I have a 96 4wd club cab. 3.9 engine. I'm only getting about 12 milles per gallon around town and 14 highway. At $2.50 a gallon its starting to sting. Anyone have a similar truck for a comparison. I'm wondering if the previous owner replaced the computer chip. Anyone know what the factory chip is or an alternate that would be more fuel savy?

I have a 92 and I only get 10mpg with the 360 and I fill up less than when I had the 3.9, so having that said. You are doing better than me.

if yours is like mine it is running very rich causeing the 12mpg check your 0/2, timing and , thermostat, things like that

I dunno, runs fine and everything is new, Its a 360 and I have a lead foot, so I'm not complainin too much. LOL

i got a 92 3.9l 4x4 and this thing drinks so much gas .. im not sure on the milage but im lucky to hit 400 kms on a tank which costs about 70 to fill but im assuming im getting no mor ethen 15 ish on highway dunnno what the avg is im gonna change som eparts i think .. would the 318 be better on gas ?

My 360 is about the same if not a little better, It takes less effort for a V8 to get the truck rolling, so unless you have your foot in it all the time. It shouldnt require you to press the pedal as far. Granted you have two more cylindars using fuel, but thats two more making more power at less RPM's too.

ya i think ill probably start looking for a good v8 ..
or would it be better to go to a dealer and get a crate engine or whatever brand new 318 magnum still exist im assuming :P

Not from the dealer. Too expensive.

4x4 with a 3.9 thats alot off weight being 4x4. could be better but not by much.

i have a 92 3.9 2WD and i get about 14mpg in city and if i run all highway i can get up to 17mpg. the only thing i added was a K&N drop in filter. i think i could do better but the engine is not in peak shape. if your looking to increase fuel economy, you might want to look into mods such as cold air kits and computer chips. they can help alot, and also give more power... thats just my 2 cents.

now i'm kinda new to this whole website but i came acrossed it and im hooked. now with ur problem of ur low gas mileage i herd of a product out there thats suppost to help increase it. its called the tornado and all u do is put it in ur air intake line. it gets the air thats flowing through there spinning and causes the gas to burn more efficient. for a dakota it will run you about $70

if you want more info on it go to www.tornadoair.com its got all the rundown about it and how to install it (which takes about 10 mins it says) and all that good stuff

I would be catious about the tornado. Last year i heard romors of a lawsuit for false advertising, from what i heared they were claiming at least 2mpg but all any one got was better throttle response. I've never had one or know one who has but for less than $70 you can get the 5.2 throttle body at a junkyard.

I have a '96 V-8. I usually average about 14-15. If I use cruise on the highway, I get about 17. If I take O/D off, I get about 10.
It all depends on how you use it.

My 3.9 V6 gets 21/22 highway and 17/18 city. It does great. Used to do better but a decade has passed and it still keeps on humping along.

dude,,,,, it is really true that if the O/D is ON it is much lesser consumption of petrol???

Yes!
When you take O/D off, the truck has to work harder to get to and maintain highway speeds....
I just moved and had to tow a heavy trailer on the highway.
Due to the wieght of the trailer, I had to take O/D off. My truck ran at about 4000 rpm, when the normal is around 2000 rpm.
the truck was working much harder to maintain highway speeds, it killed my mpg.
My normal mpg on the highway is 17, without O/D it dropped to 10.

O/D is for high speeds, not for hard work.

guys,,, if the headers is deffective, rusty and there's a hole? is the petrol comsumption is high??? is there a connection to it???

If your exhaust has a hole in it before the 02 sensor, it will effect mpg as the 02 sensor will add fuel to compensate for the extra lean condition it is seeing with the extra oxygen. As far as typical mpg, the 3.9's don't differ from the 5.2/5.9's. My '92 ClubCab 4x4 with a 5.2L V-8 gets about 12 around town with as much as 19-20 on the highway.

And for the OD issue, it doesn't do your mpg any good to have it on around town. It just makes more work for the transmission, which concidently wears it out a lot faster. OD is only meant to be used on the highway with a minimal or no load. If you do tow, make sure the OD is off, as this will save your tranny.

I can go a little over 200 miles on a full tank of gas and i think i have a 22 gal. tank.

that's about right for around town. 200 miles around town usually gets me to about a 1/4 tank. The highway mileage should be a lot better than that.

I got a 95 Dak, 3.9 5 spd 2wd, just got it got 225 miles on it and only a bit over a half tank used, and the truck has 230000 miles on it.

I have a 95 V8 318 Magnum ext. cab 4x4 and it gets 15 MPG in town. it has 172000 miles on it also it is a automatic

i have a '96 2X4 extended cab, and I drive all highway miles to work, about 35 each way. during the winter i have 4 sand bags in the back so i dont loose control. i get arround 8 or 9 when i take the bags out, i usually get arround 15-17. but than again, i do like to show it off. (doing a few burnouts in the rain.) I have about 145,000 miles, and starting to have problems with the interior, but that is another thred!

