nawoj Posted January 17, 2009 Share Posted January 17, 2009 Oi! recently purchased this car from my sister who let it sit and rot for about 2+ years. I think it ran for maybe 3 mos. during this time. i won't get into the smell....... i dropped in a new battery, turned the key, and soiled myself: the damn 2.2 burst into life with nary a tick! All i've done is replace the fluids, air filter and cleaned up the brakes/lines. And im also currently running it on my '05 lgt's stock wheels (17"). So, why am i getting MAYBE 16 mpg? Should i check/change the plugs? Or are the 17"s the culprit? (they're on the car because the stock 15"s are shot, not to look "fly")what would a dealer charge for a tuneup? Any help would be sweet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jalterio Posted January 17, 2009 Share Posted January 17, 2009 Perhaps the wheels might be causing a slight drop in your gas mileage... is this average taken on 1 tank of gas? mixed driving? I suspect a tuneup would be next and they range anywhere from 350-450 bucks at the dealership. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
987687 Posted January 17, 2009 Share Posted January 17, 2009 Clean the MAF. Injector cleaner helps. Changing the plugs would probably make a big difference. they are pretty easy to change on the 2.2, unlike the 2.5... Plug wires could help too, I changed mine because one of them actually broke when I was taking it off the plug. I think it cost me $25 for all 4. That should make a big difference. If you still want to go farther, take off your carburetor/intake and clean that out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonklein611 Posted January 17, 2009 Share Posted January 17, 2009 new air filter element, new plugs, fuel injector cleaner, and cleaning the maf should do ya well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ehsnils Posted January 17, 2009 Share Posted January 17, 2009 Also check that the rolling distance per turn of the 17" is close to that of the 15" so you don't get skewed figures from that. But otherwise I would say that a thorough check of the injectors is one item, and new plugs and cleaning of the high-voltage parts is another. Check all vacuum tubes to make sure that they haven't been a meal for some rodent. Also drive a short distance and make sure that no brakes are sticking causing unnecessary drag. This is producing a lot of heat at the wheels, so just check if the brakes/hubs gets warm. And then you shall check the pins that the brake calipers floats on so the calipers aren't sticking on the pins. That can cause you to get bad brake performance and corrupt your brake discs. Dirty but simple work, mostly annoying if you don't have a garage. Just make sure that you don't have any inhabitants in the air intake - like mice or rodents that mess things up. A big nest in the air intake will sure cause problems. And finally - warm the car up, fill it up at the gas station, take a drive and fill again to check what the consumption is when you take a drive with a warmed-up car. The fuel consumption figures will be off the "standard" values when driving in cold weather, especially with a cold car. Use injector cleaner when you fill up, especially since it has been out of use for a long time and some things may need time to loosen up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silver03 Posted January 18, 2009 Share Posted January 18, 2009 Change fuel filter. Are you running on 2 year old gas? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonklein611 Posted January 18, 2009 Share Posted January 18, 2009 Could be a frozen caliper, i've had that before, esp on a 95. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ehsnils Posted January 18, 2009 Share Posted January 18, 2009 Change fuel filter. Are you running on 2 year old gas? Even a bad fuel filter wouldn't cause an excessive fuel consumption. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonklein611 Posted January 18, 2009 Share Posted January 18, 2009 Even a bad fuel filter wouldn't cause an excessive fuel consumption. No but bad gas would, and that tends to ruin fuel filters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bdubs Posted January 18, 2009 Share Posted January 18, 2009 Try Seafoam. Run it through the PCV system, Fuel System, and throw some in the crankcase for a couple days before you change the oil. Also, change the PCV valve while you are at it. I've never used a full can in a tank of fuel, but you may want to consider. Only around 1/4 can in the pcv system, and put the rest in the crank case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spect2k Posted January 18, 2009 Share Posted January 18, 2009 i've never heard anyone advocate for the fuel system cleaners that go through the gas tank - those who recommended it, have you seen positive (or any) results? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonklein611 Posted January 19, 2009 Share Posted January 19, 2009 i've never heard anyone advocate for the fuel system cleaners that go through the gas tank - those who recommended it, have you seen positive (or any) results? Yeah. It can help keep things tidy, it won't clean a horribly dirty engine, but it can't hurt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nawoj Posted January 19, 2009 Author Share Posted January 19, 2009 awesome. thanks everyone for the advice. i'll pull the plugs and clean the MAF, and maybe try som of that magic snake oil some of you mentioned. i'm confident it's not the brakes, but i will stop halfway home and see if they're hot. i've run a few tanks of shell 93 (vpower!) and now run on whatever's on sale, so old go-sauce isn't it. i'll check back in and hopefully do some back-patting. thanks again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
99SUS SFD Posted January 19, 2009 Share Posted January 19, 2009 I'm averaging 16mpg right now myself. I'm blaming it on cold weather idling in the morning (not more than a minute or two), soft rubber on my snow tires, spinning in snow, and constant uphill and downhill driving commuting to work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ladysmanfelpz Posted January 21, 2009 Share Posted January 21, 2009 ya check for frozen caliper. my 97 lgt front left brake caliper was grabbing and my front left rim turned black from brake dust. bad deal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DN1911 Posted September 21, 2009 Share Posted September 21, 2009 i recently picked up a 95 LSi and the last tank measured around 20mpg for all in town driving. the car has been well maintained the last couple of years by the previous owner. however i do plan on changing both diffs to a synthetic and also the trans to Valvoline Maxlife Syn blend trans fluid. looking into a home made grounding kit to help with electrical efficiency. may change the 02 sensor and add a high flow cat later. i would love to see this thing get close to 23-25 in town Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sw99 Posted September 24, 2009 Share Posted September 24, 2009 I'm averaging 16mpg right now myself. I'm blaming it on cold weather idling in the morning (not more than a minute or two), soft rubber on my snow tires, spinning in snow, and constant uphill and downhill driving commuting to work. Hmmm, my 1997 2.2 gets a consistent 27-29mpg w/ snows. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
datdookie Posted October 14, 2009 Share Posted October 14, 2009 Dude i get shitty gas mileage. Change filter, change plugs/wires, change oli. Still i get 15 around city. Is it normal to see your gas gauge drop a little when you cold start your car, plus i smell gas every cold start, could be bad cat but i dont know... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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