[snrusnak]

^lol. I'm not surprised the v6 doesn't do that good on gas, I never understood why they under power heavy vehicles.... Heck my 2010 ram quad cab with 4.7L gets 20-22 on hwy depending on speed, and I never average less than 17mpg, mostly city.

 

[wester399]

wow i cannot belive how crummy the mileage on the v6 is. Its almost comparable to a hemi. I get 13 in town and 18-20 on the highway. BTW gaeast your truck looooooks sweeeeeeet man props. Now just drop a hemi in there.

 

[RedRam10]

My 2011 Ram 3.7 gets 14 at best in town, and 18 on the intestate, but I also have a fiberglass bed cover which weighs 200 lbs. As I practice good economy techniques, seems a bit low, but guess I fall within the average.
dancianne

Hi Dancie, Hope you will drop everything and visit our Newbie Checkin.:wavey:

 

[chambers]

I used to get 16 mpg all the time when I first got my truck. Eventually after reading about a lot of guys w/ the 4.7's swapping out their clutch fan for an electric fan and gaining mileage and power I jumped onboard. After that I was getting a minimum of 18 mpg and 20-21 on the highway. As of now I'm getting 18-19.5, with a mix of 60/40 highway/city.

 

[CajunDodge]

That's some impressive mileage ^^^^! I'll really be keeping an eye on mine when I go on vacation next week.

- Cajun

 

[Dancianne]

gas mileage

Admittedly, I don't look under the hood very often ("I'm not that kind of a girl",...lol), but my fan appears to be electronically driven and controlled, however my mileage remains 14/18.

 

[snrusnak]

Admittedly, I don't look under the hood very often ("I'm not that kind of a girl",...lol), but my fan appears to be electronically driven and controlled, however my mileage remains 14/18.

I believe your truck has a mechanical fan for the radiator(attached to a shaft off the front of the engine). I think you also have an electric fan that only operates when the AC compressor is on to pull air through the AC condensor.

Deleting the mechanical fan and adding an electric fan on the radiator would probably help your mpg by at least 1 or maybe 2 mpg. May not be worth the cost of the swap though.

 

[snrusnak]

Oh nm if you have a 2009+ you have electric AND mechanical fans that are used for both the radiator and AC condensor. I was looking at your engine year that says 2002-2008....didn't realize you have a 2011.

 

[Dancianne]

I couldn't help but go out just now and look for myself,...only the one big electric fan directly behind the radiator, it's roughly 2 or 2 and a half feet in diamater. Nothing between the front of engine and that one big single fan. Earlier I heard it cycle on and then off,...and the a/c wasn't turned on...so I'd have assumed it came on for radiator coolant reasons. If there is supposed to be a second mechanical driven fan, I"m missing one then. There doesn't seem to be any associated hardware, shafting, brackets, holes or otherwise to which a mechanical fan could have ever been mounted and driven by. Additionally, even on our 100 degree days this past summer, and with the a/c on full, the temp guage never went budged from its normal operating range. I looked very close everywhere, but only one fan on my Ram that I can find.

Anyone else out there with a 2011 3.7 who has 2 fans?
The reason I used the 2002-2008 engine data was because there isn't (or wasn't then) anything newer available in the dropdown
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Oh nm if you have a 2009+ you have electric AND mechanical fans that are used for both the radiator and AC condensor. I was looking at your engine year that says 2002-2008....didn't realize you have a 2011.

 

[chambers]

I couldn't help but go out just now and look for myself,...only the one big electric fan directly behind the radiator, it's roughly 2 or 2 and a half feet in diamater. Nothing between the front of engine and that one big single fan. Earlier I heard it cycle on and then off,...and the a/c wasn't turned on...so I'd have assumed it came on for radiator coolant reasons. If there is supposed to be a second mechanical driven fan, I"m missing one then. There doesn't seem to be any associated hardware, shafting, brackets, holes or otherwise to which a mechanical fan could have ever been mounted and driven by. Additionally, even on our 100 degree days this past summer, and with the a/c on full, the temp guage never went budged from its normal operating range. I looked very close everywhere, but only one fan on my Ram that I can find.

Anyone else out there with a 2011 3.7 who has 2 fans?
The reason I used the 2002-2008 engine data was because there isn't (or wasn't then) anything newer available in the dropdown
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From looking over the parts page here http://www.trademotion.com/partlocator/index.cfm?action=getJointLocator&siteid=213674&chapter=&Sectionids=0,2308&groupid=2332&subgroupid=8152&componentid=0&make=8&model=Ram%201500&year=2011&graphicID=TM09040&callout=3&catalogid=2&displayCatalogid=0, your truck should have a clutch fan. It will be hidden by the shroud shown in the diagram as part #4. Does your truck have what looks like a little radiator off to the driver side w/ an electric fan on it. The 02-08's were this way, that is for the AC condenser. Then the radiator had a clutch fan under the shroud to cool it. On the 09 hemi that I saw they changed the setup so the condenser was attached to the radiator and the clutch fan and efan for the AC were both behind the radiator. Yours could be like that.

