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Old 03-10-2009, 12:29 PM   #136 (permalink)
Tygen1
Master EcoModder
 
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: South Jersey
Posts: 553

Little Blue - '98 Ford Escort ZX2 Cool
Team ZX2
90 day: 44.75 mpg (US)

Big Red - '00 Ford Excursion XLT
90 day: 15.53 mpg (US)
Thanks: 5
Thanked 45 Times in 29 Posts
ZX2's are pretty durable because they are the last of the Escorts, a pretty well developed car by the time the ZX2 was made.
Water in spare tire well is a common problem, I starting to have issues with that. From what I understand, the common leaks are around the antena, the rubber seal against the trunk lid, or the windows. One guy, I read about, striped his trunk then sprayed the outside with a garden hose, on all the areas that could leak, then popped the trunk to see where water was seeping in. He found three leaks and easily fixed them with silicone.
I'm a little disappointed with this tank so far. Maybe the three short trips, adding up to 45 miles hurt the mpg's more than I thought. So far the gas gauge would lead me to believe there is no change, on track for 37-38mpg as normal. Although the warm up again this moring in 40 degree ambient temps, was also 1.5miles with minimal idle time before putting in gear. The big change I noticed is that it imeditatly settles into a normal 750rpm idle, rather than going up to 1200+ rpm for a little bit like normal. The motor sounds and feels "warm". I'm pleased with it, but still waiting for good results.
"C" is 160, I was thinking more like 90, are you sure? Even in the coldest of weather, I never had a problem getting up to full temp, maybe there is something wrong with your cooling system....
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