My fan clutch went out on me a while ago so now my fan is always on ! Well I went on my first Hiway trip and I was pretty surprised at the Milage I was getting ............. 11MPG !!!!! THATS TERRIBLE !! Do you think the fan clutch could be the culprit ?
Ive got a 85 runner w/ 31s and the stock gears, basically stock 22re. I was going average probally 75-80 . I did have a pretty bad head wind on about 1/2 of the trip. I did a search on bad gas milage but didnt really find anything too helpful. I rember reading about things to do to help get better gas milage so If anyone could help hook me up w/ that thread or just tell me i would appreciate it alot . THANX

 

Yes, a stuck-fan will definitely hurt your gas mileage, though I can't say how much. What kind of mileage _were_ you getting?

Many folk here have moved to electric fan(s) up front to gain some horsepower at the crank, and have also found some mileage improvements. The "right foot" syndrome has a tendency to come into play at times like these.

 

I know exactly how you feel. Fan clutch that is nearly always engaged will affect your gas mileage. In my experience though, no more than 2 MPG or so.

First off, with 22RE you should be getting about 20 MPG highway in a stock not too heavily loaded truck. So, something is wrong with your truck.

Second, do not get an aftermarket fan clutch, get a Toyota one, even if used low mileage one. Aftermarket ones are tight! I had an aftermarket that I thought was ceized. Then, I went to an Autozone and compared it with a new one. Suprise, the new one was almost as tight as the used one. Freeturning it was not! I went to a dealer and checked out a similar Toyota clutch. Turns MUCH smoother and easier. I would not buy an aftermaket fan clutch after that.

Third, make sure that nothing obvious is wrong with the truck. Start with tires, inflate to at least 35 PSI with 31's.. Second, when were the obvious tune up items (plugs, wires, cap, rotor, idle adjust, fuel/air filters, PCV valve, etc) done? If not on your memory, I would do them next. Check your wheels for dragging brakes. Just one wheel dragging could account for the problem.

Once that is done, check the on board diagnostic for any codes. That is easy to do, your manual tells you how to, or search the web for instructions.

If your gas mileage is still below 15 mpg highway after all that, something more obscure is going on. I used to on an 88 4Runner with 22RE and was getting 20 MPG on highway with 32 inch tires, even when moderately loaded. Even my V6 4Runner is getting better mileage than your 22RE, and that should not be the case.
Things like EGR system problems, air flow meters and all that, while not common, would affect your mileage as well if not working properly. How does the truck idle when hot and when cold? Often erratic idle and strange idle behaviour can point to some other underlying problem. If the truck "thinks" that it is running cold all the time, it will waste fuel.. but that's out of my territory on 22RE, I am not sure how it handles that.

 

I second for not getting an aftermarket clutch. They are junk. Just put the two together and you can see why the Toyota one is better. Mine also went out (but it was slipping) and I changed the fluid inside. See http://slowspeed.com/repair/fanclutch.html. I had also messed with the adjustment inside the clutch which caused it to stay on all the time. If yours has this adjusment inside you may be able to fix without doing the fluid replacement.

 

Hey thanx alot guys I just replaced the wires not to long ago , Im getting new plugs today , and Ill have to check every thing else out as well. Also My runner was mildy loaded not to bad but there was quite alot of camping gear in there. Also she idles fine whether its cold or not.

 

Oh ya and I was thinking of getting some of that injector cleaner, or maybe a fuel addative. Any suggestions on these I just read about these in one of the posts that came up in the search. So you think I should go to the Toyota dealership to get a new fanclutch ? Thanx Guys.

 

I dunno if you saw it, but gere's another recent thread about a 2nd gen and poor gas mileage:

https://www.yotatech.com/forums/show...threadid=19401