Help - Excessive fuel consumption in a 2.8 super custom

My 2.8l flat diesel super custom ltd is returning a consistant 21 miles to the gallon no matter how i drive it!

Can anyone tell me what it should be doing ?

Also any ideas why its so bad? - it has new air, oil and fuel filters, new oil, most of the gearbox oil changed, has had regular doses of injector cleaner, it does not smoke and there are no signs or smells of a leak.

Can any one tell me what engine revs it should be on at 60mph (not kph) in 4th gear mines on just under 3000rpm sounds a little high to me ?

I have a 2.8 Super Custom Camper and get approx 20-25 mpg - these buses are plodders, no turbo and no guts!!
Seriously, I went down the extensive economy route and came up with the same results. My auto box revs quite high but I am past caring, its comfortable, reliable and I love it!!It cruises at 60mph all day on waste Veggie Oil- the best way to save money- 50 pence per litre duty paid from a local supplier.
Don't be tempted to play with the Injector Pump, I did and it cost me a lot of pennies to re-calibrate it .
I tweaked and got loads of power along with a smokescreen a Frigate would of been proud of!!But the MOT Tester was not impressed!!

Cheers for that - I know what you mean about the comfort making it all worth it - i'd put up with 15 mpg for this much comfort.
At least i know theres nothing wrong with it now - i was just about to spend £240 on getting the injectors revamped cos everyone was convinced it should do close to 30 mpg!
Thanks again

Got my injectors refurbished in Lincoln for £75 last year

New springs, pintles & seals etc. And Pressure tested.

Try Specialist Injection Services Exchange Road Doddington Road Lincoln for a quote Tel 01522 691182 A good bunch of lads!

They also refurbished and calibrated my Injection pump for £200 after an idiot with a screwdriver, 8mm spanner etc played with it to squeeze a bit more power out of the bus. Got the power at the cost of reduced mpg and a smokescreen that was like stubble burning.That'll teach me!!

Thats alot better than the prices ive been getting - might have to see if they will do them by post (i live down near Bath) - its almost worth getting them all done as a service item for that price
Cheers for that

There is a toyota specialist at Warmley, Bristol.. I dont know if they have worked on the Hiace but might be worth looking up..

Cheers - i'll look them up.
I Have been wondering latelly if the ice tyres that it was imported could be causing my bad mpg - had a puncture the other day and put the spare on (standard road tyre) - just that one normal tyre made such a difference to the rolling resistance that i'm gonna change a pair and see what happens.

:Hi.... just purchased a 2.8 super custom pop top camper and I'm a bit disheartend to discover it only returns 20-25 to the gallon as I was led to believe high 20s in town and 30+ out of town were easily acheivable... I was initially going to purchase the 3ltr hiace but as I was told the expected mpg of this vehicle would be low 20s, I went for the 2.8 non turbo ... to discover the 2.8 is as bad on fuel as the 3ltr yet a lot less powerfull is a downer .... can any one clarify this for me .... cheers

My take on it is that people quote the km per gallon rather than mpg. Mine is definitely no better than 22mpg.

On a tank of 50l (£50!!) it covered 450km, which equates to about 21.3mpg. And that was with alot of motorway miles, cruising at 60mph.

You don't drive these for their frugality! Still totally in love with the beast though :-)

Your figures alltorqe are virtually the same as my 2.8 itr Campervan.
I regularly drive from Lincoln to March in Cambs, and on the Fen Roads I get 20mpg - 450km for 50ltr is about my limit.
Being an engineer, I tried all avenues to squeeze a few more miles out of the bus but to no avail!

Veggie Oil, various timing options, weight reduction, larger wheels and tyres, frugal driving, various diesel additives, injectors refurbished, injector pump recalibrated, regular service,electric fan replacing the viscous fan.etc etc etc

Trust me if there was a way to get more out of the old gal I would try it, but now I just drive and enjoy!!

And here was me thinking my bongo was sh*t on fuel .... must admit if I had known fuel consuption was so bad , I would have went for the 3ltr turbo as I find the 2.8 gutless...oh well ... seriously more room than the cramped bongo...guess you cant have everything...

Also dont forget...Our forum isnt that green

(I mean the colour and not eco friendly)

Mine averages 21 mpg regardless of driving style.(3lt turbo) My 2.4 's do 30 easily but are noticably lighter in weight apart from the obvious other differences.My friend has a fancy VW which does about 30 + but costs him £270 a month in HP.Our buses are petty cash stuff by comparison and considering the reliability are still cheap motoring,fuel being the only real expenditure. Both my 2.4's have done over 120k miles with nothing other than the usual tyres, pads etc, these hi ace vans must be one of the most cost effective vehicles on the road.My oldest 2.4 cost £1800 six years ago and has just gone for £1100.Buyers were fighting over it. Who cares about a few gallons of diesel.

Thanks for the props Clockman. I wish I would have that testament to show my friend 2 years ago. I imported I Hiace and he imported a Townace. He has had to spend about $8,000 CDN repairing the damn thing and I have had to spend $0.

If you want to be more green, start by burning 1/3 waste vegetable oil. You can do this w/o any major modifications and start saving immediately.

Well at least i know my vans ok now - cheers guys, i wont need to start fiddling with it for no reason now!
It likes veg oil too runs better with 25% veg oil in than normal diesel - definite power increase and a whiff to make you hungry! (new veg oil that is).

My 95' all wheel drive 3 litre turbo diesel used to get 400km per tank, I have now tried Fitch fuel Catalyst drop ins ( x6 ) and I have increased my range to 440km per tank. It has also given an increase in power by 10%. Apparently after a couple of thousand km it will have cleaned the motor internally and may slightly increase fuel economy further. I will continue to monitor the fuel economy and post for all to see.