SoobGoob Posted April 18, 2007 Share Posted April 18, 2007 curious if anyone could shed some light. on my 144 mile drive today i got 23.6 mpg. not even a week ago i did new plugs wires cap rotor all filters oil change. i have a ea82 spfi with a dr 5 spd. is this the average mpg or is there something else i could be missing? thanks in advance for any help Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeshoup Posted April 18, 2007 Share Posted April 18, 2007 Too short of a drive to determine that you actually have low gas mileage. Average it out over the next few tank fulls. FYI, my 88 SPFI D/R got only about 22 in the city, but I could get upwards 30 or so on the highway. What kind of driving was this 144 mile trip? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daeron Posted April 18, 2007 Share Posted April 18, 2007 what kind of oil?? did you use heavier weight oil? Did you change tranny or diff fluid at the same time?? if you put heavier oils into any of those three cases (engine, gearbox, diff) than they had in them, you will experience mileage decrease.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zyewdall Posted April 18, 2007 Share Posted April 18, 2007 Eeeesh. The only time my D/R SPFI EA82 has gotten that low was plowing through deep snow for almost the whole tank. I average about 28 usually, but the last three tanks, I gotten a little higher than 30. Alot of highway driving, and some mountain and offroad, but very little city traffic. The only thing different than normal is that I've been driving faster recently -- you'd think that would make it go down.... Z Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoobGoob Posted April 18, 2007 Author Share Posted April 18, 2007 i have been noticing a decrese in mpg for a while. so today i did the math. it was mostly highway driving in town about 20 miles at most on this trip. im running 10w40 and 80-90 for tan/diff i belive. i know i am over my trans and diff change by about 5k. but with gas prices as they are does anyone have any idea or tips that could help produce better mpg? maybe a better air intake... also my trans has 300k+ on it but only 165k on the engine. maybe having bad alingment could contribute? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daeron Posted April 18, 2007 Share Posted April 18, 2007 for good mileage, you need.. Proper oils in their spots, well greased bearings on all hubs, driveshaft carrier, EVERYthing, Fairly well matched tires (at least) at their proper inflation proper wheel alignment properly functioning fuel injection/ignition system (filters, no codes, plugs wires cao and rotor, etc) You might see a difference in retrofitting a second electrical fan in place of your clutch fan... but I dont think it would be much.. Any of these things I mentioned, along with any others mentioned above, need to be inspected and working properly or they will contribute to loss of fuel mileage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bucky92 Posted April 18, 2007 Share Posted April 18, 2007 I second what dearon said..specially checking the bearings..my 92 EA82 SPFI FWD 5 spd...can get into the high 30s-low40s highway..but as his rear wheel bearings started to go that dropped drastically. A friend of mines Legacy did the same thing when the wheel bearings went.Just a thought.....also my XT6 ER27 5 spd Full time 4WD gets 26 highway...so something is definatly off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zyewdall Posted April 18, 2007 Share Posted April 18, 2007 but as his rear wheel bearings started to go that dropped drastically. My driveshaft carrier bearing was going out for the last year or so -- and I just had it replaced. Maybe that's the cause of the 2 - 3mpg jump I just observed. Certainly got rid of alot of vibration. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoobGoob Posted April 18, 2007 Author Share Posted April 18, 2007 how can i tell if a wheel berring is going? i do hear a sqeaking sometimes from what sounds like my front drivers side and has become more prominent over the course of a few weeks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chef_tim Posted April 18, 2007 Share Posted April 18, 2007 I replaced a dragging rear brake caliper on DRTYGRL and the milage is up to 18+ mpg now:eek: . Lots of factors to concider. Best, Tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoobGoob Posted April 18, 2007 Author Share Posted April 18, 2007 ill adjust my e-brake and see if that works. and i think i might need to replace my rear brakes rear passenger side clicks when i brake hard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nug Posted April 19, 2007 Share Posted April 19, 2007 Throw in a fresh air filter. Pump up tires. Don't drive like you are in a high speed chase. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cd45 Posted April 19, 2007 Share Posted April 19, 2007 I am going to replace the rear wheel bearing this weekend, replaced the front onw two weeks ago. I can't find anyone local who carries the drive shaft carrier bearing. Where do I look? 1987 GL Wagon, D/R 5 Speed, EA82 with a carb. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zyewdall Posted April 19, 2007 Share Posted April 19, 2007 I am going to replace the rear wheel bearing this weekend, replaced the front onw two weeks ago. I can't find anyone local who carries the drive shaft carrier bearing. Where do I look? 1987 GL Wagon, D/R 5 Speed, EA82 with a carb. Apparently the driveshaft center bearing cannot be replaced. You need a new driveshaft.... I got a used one for mine, for $100 instead of $275 for a new one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