1996 Dakota 4x4 extended cab, 3.9L V-6, 93000 miles, auto
Just got done with a trip home this weekend (700 miles each way, Little Rock, Arkansas to Sycamore, Illinois)
At an average of 75 MPH, got about 17.5 MPG
At 70 MPH, about 18.5 MPG
At 65 MPH, about 19.5 MPG
My A/C was on, so, I possibly could have hit up to 20 MPG if it had not been on (but, with the temps, that was not an option)
As far as I know, the oxygen sensor, MAP sensor, and that stuff are all stock (for Gods sake, the shocks are the origninal [or, at least have the Chrysler pentastar symbol, and look like crap]). I did replace the spark plugs, plug wires, distributor cap and rotor, PCV valve, air filter, and tranny filter about 1-2K miles before the trip.
Tires: BF Goodrich All-Terrain T/A 235/75-15 (inflated to 42 PSI)
Oils: Dyno oil in engine (Mobil Clean 5000, 10W-30, and the gray bottle of CD2 [i dont use it because the engine smokes, because it doesnt; i use it because my grandpa recommened i use it to keep the engine in good condition]) both axles (Quaker State, 80W-90, with Mopar Friction modifier)., transmission (whatever was in it, topped off with Pennzoil, it's awaiting a flush) and transfer case (filled with Pennzoil)
Load: Me (appx. 160 lbs) and some stuff (maybe, 50 lbs.?, with the tools I always carry around maybe 100 lbs??)
The MPH/MPG averages were made during the trip up, the trip home, I was a little more concerned with time (since I left about 5 hours later than I wanted to) and usually went between 70-80 MPH and averaged 16.8 MPG.
I was suprized by the mileage, since after I replaced the parts mentioned before, I really did not see an improvement in the mostly city driving I do (which, I get around 13-14 MPG, its 1.2 miles to work, so the darn engine hardly has time to warm up), and my last trip home and back I got an average of 16 MPG (even at 65).
I have though a few times in the last months about getting rid of her (gas prices), but, I can't do it. I just cant bring myself to get a car, plus, I can't convince my innermost self because I don't travel enough to say I spend all my money on gas. (1.2 miles to work... some people have driveways that long)

The other week in my 94 I decided to fill it up with 89 octane and ended up getting 18 mpg. I have been using 87 octane and have been getting 12 to 14 mpg. I have done the usual tune up and every 3,000 miles I get the oil changed.

I've got the same truck, and as far as I know my gas mileage is the same. I think 12 and 14 or so is pretty standard.

Hello...I have had a couple dakotas with 3.9l engines in them. In my 89 4x4 5spd. sport I typically averaged around 18-20. It was bone stock with semi narrow tires and k&n air cleaner. But I drove it on the highway mainly and babied it alot. Never really kept track of the mileage on my off road excursions. Just kept a couple 5 gallon gas cans in the back and kept an eye on the gauge.

The one I have now....when it was running. The 92 2 wheel drive 5spd. sport got about 17-19 mpg. Its got a few mods like a 3 inch exhaust someone put on there (which I think is overkill for a v6) and a couple other odds n ends, but it sees alot of highway driving too. Hopefully I can get it back on the road soon. I have replaced every sensor except the crank sensor. So Im betting thats it.

My 99 r/t however........I didnt bother keeping track of the milage. It was too much fun ripping around in.

My dads 98 2wd 5spd sport gets roughly 250 to 275 miles to a tank but he rarely lets it drop below an 1/8 of a tank.

As for the tornado.....its crap. I bought one. What a waste of money. I really didnt notice anything or see any gain. I wound up hanging it from a string on my porch and using it for a windcather type thing. It looks neat as it spins and the sun hits it.

I could be wrong but I at least havent heard of any computer chips for our dodge trucks....all I have seen or noticed were modules that plug inline with the harness going into the computer. So knowing if you had one I would think wouldnt be too hard to decipher.

In all my vehicles I have always ran 89 or higher octane gas, kept up a descent maint. schedule like checking the plugs and changing the oil regularly and I use synthetic oils and gear lubes which I have noticed like a 1mpg gain.

I've got the 318 V8 in an SLT 4x4 and 5-speed. I am not afraid of the gas pedal and consistently get 15mpg in town and 20mpg on the road.

My 96 3.9L 2wd short bed reg cab 5 speed gets b/w 18 and 21 depending on how I drive it and all I've done is put a glasspack on it and dual the exhaust from there back!

92 2wd club cab 318 auto. I drive 50/50 city/hwy and get an avg of 17mpg running the cheap gas (87 octane?).

My 96 with 318 was getting 17mpg till Dodge dhange my timing to what they said was correct--TDC--- My mileage dropped to 12mpg---I had them set it back to where they say it was (9 deg retarded), but my mileage is still 12 mpg. I believe it should have been advanced and not retarded, but since dealers are the only ones that can set it and they charge $$$ I am trying to get more opinions before I pay them again.

ORIGINAL: BStumm

92 2wd club cab 318 auto. I drive 50/50 city/hwy and get an avg of 17mpg running the cheap gas (87 octane?).


Cheap gas?? :D i wanna fill up where you live.....

wow i have 93 3.9l 5 speed and i cant get uppwards of 18 highwayand i have a lead foot i town i get about 9 to ten but i guess i cruse on the high way at about 85. all i did was a fuel rail cleaner and it jumped so try that. no i'm not talking about an in tank cleaner i'm talking about the ones where u disconect your fuel line and hook up to a fuel kare it removes all the bilt up sludge in the rails and cleand the injectors and the cylinders it great. i got it cheap but i heard it's expensive in the area for 80 to 120 but i fine it worth it if u have been running crap gas

My dads '95 extended cab (club cab?) with over 160000 miles and the 3.9 (2wd, 4speed auto w/ od) gets 15[:'(]and his old 87 4x4 (carborated obivously) got 12[X(]. Considering the horsepower ratings for the 3.9 (125 for the LA) and (175-180) in the magnum this just stinks![&o]