I'm getting around 20-21 MPG in my 1991 Toyota Tercel. I bought the
car 4 months ago and it promptly blew a head gasket. I replaced it,
had the head resurfaced, put in tons of new seals (incl. the valve stem
seals) and did everything correctly when reassembling the engine. It
now runs great, sounds great, starts great, never stalls. But it gets
terrible mileage, right after I did all the work on it, it got 24 and
every tank after that has been in the 20-21 range (accounting for the
speedo that is 10% too fast). I'm gonna check the compression this
afternoon.
Things to note:
The cyllinder next to where the head gasket blew had a bit of surface
rust on the walls, though it had the same texture by feel as the
others.
The engine was replaced 4 years ago withone of those 30K mile engines
from japan, so there is no telling really how many miles are on it.
If the compression test comes out decently, what might be the cause?
Steve B. - 01 Aug 2005 04:28 GMT
>I'm getting around 20-21 MPG in my 1991 Toyota Tercel. I bought the
>car 4 months ago and it promptly blew a head gasket. I replaced it,
[quoted text clipped - 14 lines]
>
>If the compression test comes out decently, what might be the cause?
What kind of driving are you doing mostly? This car is rated for 26
city. If you are doing a lot of heavy traffic driving with the air on
you minght not be that far out.
Why is the speedometer reading fast? If the speedo is cable driven
and has just drifted over the years then the odometer is still correct
as the odometer is gear driven. If it is off due to tire size changes
that could very well be where your extra mileage is going....
Check your normal tune up stuff and tire pressures. Drive like you
have no brakes and an egg between your foot and the accelerator and
see what the mileage does.
Steve B.
Danny Beardsley - 01 Aug 2005 07:58 GMT
This says 29 for city.
http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/noframes/7734.shtml
I'm about half freeway/half city and I never use the AC. The speedo
and odometer are both off by about 10% (I've checked with my GPS) and
yeah, it's probably cause of tire size difference. Tire pressures are
fine. I read a Car And Driver article a while ago where they tried a
bunch of driving styles and compared MPG. The driver that got the best
milage was the one who was told to accelerate quickly to crusing speed
and then keep it there. I'm gonna need new tires soon so we'll see how
that affects things.