more fuel economy issues...UPDATE! PROBLEM SOLVED!

[FloydSummerOf68]

I typically get about 275...I dont think I've ever gotten over 300.
I'm not very easy on it though...
That sucks for you guys makin under 200...

[FirebirdHatesRice]

Problem solved!

As crazy as it sounds, my radiator and thermostat were causing the problem. Just recently I found out that my radiator was kind of clogged with Dex-Cool and my thermostat was getting stuck shut, making my car run at 210 rather than 195. Ever since the radiator was flushed and the thermostat was changed, my fuel economy jumped from 14mpg to almost 22mpg. I used to fill my tank at around 200miles, just last night I filled it at 235miles and it took just a little less than 10 gallons, plenty left. Hopefully this might help some of you out.

[FloydSummerOf68]

So you car runs at 195 now consistantly?
If that is true my thermostat may be stuck as well because I'm constantly at 210...I'll have to check this out.

[FirebirdHatesRice]

Yeah, as of right now my car never gets more than a slightly greater than the 185 mark on the temp gauge and then it drops back down again. I'd almost think it's running at like 180 at this point.

[FloydSummerOf68]

Do you have a 160, 180, or 195 thermo?

[FirebirdHatesRice]

Right now I've got the 195, which is about right. Once the needle gets a little beyond the 185 mark, which would be around 195 the thermostat kicsk in. Now that it has been replaced, my car never even gets near 210 like it did before. Hottest is probably like 200 and then it just drops down almost immediately.

[FloydSummerOf68]

Nice...I'll have to look into this for sure.
Down in Missouri City/Houston heat kicks my cars *** .

[Die Ford V8]

definetyl check your o2sensors by having the computer diagnosed at a shop. if you sweet talk a smaller shop's mechanic they will do it for free. nothing to lose. as for me i dont have a cat, its punched out, and i have o2 simulators from summit on the two by the cat. 133,000 miles on my baby and just the other day i drove like a grandma for a few hundred miles and even cruised at 75-80 for a while and calculated 30.7 mpg. a friend in a 94 totaled 750$ camaro w/3.4 5spd got NO JOKE 42 mpg on his trip from idaho to seattle area. and his was overheating the whole way right next to redline with the heater cranked and the windows down, hard to believe but its true about his mileage. also check and see if your AC unit is slowing it up. grease all your serpentine belt pulleys too. the worst mileage i ever got was flooring it all the time. pealing out and ruining my tires every stoplight. i never even drove out of portland once and never even hit over 55 and my worst tank was 265 miles, ran it dry and sputtered into a gas station. check your cam to if you ever tear into it. if you replace your o2 sensors replace at least the last two,ones not on your manifolds, with o2 sims. i got killer gains for only 88 bucks. and 88 bucks is cheap for two sims considering new sensors are 50+ a pop. also check your smog pump and see if it spins good. take your belt off, very easy, and check all your pulleys. the diagnostic readings will show your ratios to. you have nothing to loose with any of these suggestions.

[Die Ford V8]

yeah the guy that said something about the radiator thing could be right. it seems that his water pump may have been churning butter and that takes some hps away. also drive down hill and put it in neutral to see if your car has any drag, suspension, driveline, brakes, etc. if nothing else try injectors, if its not that and your compression is good and air/fuel ratios are good then trade it in. another thing if you dont have much exhaust backpressure i was told that fuel doesnt have enough time to stay in the cylinders and escapes unburnt. other then that i am completely stumped. i drive my camaro v6 like jeff gordon and average 350 to 390 miles a tank. on road trips i have his 440 + a tank. after you check all that try see if your return line is blocked or not even dbroken. if that is ok then i suggest you buy a new maro. sorry you got a lemon buddy. tell me how things work out.

[Die Ford V8]

ALSO check your vacuum, not sure if it will affect it but it might. alsorunnning ac and a huge stereo needing alt help could cause some bad mileage, especially in the city. check your smog pumps and see if they are working properly. if not you might have more exhause air in your intake than you want. ideas just keep popping upin my head and ill continue to think of more. good luck man.

[Ian]

um, he got his problem fixed. see above posts.


i pull 30.92mpg highway drivin normally.

[Die Ford V8]

ok

[97rs]

my car will rarely reach 210, even in the summer, and im almost positive i have the stock thermostat in. could it still help to flush the radiator? and o2 sensor is not a problem i have a sim with my gutted cat, but im only getting 17-20 mpg.

[Sean37]

Well I finally got around to changing my O2 sensors today. I changed the two that are before and after the cat first. I was going to change the front ones too, but I got under there and found out the sensors they gave me didn't have the right kind of plugs on the ends so I decided to leave them alone for now. I went out for a drive tonight for about 45 minutes to see what kinda MPG I would get. On my last tank I got 14.06 MPG. Tonight I drove 25 miles on only 1.13 gallons = over 22 MPG! It was mostly city driving too probably 75% city 25% hwy. I went ahead and returned the other sensors since they were the wrong ones and I didn't need them anyway. I probably need to drive through a full tank of gas to get a better estimate, but it seems to be a LOT better already. [img]smile.gif[/img]

[Pewter99Camaro]

I used to be able to get 300 per tank beating on my car and 320+ driving like an old lady