misledxcracker Posted April 19, 2007 Share Posted April 19, 2007 Don't drive like you are in a high speed chase. Agreed... I get 5-7 MPG just by not jackrabbiting it... and I try to keep it at or under 65... Then again I have the @#!!$% 3AT and that alone is bad MPG... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoobGoob Posted April 19, 2007 Author Share Posted April 19, 2007 all filters are fresh.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gloyale Posted April 20, 2007 Share Posted April 20, 2007 Honestly, 26 doesn't seem that bad to me. I've never had an SPFI EA82. But all of my Carbed ones, 25-28 was the best I could ever get. And that was on long, exclusively highway trips cross country. When I delivered pizza for a while in my 86 carbed, I would get around 19-23 depending on how much I rushed it that night. That was all city driving. All of the suggestions here(bearings,fluids,draggin brakes, etc.) are good but I don't know how much more you'll really get from it. It is 20 years old as well. Mileage will go down on any given engine overtime, regardless of all other factors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I)arkZrobe Posted April 22, 2007 Share Posted April 22, 2007 My 86 Gets about 20-22 MPG 23-24 if Im really lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msteel Posted April 22, 2007 Share Posted April 22, 2007 curious if anyone could shed some light. on my 144 mile drive today i got 23.6 mpg. not even a week ago i did new plugs wires cap rotor all filters oil change. i have a ea82 spfi with a dr 5 spd. is this the average mpg or is there something else i could be missing? thanks in advance for any help My '92 Loyale wagon is SPFI with 5spd 4wd. Most driving with it is around town and has been about 18-22 mpg. On a long trip where it is all highway I typically get 30+ mpg. So personally, I think there is probably some reason yours is getting worse than this. I wonder about the 10w40. I thought the recommended oil was 10w30. Maybe the thicker oil could cause you to lose a bit of mileage. It also wouldn't hurt to check your Mass Airflow Sensor. Some here have reported improvements by cleaning a dirty one. It's also possible that some other sensor like the O2 sensor could be marginal enough to cause a decrease in mileage, but not generate an engine code. One other thing you could try is to reset the computer. It seems that the ECU uses some adaptive control systems and "learns" the engine and demands placed on it. If driving habits have changed or if a bad sensor has been replaced then resetting it will cause it to readapt to current conditions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zyewdall Posted April 22, 2007 Share Posted April 22, 2007 I wonder about the 10w40. I thought the recommended oil was 10w30. Maybe the thicker oil could cause you to lose a bit of mileage. I've started running only 5W50 synthetic in mine -- and it makes a noticeable difference in how the engine feels. With 10W40, it feels sort of sluggish, and with 10W30 it burns a quart every tank of gas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted April 22, 2007 Share Posted April 22, 2007 You ever replaced the O2 man? They get slow after a few years. GD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoobGoob Posted April 24, 2007 Author Share Posted April 24, 2007 I've started running only 5W50 synthetic in mine -- and it makes a noticeable difference in how the engine feels. With 10W40, it feels sort of sluggish, and with 10W30 it burns a quart every tank of gas. how many miles did you car have when you started running synthetic and does it leak like crazy now? i have no leaks and tend to keep it that way. and GD ill replace that sensor. any chance you can help me finish the wiring on my tranny? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zyewdall Posted April 24, 2007 Share Posted April 24, 2007 how many miles did you car have when you started running synthetic and does it leak like crazy now? i have no leaks and tend to keep it that way. and GD ill replace that sensor. any chance you can help me finish the wiring on my tranny? About 195k when I switched, and 227k now It didn't leak at all then (the subaru shop was astounded), and it still doesn't leak. I must have gotten the only one. :cool: Every other suby I've owned has leaked a bit.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoobGoob Posted April 24, 2007 Author Share Posted April 24, 2007 well i took care of all my leaks last summer with GD and i would be very upset if my car started to leak again. and how did the synthetic treat your lifters? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zyewdall Posted April 24, 2007 Share Posted April 24, 2007 how did the synthetic treat your lifters? Much quiter on startup. I never had TOD on this one, except on cold startups after sitting a few days. I did try synthetic in my '85 wagon that had pretty loud TOD, and didn't make a bit of difference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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