The more I work on the car the more I find I didn't know about it; I was trying to remove screws from the trim around the wheel wells and some of them were frozen on. I asked my neighbor about it and he showed me a way to get them out which includes hitting the screws on the sides.
And I know I can get more MPGs already if I put the tire pressure from 35 to 45. I'll drive it at 35 for a while though.
Quote:
Originally Posted by spacemanspif
I'm going to stand by my statement that headers MAY help MPG due to the fact that those old exhaust manifolds don't flow well at all and are definitely a choke point in the system. The Y-pipe before the CAT isn't the best either, nor the CAT itself.
|
I did read about CATs not being very efficient when they were first introduced in 1974. Duly noted, and the car is rather stinky upon first start-up of the day compared to my Dad's 2000 Caravan which I saw the CAT light flashing on twice when I was passing semi trucks although I haven't seen it show up since then. The Caprice is getting close to 111k miles, do you think it needs the air-cleaning equipment replaced just going by description here? I'm thinking that when it does come time I'll have the air-cleaning equipment replaced with something more efficient.
Quote:
Originally Posted by spacemanspif
You're running an electronic QuadraJet which has a love/hate relationship with car people as some swear by them and other swear they are only good for paper weights. Either way, they are basically the half step between carburetors and TBI because they are still carbs but can adjust fuel mixture like EFI. The carb isn't tunable quite like an old mechanical one but are still tune-able, just a little more complicated. A good book on Rochester carbs will show you where to tweak. One of the first steps is to make sure the giant secondaries aren't opening too soon and adjust your driving style to stay in the zone where only the small primaries are in use. Also turn the key to the run position and listen for the clicking of the mixture control solenoid it should click for about 5 seconds (Kinda like the fuel pump on new cars).
|
It does do that clicking. My Dad has been talking about getting a book about maintenance for this car, I may end up getting it and a book about carburetor tuning too.
Quote:
Originally Posted by spacemanspif
FWIW the carb on my Monte was never tweaked when I bought it with 140K and I didn't touch it either before I pulled the engine at 195k. But I also only got about 15mpg the entire time I drove it except for 1 summer where I ran it with a 2.29 rear on the highway getting 25mpg.
If you are set up like my 305 was there is a secondary air pump that pumps air down to the CAT. Located low on the passenger side if the engine. It should have it's own belt. If you want to fiddle with taking off ALL the other belts to remove that one, go for it, but I just cut mine out and never had any issues, removed all the equipment eventually but ran with no belt for quite a while. Those cars have a ton of vacuum lines too, a good check to make sure they are all in good shape and not leaking is one of those preventative things that keep the engine running well and might net a gain in MPG. The vinyl tubing that controls the HVAC ducts can get brittle and crack if you look at it wrong. Also check that the EGR valve is holding vacuum. If you don't have a vacuum pump, unhook the hose, reach under and push the diaphragm up, while holding it up put a finger over the vacuum port and let go of the diaphragm, hold for a minute or 2 and release; if you hear air hiss chances are the EGR is good. You can also keep a finger under the EGR to feel if the diaphragm is moving while keeping the finger over the port.
Sorry for the novel but basic maintenance is the key to a good running, efficient engine.
|
Yeah, Maintaining cars is a great place to start. Even though we've had work done to this car I think I should check the hoses and whatnot in the engine. I know one of the hoses is broken (If lifted off its place; It holds together, otherwise.) but I think that's only going to the Air Conditioner which doesn't work (Which is not due to the hose.)
Also, Did anyone here read that post on the Station Wagon Forum that I posted on Page 6? It's about Aerodynamics on a car very similar to this sedan and the owner said he noticed a difference.