 

[Dancianne]

a/c condensor

Well it is a big shroud and may be hidden out of sight, but I saw no AC condenser/fan unit like you have described. But looking thru the front of the grill I may have discovered the answer...I saw a longish finned tube mounted horizontaly in front of the a/c radiator and just inside the grill near the bottom. There was no fan, but could this tube be my condensor. and merely cooled by the flow of air over the fins as I drive instead of a fan?
----------------------------------------------------------------------
.

From looking over the parts page here http://www.trademotion.com/partloca...l=Ram 1500&year=2011&graphicID=TM09040&callout=3&catalogid=2&displayCatalogid=0, your truck should have a clutch fan. It will be hidden by the shroud shown in the diagram as part #4. Does your truck have what looks like a little radiator off to the driver side w/ an electric fan on it. The 02-08's were this way, that is for the AC condenser. Then the radiator had a clutch fan under the shroud to cool it. On the 09 hemi that I saw they changed the setup so the condenser was attached to the radiator and the clutch fan and efan for the AC were both behind the radiator. Yours could be like that.

 

[snrusnak]

Well it is a big shroud and may be hidden out of sight, but I saw no AC condenser/fan unit like you have described. But looking thru the front of the grill I may have discovered the answer...I saw a longish finned tube mounted horizontaly in front of the a/c radiator and just inside the grill near the bottom. There was no fan, but could this tube be my condensor. and merely cooled by the flow of air over the fins as I drive instead of a fan?

How about posting some pics dancianne? I know all the v8 4th gen trucks have electric AND mechanical fans....not sure about the v6....but if you posted some pics I could tell you.

 

[chambers]

Well it is a big shroud and may be hidden out of sight, but I saw no AC condenser/fan unit like you have described. But looking thru the front of the grill I may have discovered the answer...I saw a longish finned tube mounted horizontaly in front of the a/c radiator and just inside the grill near the bottom. There was no fan, but could this tube be my condensor. and merely cooled by the flow of air over the fins as I drive instead of a fan?
----------------------------------------------------------------------
.

Power steering cooler probably like this http://www.trademotion.com/partlocator/index.cfm?action=getJointLocator&siteid=213674&chapter=&Sectionids=0,2308&groupid=4296&subgroupid=4157&componentid=0&make=8&model=Ram%201500&year=2011&graphicID=TM09055&callout=1&catalogid=2&displayCatalogid=0. If you don't have a smaller radiator (AC condenser) off to the drivers side then I assume it's hidden behind the radiator along w/ your fans, it would need a fan to work. When the truck is off and engine cool, make sure you don't hear a fan moving first, reach into the shroud from the motor side and you will probably feel you clutch fan. It will about the diameter of the shroud opening just up in there a little ways close to the radiator. From the parts site you truck has a clutch fan, so I'm pretty sure it's in there.

 

[Dancianne]

Thanks snrusnak and chambers,
I'll see if I can take a pic but it's pretty hard to even see just peering thru the grill and not sure that I can get a pic,...,maybe a piece of it.
Also, I'll see if I can feel anything hidden behind the corner of the shroud too. Could not visually spot anything like the pic chambers sent though.
Leaving for vacation partytime with friends in Atlanta this morning and won't be back until the weekend is over, so will be out of internet access until I get back. Thanks for your advice !
ps,...snrusnak, I'll hold off on doing my makeup while driving thru Atlanta traffic.
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How about posting some pics dancianne? I know all the v8 4th gen trucks have electric AND mechanical fans....not sure about the v6....but if you posted some pics I could tell you.

 

[snrusnak]

lol the residents of Atlanta thank you!

Take a picture inside the engine bay too, between the engine and the radiator.

Careful sticking your hand near an electric fan, they can turn on while the engine is off!

 

[Dancianne]

MPG-v6 3.7 auto

My first long distance trip: 300 miles interstate highway travel, speeds 60 to 70 mph, tires 40 psi, 21 mpg......about average per the EPA.

 

[JumpSteady]

The 2011 Dodge ram 1500 with the 3.7 does not have a mechanical fan, only 1 electrical fan. Trust me.

 

[chambers]

^Cool, one less mod to worry about then for you guys and gals. The clutch fan would have been on the end of the rusted pulley.

 

[cyberghost]

wow i have a 04 1500 and i pull my airboat that has a472 caddi and my dodge you can not tell it is there.i work on the road and travel a lot lot and i luv my dodge i get like 22 24 on the high way i have the 3.7 v6 i have a 5 sp transmission

 

[snrusnak]

The 5 speed saves you ^. An under powered vehicle with an auto is a terrible combination. Having a manual helps out a lot.