89vertgt

ok...here goes....my gas mileage is like 10-13 mpg.....and I can't figure out why...I changed plugs wires distributer and rotor.....ran injector cleaner....changed oil.....tires are all aired up equally....the only thing else that I can think of is that whoever had it b4 wired the fuel pump directly into the fuse box...they took the radio fuse out put a wire in and put the fuse back in.....while I don't have the money to have this fixed yet, might it be causing the problem? or can you think of anything else that might be

callmecobra

a hot wired fuel pump would have nothing to do with gas mileage...youve got a return style fuel system, so all of the unused gas goes back to the fuel tank

roundman

double check the timing for the engine and also look at the air filter and see if it needs changing. do you have any idea what gear is in the rear end? a gear like a 4.10 will hurt the mileage, but not so bad to make it that low. do you have a 5 speed or auto? is this city mileage or highway or what mix?

50fiend

Is it otherwise running ok? Is it running rich? Could be some bad sensors. If the computer thinks the motor is cold it will use more gas. What's the temp guage doing?

89vertgt

I plan on checking/having the timing checked, but as for your other questions...it runs alright....it seems like it doesn't have much power though....most of the time it won't burn the tires....barely even squeals em....I don't know what gears it has....it is an automatic and its mostly mix...I drive a lot of highway and city...but the first day I got it I filled it up...drove 100 miles on the highway....then 40 miles in the city and was pretty much empty....I think it may be running rich...2 things that just recently started....I have a clear liquid coming out of the right exhaust pipe...its clear with black stuff in it...got me kind of worried cuz it just started...also something that JUST started is that its idling over 2K....also has me worried

what sensors should I be worried about? and is hook up to run diagnostics on the ecu? if there is one

WesDe

As far as the clear liquid it sounds like condensation form the exsaust. The high idle could be caused by a bad vacuum leak or a dirty throttle body. Check timing as well, if your timing is too retarted the car will run poor and it will burn gas. Vacuum leak will also cause that. Open the hood and listen to the engine as you rev it up. See if you can hear an air like noise.

50fiend

If it's running rich you'll get black sooty crap from the exhaust. If it's bad it'll get all over the rear of your car. The clear stuff is probably condensation in the pipes that washes out the black crap. The temp sensor could be messing with the computer. I'm not sure where it is on the 5.0 I'll have to look. They're usually a relatively cheap item...and easy to replace. If your temp gauge is showing the correct temp then it might not be the sensor, but it the motor is warmed up and the sensor is showing it is cool then the sensor is probably bad which would cause the motor to run rich inturn useing extra fuel. This is only a theory though...if your car isn't running noticablely rich then it probably wouldn't use a whole lot more fuel. Also, some cars have two temp sensors, one for the guage and one for the computer. Again I'm not sure what's on the 5.0.

50fiend

If I drive my car like I want around town I get about that mileage as well. You wouldn't happen to be raceing from every light now would you?

Just another thought.

50fiend

Also, don't forget that the sensors give the computer information so it will know what to do with the fuel / air mixture. If oxygen sensor is bad it will mess up the computers info same with the mass air flow meter...etc. If you have a manual and a mutlimeter with OHMs you can check all the sensors to see if they are within specs.

89vertgt

hmmm....those are good ideas....yes I do race some times...a majority of the time? no....like the incident I spoke of earlier, on the highway I didn't "race" at all...just drove normal at 75 mph...good thinking...now that you remind me I did break off a vacuum line the other day...and haven't replaced it yet......would that possibly cause it to burn rich?