New Guy with a 1989 Ford Escort

[jmedia]

Hello all, I literally just purchased my 89 escort today and the first thing I did was find this site. ALOT of great info here, so much tho that its hard to sift through for specific cars, especially when I am a noob.

I had a few general questions that I may be asking in the wrong place so I am sorry for that if I am.

The MPGuino seems like and awesome product, but I am a bit confused on how to hook it up to my vehicle. How much better is it than a vacuum gauge?

Now with spoilers, are there any that are GOOD for mpg?

I'm looking forward to squeezing every mile out of every drop of fuel.
Plus this is my first stick shift, so I am loving that right now.

The escort is a slight improvement over my other vehicle, a 1988 Jeep Grand Wagoneer. The 5000lb flying brick. But I love that car so now I own two

Thanks for any answers ahead of time!
-J

[cfg83]

jmedia -

Welcome to EM! Pardon my ignorance, but is the 1989 Escort fuel injected? That era was "on the cusp" of switching from carburetors to FI. If you are carbed, then I believe the MPGuino won't work for you. Hrmmmm, EFI is in your domain :

Ford CVH engine - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

1.9 [liter engine]
The CVH was bumped up to 1.9 L for the North American 1986 model year Escort. Bore was now 82 mm (3.2 in) and stroke was up as well to 88 mm (3.5 in). This stroke length would be used in the 2.0 L CVH engines, and continued into the Zeta engine which replaced it. This long stroke necessitated a raised engine block deck, a design also shared with later units. Output was 86 hp (64 kW) and 100 ft·lbf (135.581794833 N·m) with a carburetor; when electronic throttle-body fuel injection was added, the basic 1.9 L added 4 hp (3.0 kW), although torque was little changed.
Electronic fuel injection and hemispherical "hemi" combustion chambers were added for 1987's Escort GT, bumping output to 108 hp (81 kW) and 114 ft·lbf (155 N·m). This engine developed a good reputation for performance and surviving GTs of this generation are quite fun to drive.

The 90 hp (67 kW) 1.9 L of the late 1980s, particularly when equipped with either the four- or five-speed manual transaxle, was notable for delivering outstanding fuel economy. Somewhat surprisingly, four-speed Escort Pony models achieved better mileage than five-speed cars, with upwards of 30 mpg in city driving and 40–45 mpg on the highway not uncommon.

The second generation of American Escort got sequential EFI for 1991-1996, but power and torque was little changed at 88 hp (66 kW) and 108 ft·lbf (146 N·m) respectively.

I wonder if you have a "Pony" :

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Escort_(North_America)

Finding some popularity during the final three years of this generation was the Pony model, which was the least-expensive U.S.-built Ford at the time. Pony models used plainer interior trim with greater use of vinyl and plastic instead of cloth, and a 4-speed manual transaxle was standard, although buyers could opt for the 5-speed found in LX models or the 3-speed ATX automatic. The list of available options was very limited, to the extent that such luxuries as power steering and factory-installed air conditioning were not offered (a dealer-installed A/C system was available). Given their lighter weight, Pony models were known for their ability to deliver excellent fuel economy—mileage upwards of 40 mpg-US (5.9 L/100 km; 48 mpg-imp) in highway driving was not uncommon.

CarloSW2

[jmedia]

Well I know I have efi. The pony thing I'm not sure of. From the entry you posted it kind of sounds like it. My car was marketed as am escort LX and it has the 5 speed manny

[tim3058]

Welcome to the site Jmedia. Yeah the MPGuino is great. It's light years better than a vacuum gauge, although having both is even better. All you need to do to hook it up is find a +12V source thats hot all the time, a ground, the vehicle speed sensor wire to the computer and one of the fuel injector wires from the computer to the injector. The MPGuino wiki MPGuino - EcoModder has a lot of info on setting it up. Again, welcome, and good luck.

[Ford Man]

I have 2 '88 Escorts. The MPGuino will not work for us. Our cars are cable driven speedometers instead of electric. (no VSS) If your car has a 4 speed manual then it's probably a Pony, if it's a 5 speed manual it's probably not. To answer someone elses question, your car is throttle body injected. If you have the Pony and most of your driving is highway or rural roads and you keep your speed at 50-55 mph you should be able to pull about 36-42 mpg and if it's a 5 speed your mileage will be lower. Right now I'm getting about 36-39 mpg most of the time on my '88 Pony with a 4 speed manual, of course that's with cooler winter temperatures and winter blend gas and most of my driving is trips of 15 miles or less on rural highways with 15-20% city driving.

[jmedia]

Well crap, I coulda sworn I popped the hood and it said "efi" on a cover
I guess vacuum gauge it is

[jabb]

Originally Posted by Ford Man

I have 2 '88 Escorts. The MPGuino will not work for us. Our cars are cable driven speedometers instead of electric. (no VSS)

I don't know MPGuino system but I know that constructor of a unit of this kind found a way around the 'no VSS' problem - his solution is hallotron mounted above speedo magnet in instrument cluster as a source of signal.

[moorecomp]

If your car is fitted with a cruise control, it has one of these on the speedo cable and maybe the signal from it could be used for the MPGuino. Maybe could even fit it even if you don't have a cruise control.


Motorcraft OEM DY-416 DY416 Acceleration Sensor 84-95 - Less than $30

[MetroMPG]

Well crap, I coulda sworn I popped the hood and it said "efi" on a cover
I guess vacuum gauge it is

Throttle body injection still counts as "EFI" (if that's what you've got). It's a single large injector in place of a carb, rather than multi-port (individual) injectors. But it's still electronic, and compatible with an MPGuino.

As for the VSS:

You could even go lower tech and rig a bicycle speedo/odo magnetic pickup on the inner end of one of the drive shafts.

[wriley4409]

Having owned similar vehicles in the past, let me throw out a few ideas. The basic premise is that anything that you can do to reduce weight or reduce friction of moving parts will make a positive impact on te performance of this vehicle.

1. The 4 banger and manual transaxle both respond really well to full synthetic lubricants. 5w30 oil in your engine and Mercon ATF in the transaxle.

2. Pay attention to small details when performing the routine maintenance that an older vehicle is bound to need. Things like sanding and greasing the calipers when replacing the front brake pads, pressure washing or steam cleaning the underside of the vehicle to remove the inevitable 50 pounds or so of grime and dirt, replacing all vacuum hoses at once instead of the one that has the obvious leak, cleaning both ends of all battery cables when replacing the battery, etc. All of these little things add up to make your vehicle work like it is supposed to.

3. Lose weight everywhere that you can, particularly with unsprung weight like the wheels and tires.

4. Lower your idle speed if you can. Even a 50 rpm reduction in idle speed will noticeably improve your fuel mileage.

5. Over inflate your tires to reduce rolling resistance

6. Try NGK v power spark plugs.



Good luck!