mpg sucking

ssjmaverick23 · Feb 3, 2004

i got a 88 na stock latly ive only been getting about 20mpg i was getting around 24 i think something got messed up when the car overheated on me waterpump went out and radiator got a leak changed it all now and my mpg went down is there anything i could do to get it back up?

Papa Georgio · Feb 3, 2004

If you already have replaced the rad and the water pump try doing the hoses and the clamps that attach them it just might be a bad hose, also see if you have had your thermometer changed when you got your water pump done. Hope this helps

ssjmaverick23 · Feb 4, 2004

yea all the hoses are new

93GreenLX · Feb 4, 2004

Check what your temperature gets up to when warmed up, should be about 2 notches up

bhuff30 · Feb 4, 2004

you may have toasted the thermostate. That could make the engine run colder, making your milage suck.

FordRangerFan17 · Feb 4, 2004

dont be surprised to lose 3-4mpg during the winter months, well I guess you are in the deep south...hmm....nevermind then, doubt it gets cold enough to where they have to oxygenize the gas.

RWSTANG · Feb 4, 2004

You think thats bad...i've been getting no better than like 80-90 miles per 1/2 tank...and even in the summer i only get like 95 per half at best. I have tried everything(new plugs, fuel filter, complete tune up, timing belt, ect..) and nothing works. I'm begining to think its a valvetrain issue and one of the cylinders isn't firing right. It really sucks putting 5 dollars in reg. and its gone in a day.

TobyA-1 · Feb 4, 2004

When your car overheated, did you drive it very far while it was hot? If so you may have warped the head. I over heated my 2.3L and cracked the head. The machine shop told me that the 2.3L head is notorious for cracking during a overheating situation.

If you cracked your head, your car should be running really rough at idle and gas mileage would be terrible.

mr_woodster · Feb 5, 2004

RWSTANG said:
You think thats bad...i've been getting no better than like 80-90 miles per 1/2 tank...and even in the summer i only get like 95 per half at best. I have tried everything(new plugs, fuel filter, complete tune up, timing belt, ect..) and nothing works. I'm begining to think its a valvetrain issue and one of the cylinders isn't firing right. It really sucks putting 5 dollars in reg. and its gone in a day.

First id talk to tealstang, hes generally hanging round here somewhere, my friends 5.0 (a 94) gets decent milage 16-25 mpg , ive been around 5.0s enough, but i dont know them as well as a 2.3, so maybe the 5.0 forum could help you?
Have you tried:
A: a new o2 sensor
b: injector cleaner
1:if it is one (or more) of the injectors, you can pull them and have them tested and flow matched , or just replace them
C:loosing some weight in your right foot

You changed the timing belt? did u make sure to time it and its dead on? you are getting spark at every SINGLE plug? New plug wires? Did you get the right plugs, and gap them correctly? Its the small things that usualy cause the most trouble, hope you find the problem !

ssjmaverick23 · Feb 5, 2004

yea all my plugs are good and wires are good my timing is set tdc i had my mechenic chec the timing for me and it was right is there a way to check th o2 sensor? or should i just replace it ive ran some injector cleaner. also the car runs fine and does not give me any trouble the temprature gets dead center of the gauge and that is as high as it will get then it will drop some.also the tstat works fine

ssjmaverick23 · Feb 5, 2004

i just looked in my book for my car and i could not find were the o2 sensor is can yall tell me were it is at thanx

MSM0075 · Feb 5, 2004

I did a tune recently with a K&N filter on my '88 and add lucas fuel injector cleaner regularly...im still only getting like 200 miles a tank, same with my '93 2.3.

Dan P. · Feb 5, 2004

ssjmaverick23 said:
i just looked in my book for my car and i could not find were the o2 sensor is can yall tell me were it is at thanx

Take a look the hole that is nearest to you is the O2 bung where the O2 sensor goes. Keep in mind that I have a Ranger header but it should be in the same place on the Mustang header.

RWSTANG · Feb 6, 2004

mr_woodster said:
First id talk to tealstang, hes generally hanging round here somewhere, my friends 5.0 (a 94) gets decent milage 16-25 mpg , ive been around 5.0s enough, but i dont know them as well as a 2.3, so maybe the 5.0 forum could help you?
Have you tried:
A: a new o2 sensor
b: injector cleaner
1:if it is one (or more) of the injectors, you can pull them and have them tested and flow matched , or just replace them
C:loosing some weight in your right foot

You changed the timing belt? did u make sure to time it and its dead on? you are getting spark at every SINGLE plug? New plug wires? Did you get the right plugs, and gap them correctly? Its the small things that usualy cause the most trouble, hope you find the problem !

Yes, the timing was on cause the reason we put the new one in was cause i wouldn't hold timing. We made sure it was perfect. I've tried injector cleaner several times. The o2 sensor is almost exactly a year old. I'm at a loss at this point. And i drive the thing like a grandma

mr_woodster · Feb 6, 2004

hmm, if your sensors are new, injectors are in good spraying order, you dont drive like a bat out of you know where, maybe a vaccum leak is cuasing the computer to dump extra fuel , making it run rich. This should cuase other sides affects, but it may not be. I'd say check for vaccum leaks if all the above mentioned is running right. After that, lol im not sure what to look for?

GASCOOB · Feb 11, 2004

hey msm0075 you might want to check fuel press regulator can be making it run too rich. my 90 2.3 gets 420 to 430 miles to a tank with 210 000 miles on it

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