KevinKernaghan Posted December 29, 2006 Share Posted December 29, 2006 I recently replaced vacuum tubes leading in and out of the carbon canister and vacuum tubes attached to the brass circular sponge-sandwich object near the throttle (I have absolutely no idea what that thing is, but there was a broken vacuum tube on it), and my highway mileage, once set at about 300-320 miles per tank, jumped up to 400 - 420 miles per tank. Now, however, my city mileage, which was once 260-280 mpt, has dropped down to maybe 200-240 mpt! What's the deal? Has anybody else experienced anything like thks before? I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm very satisfied with the increases in highway mileage, only I simply use my Pathy in highway driving much less than I do in stop-and-go traffic. Let me know if you have any suggestions! It's a 2WD (blasphemy!) without a roof rack or running boards, but with a spare tire carrier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
88pathoffroad Posted December 29, 2006 Share Posted December 29, 2006 I'd wait another tank to see if it was a fluke. That's wierd, but there's a reason for everything... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
93PathfinderWA Posted December 29, 2006 Share Posted December 29, 2006 I find that my gas milage reflects the temperature outside. During the summer I get 17-18 mpg but during the winter I get 15 usually. When we had a really cold week i got 14 mpg. Never heard of it before though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevinKernaghan Posted December 29, 2006 Author Share Posted December 29, 2006 I think 88Path is right, it may just be bad gas...I'll wait a one or two months and see what happens on the next tankfuls...hopefully some major improvement Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Posted December 29, 2006 Share Posted December 29, 2006 I find that my gas milage reflects the temperature outside. During the summer I get 17-18 mpg but during the winter I get 15 usually. When we had a really cold week i got 14 mpg. Never heard of it before though. definately, i was getting 20mpg highway when it was a bit warmer, but now that its cooled down i'm lucky to get 17-18, and the only change period has been the weather Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unccpathfinder Posted December 29, 2006 Share Posted December 29, 2006 i had this happen 1 time...i started getting 16 mpg instead of the 18-19 i usually get...and my low fuel light didnt work this one time so i wound up 16 miles short of work out of gas... i know if i drive on I-85 (65-80 mph) i get on avg 18 mpg...if i drive 55-60 i get right at 20-21 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M in KC Posted December 29, 2006 Share Posted December 29, 2006 Winter-blended fuels can produce the sypmtoms that everyone is experiencing. Petro-blenders blend differently at different times of the year to limit green house gas emissions. I see the same performance increases and decreases on my '91 4WD MT V6 but mine seem to track with time of the year. Just a thought. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blamtro Posted December 29, 2006 Share Posted December 29, 2006 Just watching the miles tick by on the odometer each time you fill up is not a reliable measure of the MPG your truck is getting. You have to divide the total miles driven by the total gallons of gas added at each fill up to get an accurate measure of MPG. I know it is a pain, but I have a log book I keep in my glove box and fill it out with the miles driven and gallons added at each fillup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unccpathfinder Posted December 30, 2006 Share Posted December 30, 2006 the tank to tank odo...runs off the same gears as the life odo...with minimal losses its accurate enough...but i would like to see the differences you've recorded between the 2 but from what i read u only track the overall odo not the trip to trip...im sure the factor of error there is less than 5%...unless your saying you have to keep a log over time to find the avg milage your getting...in otherwards kindof the same thing i do...i know if i drive a certain speed i get a certain milage...but if not then i get something different...but we have a different control volume... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blamtro Posted December 30, 2006 Share Posted December 30, 2006 the tank to tank odo...runs off the same gears as the life odo...with minimal losses its accurate enough...but i would like to see the differences you've recorded between the 2 but from what i read u only track the overall odo not the trip to trip...im sure the factor of error there is less than 5%...unless your saying you have to keep a log over time to find the avg milage your getting...in otherwards kindof the same thing i do...i know if i drive a certain speed i get a certain milage...but if not then i get something different...but we have a different control volume... I am not saying you are getting a different reading watching trip vs. life odometer. I agree, they will be very close, if not exactly the same measurement; as you said, the trip is driven off the life. The point I was trying make is that you cant determine how many miles you get per gallon just by looking at the gas gauge and saying, "oh, I am now at 1/4 tank, and the odometer says I went 300 miles; that means I will get 400 miles to this tank." The only accurate way to measure MPG is to divide the miles driven by the gallons added at the pump. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
93PathfinderWA Posted December 30, 2006 Share Posted December 30, 2006 The only accurate way to measure MPG is to divide the miles driven by the gallons added at the pump. Yah that is what i do every time i fill up and i get an average of 15.4 mpg. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickStallion Posted December 31, 2006 Share Posted December 31, 2006 I've got a 95 with 143,000 miles on it, and I've gotten 20 mpg on a trip, in the summer. I usually get around 16-17 mpg in the winter, going to work and back. The overdrive doesn't kick in till I'm half way to work when it's cold. It sits outside and I'm sure if I kept it in the garage, the od would engage much sooner. This is my economy vehicle. I've also got a Suburban 4X4 that gets 14 mpg on a regular basis. Anyway, weather does make a difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unccpathfinder Posted December 31, 2006 Share Posted December 31, 2006 The only accurate way to measure MPG is to divide the miles driven by the gallons added at the pump. ohh...ok i thought that was the only way to do it well logically...my gage is fubared and does all kinds of goofy things...i try to fill up with the same pump at this same station everytime so i believe my records are pretty accurate for my truck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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