4spd 2.7 Highway help

And now you know why it was so cheap. The first owner likely arrived at the same crossroads you’re at now. Based on what I wrote how do you infer I said that my engine was better than yours (It is, Ill say it now. I had a 2010 2.7L 4x4 manual once but that’s an aside )? If bigger tires is what you want and more torque (so it shifts less as a result of the higher torque) you sure got the wrong motor, pal. Anything you can spend on bolt on power mods for this motor will not be paying for itself in fuel savings (you’re also misinformed about the correlation of RPM and MPG, btw). But in the end of the day the truck still gets you to your girl, doesn’t it? So talk about appreciation for what we have and beating a dead horse (hint: this thread has been just that from the very first post).

 

got you, thanks haha i wasnt even thinking of the lockup!

 

Not worth arguing brother, im lookin for peoples opinions on how i can do what i said (if you want to quote me, quote it right, i said appreciate what we have - "and make it work") Thanks for your thoughts, noted.

Im quite happy with my 4 banger for the reliable work horse its known to be, with reliability and longevity reputation notably higher than the 4.0, im thankful i got the venerable 4cyl, and while the 4.0 is a great engine, with more power and semi equivalent mileage on the interstate, its not a necessary item for me when i have the perfect offroad crawler that currently averages 17mpg while in 4lo crawling around offroad.... Ill take that over 9mpg in a 4.0 any day.

Anyway - thank you for your thoughts. Im just not looking to be told how i should feel about my truck that i happen to like.

 

Go back to stock sized tires. Install a vacumn gauge,this will tell you if you're hossing the gas too much. Shut cruise off and manually shift the truck for the hiils you traverse. You're kind've stuck between a rock and a hard place here. The only mods that will really help will cost you well over $2k.

 

The best thing to do is to not use cruise control. It's too slow to react. You can anticipate inclines coming and accelerate to carry more momentum into the hill. Also, I manually shift my 4banger auto. The computer doesn't know what it's doing. It's never in the right gear to maintain speed. You'll have to get over being conservative with the RPM's. The 2.7L comes alive at about 3500 RPM. It doesn't even make peak torque until 3800 RPM. It will pull up pretty step grades in 3rd at about 3500 RPM. Just rev up and go.

 

Yup don't be afraid to rev that thing, it will happily scream up grades at 3800 RPM all day long.

The 2TR is a workhorse. It has literally been used in buses overseas. Keep up on oil changes and air filters and do not worry about it.

 

lightweight P245/75/16 tires, and when the engine starts lugging going up grades downshift to 3rd gear until the road flattens out, keep a clean air filter in the engine and all routine maintainence up to date. drive the speed limit

 

having drove through the horrid state of PA ( lots of traffic and hills with shit roads) with a old 4 cyl yota, i side with @jowybyo forget about MPG's or RPM's stay off the cruise until you know you have longer than a few miles..cruise wasn't meant to be used on steeper hills.. good luck on the journey man, no i didn't read anything other than OP's original post, just hoping to add some useful tips

 

To add to what I mentioned earlier, you can't wait until you are losing momentum to downshift. The computer does this, but once you start losing momentum it's too late. You need to downshift early and keep it on the pipe. It's like a 2-stroke motocross bike, you have to stay in the powerband. Once you fall out of that sweet spot, it's hard for the motor to pull back up. I roll into hills at about 70mph and downshift to 3rd just at bottom, then ride it screaming to the top.

 

a little off topic but still applicable... my step daughter (17 and lost in every way) rode with me last weekend and asked why i downshift to 4th from 6th to go up a hill near our house and i told her listen you will know why...her: no clue...so i said ok and turned around and did it again but didn't downshift from 6th...her: looking at me like i was growing horns said ok whats the difference...me: i literally had to putt putt up the hill just to make it..her: my car doesnt do that, mine flies up this hill...me: yeah no shit because your car does it for you, mine does not...i forget who i'm talking to sometimes...

 

Living in the mountains with a 4cyl is a challenge. A manual transmission helps, but not much. You have to drive like it's the last lap of the Indy 500 and you're out of gas. When the engine goes over 2K RPM, you feel gas money slipping out of your wallet. Over 60-65mph, mileage takes a nosedive. Slow down a little, drive like Senna. Or, buy a beater that gets good mileage and save your truck the wear and tear.