Delivery Driver's Problems ('96 Civic CX ... seeking advice)

[California98Civic]

Get an ultragauge. $70 new.

[96CX]

Filled up a couple days ago-- 41.2mpg! It felt to me like the pump clicked off early, so I'm doing another tank, but changing my shift points has certainly made a difference. Now, once I can get a kill-switch put in and start using EOC, I'll be pretty set to hit well over 40 every tank.

[digital rules]

Glad to hear the good news!! Is this your first 40+ tank?

[96CX]

Yes. This is the first time I've ever gotten over 40mpg in any of my vehicles.

[user removed]

Another addicted conservationist. You now owe your soul to the ecomodder Gods of Mileage. Make all contributions to the GOM collective. We'll figure out the plastic option just for you, LOL.

regards
Mech

[Detail Man]

Originally Posted by 96CX

I stopped at O'Reilly's and checked my code, and it's an O2 sensor. I'm thinking about pulling it out and cleaning it (or do they not clean?) to see if I can get some more life out of it. Not really looking forward to paying $70 for a new one.

What was the code? I've got a P0420 code on mine, indicating a bad O2 sensor as well. Check out Rockauto.com. They seem to be quite reasonable on parts, even with shipping. I got some parts from them recently for my civic.

Excellent tips William. There are a few lights that I can't avoid on my delivery routes. I've figured out which ones are longer waits depending on the lane I need to be in, and thus pay to turn the engine off. One is particularly quick cycles, so I just idle on them.

[Mista Bone]

Originally Posted by 96CX

I stopped at O'Reilly's and checked my code, and it's an O2 sensor. I'm thinking about pulling it out and cleaning it (or do they not clean?) to see if I can get some more life out of it. Not really looking forward to paying $70 for a new one.

Make sure the exhaust manifold is not cracked, which is common. Dorman offered a replacement for about $120 and you reuse your old cat. convertor.

[PaleMelanesian]

Not on a 96 you can't. The manifold and cat are one single piece. Dorman does make a replacement that I used on mine.

[96CX]

My error code was P0135-- O2 sensor heater circuit, bank 1, sensor 1.

I notice the engine idling rough as well, so I'm pretty sure the sensor is bad (or going downhill quickly). I ordered a new Bosch sensor off Amazon for $35, which I thought wasn't unreasonable. WAY better than $70 at O'Reilly's. Funny thing about my check-engine light, though, is that I can start the car, and it won't come on immediately, until I rev the engine a little, or give some gas while starting in 1st (even if the actual rpms don't rise). It doesn't give a fault code with just the key on.

In side notes: I got 39.9mpg at my last fill up (which I thought was a short tank from the fill up before), and (based on eyeballing the gas gauge) it looks like this tank is going to be similarly close to or better than 40mpg.

I want to second Detail Man in thanking William for his great tips. Most of them I already do, some of them I can't, and others I will start implementing.

I asked if there was any way around using a cartop sign, and was told "definitely not." Oh well.

I do pretty well at knowing which routes have the least number of stops (I literally count and compare stops on all possible routes in my head as I'm driving), and I study the lights and know how the timed ones work together, and how the sensored ones work (which ones are more sensitive and which ones to avoid if at all possible).

I could do better parking strategically-- coming up to the address so that I'm parked facing downhill and can coast for a ways before I have to restart after a delivery, etc.

I've been getting better at utilizing ALL the gears for DFCO, instead of only using 2nd or 3rd right before a stop or on a huge hill. I've started trying to use 4th and 5th on longer and not-so-steep hills.

I avoid all those road enemies (stop lights/signs, speed bumps, gates, and traffic) as much as possible...often, I'll consider the level of traffic and opt for a stop sign (a sure-but-short stop) over a known light (a likely-but-long stop), even thought there's a chance I might hit it when it's green. I don't know if that's actually a more fuel-efficient strategy, but it seems faster to me.

[cbaber]

If while waiting on your new sensor the rough idle becomes worse (stalling at lights, etc), you can just unplug the O2 sensor connector and drive the car like this. It will run in open-loop mode, and the stalling/sputtering will stop. You can still get good mileage while doing this. I had to drive like this for a few weeks and still managed 40 MPG. My car would die at stop lights unless I gave it gas if the O2 sensor was connected.

It was getting so bad that I got better mileage in open-loop than I did with the O2 sensor connected in closed-loop operation.