Subaru Glf 4wd 1984 Gas Mileage

[dgarzon]

As you can see on the pictures ( http://groups.msn.com/subarucolombia/my84glf4wd.msnw ) I have a white 1984 4WD Subaru GLF, I'm a little worried about gas consumption, It makes just 18,5 miles per galon (4 liters) is that normal on this cars? Whan can I do in order to improve gas mileage? Thanks

[hatchsub]

No thats not normal. How does the car run other than the milage? It is probably time for a tune up (plugs, wires, rotor, cap). You should also replace the fuel filters (one in engine compartment and one under car in front of right rear tire). If you dont know the last time the O2 sensor was replaced its probably time to do this as well. If you still have problems after that it may be time for a rebuilt carb or a new carb. Hope this gets you started. Good luck and cool car!

[Subarian]

Bienvenidos.

 

Are you sure your conversion is correct? 1 US gallon is equal to 3.8 gallons, which would improve the mileage you're getting slightly. Still, you should be getting better mileage than that. Is the engine carbureted or fuel injected? How many miles are on it, and what maintenance has been done on it recently?

[dgarzon]

Thank you for your answer. The engine is carburated, recently it's been tuned up, cleaning carburator and replacing sparks. It has 320.000 Km on it (about 200.000 milles). The last owner told me the engine was rebuilt on 2002 because the oil level was going down between oil changes. The car makes 30 Km with each gallon average (30 km = 18 Mi (1.6Km/Mi)). I think we're not talking about US gallons, just gallons (4 liters).

 

Regards,

 

David.

http://groups.msn.com/subarucolombia/my84glf4wd.msnw

 

Bienvenidos.

 

Are you sure your conversion is correct? 1 US gallon is equal to 3.8 gallons, which would improve the mileage you're getting slightly. Still, you should be getting better mileage than that. Is the engine carbureted or fuel injected? How many miles are on it, and what maintenance has been done on it recently?

[robm]

A "real" gallon (imperial) is 4.536 liters. A US gallon is 3.785 liters. Whichever, 7.5 km/l is pretty poor. My beastie gets as much as twice that, or better on a good day.

 

All I can think of is to recheck the work done for the tuneup. Are the spark plugs seated correctly, are the wires working, is the cap and rotor in good condition? Is the choke working correctly? Check the ignition timing. This car probably has an old fashioned distributor, that actually has vacuum and centrifugal advance. Check that they work properly. Any leaky fuel lines, or fuel tank?

 

Good luck.

[ShawnW]

Depending on your elevation you may have the timing set to "factory" spec but it may need advanced or retarded because you are not at sea level altitude.

 

For example, a Subaru at 5280' of elevation (Denver Colorado) needs about 4 degrees of advance additional, so 12 degrees to do well. My brat did real crummy on fuel when I first moved to Denver and then did 30MPG at 12 degrees. Made a huge difference in fuel savings and power.