fixed the gas problem

[bko4x4er]

well i did the whole tune up and everything

cap

rotor

wires

plugs

oil chenge

o2 sensor

ignition coil

and more

and was still getting around 6 mpg. so i changed my fuel filter today and i swear i have drove 15 miles and havent even seen my gauge move a bit.

 

[BroncoJoe19]

<snip> i have driven 15 miles and haven't even seen my gauge move a bit.

Oh nooooo!!! now your guage is broken?

Just kidding... ) but changing your fuel filter will not double your gas milage.

Your calculations have to be off somewhere.

The most accurate way to measure gas milage is to fill her up, and record the miles on the odometer.

Drive her down to about a 1/4 tank, and fill her up again, and record the miles on the odometer. Subtract one from the other, and see how many miles you traveled. See how many gallons you burnt up (the number gallons it took to fill her back up), and divide the number of miles by the number of gallons to get miles per gallon.

IF after doing this you are still under 12mpg you might want to consider if your driving habits are ******* gas. If not, you should pull diagnostic codes to see if any of your sensors or actuators are not functioning properly.

Basically your idle, fuel injection, timing etc are all controlled by your computer. It uses sensors to find out what is going on, and actuators to make adjustments. Since thay are so interelated and interdependant, there are a number of sensors that could come into play, so rather than get a list of possiblities the best thing to do is to pull codes.

Here is a thread that I put together, that I request that you use as instructional for pulling codes.

It really is easy. WIth an '86, the only special tools you will need is a 4 inch piece of wire, and a cheap $8 analog voltmeter.

http://broncozone.com/forums/index.php?s=&...ost&p=74581

Then please let me know what if anything is not clear enough so that I can edit it so that everyone will understand.

Your feed back will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

joe

 

[bko4x4er]

all i know is that someway,somehow i am getting better gas mileage from a new fuel filter and some fuel cleaning additive from autozone.

i have heard of a remedy to clean the valves and such.

you pour some type of cleaner into your air intake when its running and it will want to shut off, so you give it gas till it does. then wait about 30 minutes and start it up and it will blow white smoke from the tailpipe for about 5-10 minutes and what that is , is all the carbon and gunk cleaned off the valves and from all the fuel lines and such.

just what i heard

 

[blkwlf]

if you have fuel injection, check your fuel pressure regulator.

 

[Lonnie's 88custom]

all i know is that someway,somehow i am getting better gas mileage from a new fuel filter and some fuel cleaning additive from autozone.
i have heard of a remedy to clean the valves and such.

you pour some type of cleaner into your air intake when its running and it will want to shut off, so you give it gas till it does. then wait about 30 minutes and start it up and it will blow white smoke from the tailpipe for about 5-10 minutes and what that is , is all the carbon and gunk cleaned off the valves and from all the fuel lines and such.

just what i heard

The product you describe is called SeaFoam.

Lonnie

B)

 

[jstevenson509]

I just replaced the fuel filter and fuel line from the pump to the carb.. And I haven't done the math, but I know I'm getting at least 4-6 mpg better, just from how many trips I've made on this tank and it only dropping a quarter where it would be much much closer to half. A huge increase. But the fact is the old filter was worst case scenario almost a dark ash grey color.. Dirtiest one I've ever seen. It probably hadn't been replaced in 15 years, literally. I know it sounds skeptical, but truly other than the weather warming up, nothing else changed.

So I say that BKO's theory isn't impossible, because I have a similar story..

And if it is true, I'm sure most people never hear about it mainly because any conscious owner will change a "dirty" fuel filter way before it gets to the point where mine was when I acquired it.

PS Lonnie: Would you recommend SeaFoam?

 

[Lonnie's 88custom]

PS Lonnie: Would you recommend SeaFoam?

I've heard nothing but good reports about the product from many Bronco owners on this and other sites. I have not used it myself yet only because I'm in the process of addressing some other issues first. However, I will be using it in the very near future. The only down side appears to be the amount of smoke produced when you fire the engine back up. It can be a nuisance. Hope that helps, I encourage others to chime in.

Lonnie

B)

 

[BroncoJoe19]

I just replaced the fuel filter and fuel line from the pump to the carb.. And I haven't done the math, but I know I'm getting at least 4-6 mpg better, just from how many trips I've made on this tank and it only dropping a quarter where it would be much much closer to half. A huge increase. But the fact is the old filter was worst case scenario almost a dark ash grey color.. Dirtiest one I've ever seen. It probably hadn't been replaced in 15 years, literally. I know it sounds skeptical, but truly other than the weather warming up, nothing else changed.So I say that BKO's theory isn't impossible, because I have a similar story..

And if it is true, I'm sure most people never hear about it mainly because any conscious owner will change a "dirty" fuel filter way before it gets to the point where mine was when I acquired it.

PS Lonnie: Would you recommend SeaFoam?

I don't want to be argumentive, but I hate seeing people making mistaken comments and then being backed up by someone else.

1. Neither of you actually calculated your gas mileage.

2. On May 6, 2008 bko4x4er started this thread stating that he gave it a tuneup, and changed his O2 Sensor, but attributed the improved performance to his fuel filter change!

3. May 22, 2008 bko4x4er posted that he gets 7 mpg

see... http://broncozone.com/forums/index.php?s=&...ost&p=75873

4. you have a carbureted engine and the weather has been warmer. (when the weather is warmer, the engine spends less time on full or partial choke while it is warming up. When running a choked vehicle it is running rich, getting less gas MPG.) So an increase in MGP for you is more likely the warmer weather, especially if you take a number of short trips where the engine is always warming up.

Now I might be wrong, because I am not an expert, and maybe a fuel starved engine will give not only poor performance, but will also get $hitty gas mileage, but IMO the points I made above are more accurate and more likely the issue.

I hope that I disagreed, without being dissagreeable.

joe

 

[Lonnie's 88custom]

I couldn't agree more Joe. Unless you "do the math", using the methods you described, you cannot possibly know what kind of mileage the Bronco is getting. :blink:

 

[bko4x4er]

yes the product was sea foam. and yes it works. i poured half the bottle stright into thr throttle body when it was running and shut it off and started it like a half hour later. it smokes like crazy but i can tell a difference big time.

its about 7 bucks at advanced auto parts and its a little white botlle with red letters. can use it on anything.