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Took my old (90) Loyale 80 miles down the road at a reasonable pace, returned 25 mgp.

 

Is this reasonable/typical, or awful? Which of the EFI sensors most effect fuel economy? I've heard the it's the oxygen sensor and EGR valve, but have no experience with either...

 

TIA

 

bk

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Standard tune-up items help,

 

NGK cheap-o plugs, they run best on the 3.49 plugs

Plug wires should be fine, if they look bad though replace em, also a resistance check will help tell if they're ready to be replaced.

 

Fuel and air filters will give you a good return if the old ones are dirty, if you don't remember swapping them out its not a bad idea to change them

 

Tranny fluid and rear diff fluid can cost you a few MPG if its old or over filled, so don't be afraid to check those out too.

 

Air pressure in tires is a big one too, but everyone already knows that one.

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Should have mentioned:

 

Manual 5-spd. The tranny is overfilled by an inch, I thought perhaps PO had done this to compensated for front mainseal leak Now wondering if overfilling is causing the front mainseal leak......

 

Engine clatters like a lawnmower on startup, has tick of death, goes away when engine warmed up Sometime just barely there when engine is hot idle. Car has 45 lb oil pressure hot, perhaps 30 at idle. Also had crummy cam cover seal, big blue bead of silicone that oil leaks through. Car is running Napa 20/50, has fresh oil and filter when I bought it. Oil overfilled also, perhaps to compensate for leaking cam covers..

 

Engine not totally smooth, I don't mean the odd "beat" that Soobs have, rather sounds like ragged pickup on acceleration, new plugs to come soon..

 

High mileage car, shows 369,700.4 miles standing out in the driveway. More than either of my diesel Mercedes that only have a couple of hundred k on 'em...

 

How hard to pull engine? If I need to do the cam tower thing and change lifters, better out of the car, I think.

 

TIA

 

bk

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actually, the EA82's arent all that hard to do in car, but if you are wanting to get a look at the back side and/or reseal the oil pan, then yeah, yank it - not that hard to do

 

honestly, if you are gonna go to the trouble of pulling, i would go ahead and get a complete gasket kit - reseal all of the "easy" stuff (no nead to touch headgaskets if they arent causing problems) but cam cases, oil pan, timing set & related seals, etc, etc...

 

there are several discussions about the TOD and what/how to "fix" it - biggest of course being the oilpump seals.

running such a heavy oil will cause it to read "good" pressure but the hydraulic lash adjusters can suffer from lack of oil - small passages - thus the TOD ... *wondering to self how the pressure would read with either 10/30 or 10/40? probably not so good.*

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Running on 10 percent ethanol gas which is about all I can find where I live, I average 28 mpg in mixed town/highway driving in my '91 4wd Loyale wagon w/ manual trans.

 

Maybe 1 mpg or less on average if I'm running A/C.

 

FWIW, I currently run 5w30 synthetic oil (10w30 synthetic in winter months). [Edit: fixed mistake in oil viscosity].

Edited by Dogbone
fix my screw up on oil viscosities
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the thickest oil i have ever run in a 4 cyl motor (of any kind) was 15w40

but, i dont claim to be an expert here...just throwing out my 2/10ths of a cent worth :)

 

owners manual for the 1989 EA82, SPFI i had recommended 10w30 or 10w40 for most driving applications (some differences for regular use in extreme temps - over 100*F or under -30*F) so that is what I always used. 10w30 in winter, 10w40 in summer. I cant imagine the 1990 would be that much different.

 

tried 5w30 once - oil pressure was almost un-noticable! :eek: it got changed out pretty quickly.

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Running on 10 percent ethanol gas which is about all I can find where I live, I average 28 mpg in mixed town/highway driving in my '91 4wd Loyale wagon w/ manual trans.

 

Maybe 1 mpg or less on average if I'm running A/C.

 

FWIW, I currently run 5w30 synthetic oil (5w20 synthetic in winter months).

 

http://pure-gas.org/

 

Click on your state at the bottom to get a list of locations for ethanol free gas. Instant 3-5MPG increase!

 

Briankk: Before pulling your lifters, try seafoaming the motor, if that doesn't work, replace the oil pump seals. If the oil pump has new seals and the TOD is still there, THEN pull the lifters. Sometimes the TOD can be caused by stuck valve in the cam sprayers too.

 

If your tranny is overfilled, its creating excessive drag which doesn't help at all. Bad O2 sensors can make for bad MPG's so I'd check that too.

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I recommend pulling hte engine for a total reseal, as you will have a much less frustrating time dealing with the lifters and followers if you are replacong the cam tower o-rings, which i would recommend with that mileage, if you are trying to chase down 400,000 miles and more!

 

Do a reseal and switch back to 10-w 30

 

Read this regarding oil viscosity and oil pressure, and presumtions, truths and falses

 

http://www.dirtyimpreza.com/forums/showthread.php?t=17963&highlight=rotella

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I recommend pulling hte engine for a total reseal, as you will have a much less frustrating time dealing with the lifters and followers if you are replacong the cam tower o-rings, which i would recommend with that mileage, if you are trying to chase down 400,000 miles and more!

 

Do a reseal and switch back to 10-w 30

 

Read this regarding oil viscosity and oil pressure, and presumtions, truths and falses

 

http://www.dirtyimpreza.com/forums/showthread.php?t=17963&highlight=rotella

 

I new this thing was running 20-50 when I bought it, I assumed that the high mileage engine was loose enough to rattle on thinner stuff. Then I bought a Chilton manual, says run 20-50 if temp is over 32 degrees...

 

I run Rotella T 15-40 in everything else I own, I'm going to switch at first oil change...

 

When working on an engine I've never seen before, I prefer to have it out where I can see it, for one thing, and it has a noisy throwout bearing for another..

 

The engine isn't enough of a current problem to require immediate attention, first I'm going to replace the drivers side front caliper, (the parking brake is a rusted lump), and the driver side rear wheel bearing is about gone.

 

Online sources show a Timken replacement bearing, is it worth the expense? Prices seem to be in $75-95 range.

 

bk

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you can go cheaper, but you might end up replacing again in a year or so - up to you. If you plan on keeping the car for a while, i would go for the quality.

(hint: i paid $150 for my first one and drove it for nearly 8 yrs - would still be driving it if the rust cancer hadnt taken over)

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