Ronan Post Number: 152 Registered: 10-2002 |
Alan - Sounds good to me. If I am able to get a weekend day off work, maybe you can show me some of the terrain up in Edmonton. Would be fun to get in some light wheeling. I will bring out some recovery gear just in case Jay | ||
| Sheldon Charron (Rifleman) On Probation Username: Rifleman Post Number: 82 Registered: 01-2004 |
The only Wedco cans I have seen are the red jerry cans that have the little plastic caps that leak like a bastard. I'll see what they got. I do have a couple of the metal military ones, but I bought them used and haven't tried them yet to see if they leak. RE: Water in the oil. I'm mostly highway, but when in city drive pretty hard with fast start/stops. Definitely type A. ;) I'm going to get the oil dumped. The chunks would seem like ice, but the coating seemed more like a varnish type shit. Hard to scrape off and very shiny. | ||
| Wei Quek (Apohis) On Probation Username: Apohis Post Number: 42 Registered: 04-2003 |
Alan: You are getting way better mileage than me. On the e-town trip, driving at 110, I'm using about slightly more than 1/2 tank of gas. I'm certain the roof rack had a lot to do with it. If you have time for a beer when you come into town, that'll be great! BTW, still no sign of the parts. Jason: Email us when you get into c-town! Have a safe journey. | ||
| Bill Ross (Billr) Member Username: Billr Post Number: 138 Registered: 11-2002 |
Panagea Expeditions have jerry cans that are the new NATO, US and CDN military standard. They are still 20l and of the typical jerry can design but are made of plastic and to current DOT safety standards. The interesting bit is that they are made by Sceptre down in the TO area but I have not been able to find a Canadian supplier. Panagea has them for about $38 USD but I figured if I could find them here I could forgo the whole shipping/brokerage/duty crap and end up at a reasonable price per can. Any road, just a thought and if anybody knows a CDN supplier of these, please let me know. | ||
| Alan Yim (Alan) Senior Member Username: Alan Post Number: 1034 Registered: 09-2002 |
Jay - A friend and I were talking about doing a trail up near his trapline. It's a light, easy trail (according to him but he's got a fully kitted D90 for hunting so it's relative I guess) with some cut-lines that he's never explored before but he thought it might be fun to have a look. The main trail is easy according to him. Basically a logging/forestry road that he said he's gotten in there before with his stock F-150. If we arrange something, I will let you know to see if you can come up. Bill - Check with these guys: http://www.commercialbearing.com/ They also own CFE Equipment so may have possible leads into getting the Jerry cans you're talking about. Actually I have a friend who works there so I'll give him a call and find out. Will let you know what he has. Wei - That sounds good. I'll see if I have time. Shawn is in Calgary too along with the other guys so if I can make it, that will be good but we'll have to keep an eye on Milan. He's the crazy one of the bunch I heard. | ||
| Peter Matusov (Pmatusov) Senior Member Username: Pmatusov Post Number: 1298 Registered: 09-2002 |
Sheldon, The steel Wedco cans were sold by Kragen for a while, then they discontinued them. Now, you can buy them from Expedition Exchange, or Off Road Warehouse, or somewhere locally. I've driven many thousand miles with a bunch of lever-style-cap jerry cans in passenger compartment, and never had one leak or smell enough for people to notice. Don't let them bounce around, though, for the lever can catch on something and flip open. When 10 liters of gasoline are spilled on the carpet in the cargo area, it makes for a nice ride home. | ||
| Sheldon Charron (Rifleman) On Probation Username: Rifleman Post Number: 87 Registered: 01-2004 |
Peter. That's exactly what I'm worried about. Everything I have bounces around. In including me. You should have seen the beaver dam I crashed through yesterday. | ||
| gokay korcum (Gokay) New Member Username: Gokay Post Number: 1 Registered: 02-2004 |
dear Sheldon, i drive 15,5 lt/100 km in a very nice climate - istanbul/turkey. Some people reccomend lpg to cut off the fuel cost by half, but i'm afraid wont help with such temp. Is there anyone having any trial of lpg??? |
