14 MPG? Uh, Is this Normal?

try paying our petrol/(gas) prices, they went up again today to 93p/litre

Could be the O2 sensor.

I would check for any vacuum/unmetered air leaks, especially intake gaskets on a 1994.

Or about 100 other things.

Jeff

We are at $1.08 to $1.10 Canadian per liter right now for regular in Southern Ontario.

*** Posted via a free Usenet account from ***

Hey Bob, When was the last time the car got a good tune up? Plugs, wires, PCV, filters, etc?

4.6s are tough on wires and in the T-Birds the motor mounts are really soft. You may have a dead miss that you didn't notice if it came on gradually. That drop is about right for one cylinder not firing. If you can't remember when the plugs and wires were replaced, just do it. Check for contamination in the spark plug wells. (oil, coolant, general slimy grundge...) This is an indicator of other concerns that also need to be addressed.

1.15 and going up in Montreal

(in french)

If you ask me, I think that is probably about right. The gas milage that is. a 4.6 is not a small motor. I have a 3.8 in a Taurus wagon of the same year 1994. What are you doing with it? Is it mostly highway? If it were mostly highway I would be concerned a bit more. Mostly highway I could see 22 23 miles to the gallon. Mostly city and short trips is going to take you into the 15 mpg range. You have to figure more into things then a tune up or the o2 sensor. A lazy transmission which it probably has by now will add to the mpg problems. In 12 or 13 years the engine is getting lazy too. It will not give the same mpg that was posted on the sticker even with the best care. Being in Canada it is colder then down here in the states and that has to make for expensive cold starts. I know in the winter my car loves to burn fuel on a cold start. How clean is your fuel system, dirty injectors will cause problems also. Every two weeks or so I run injector cleaner with the gas just to keep it clean. A tune up is worth a try too. How does the engine run in general in your opinion? I don't think anyone checks timing of the motor anymore but it is worth a look. I still don't understand myself why these O2 sensors don't throw a flag as they used to in the early days. At that time it was a preset flag, but I would think today they could show health. Yeah at .50 a liter it didn't matter! Smile... Should never have been a 3.8 or a 4.6 in 1994 with exception to the trucks used for industry.... I had one only for business.

Gerald

Read the plugs, while you are doing a tune-up.

And, of course, depends a lot on what sort of driving you do. My 3.8 gets

22-23 with 2/3 hwy, 1/3 suburb driving. All suburb, about 19-21.

My guess is you are off on the math AGAIN. If you had a SUPER SERIOUS problem, the vehicle would not run well. Many stations are adding more alcohol to the blend and that could be a factor. During the hurricane aftermath, outlets were allowed to sell blends they would not normally be allowed to market. You might have been getting ALL gas for awhile and not are back to an E10 blend. I still say it's the math though.

An E20 blend (20% ethanol) would reduce gas mileage by about 5%, going from

20 to 19 mpg. That is less than what the OP describes. However, winter driving could make a difference, especially if the tyres are low in air, and the driver makes short drives without the motor being warm. Low tyre air pressure and cold motors make cars less efficient. They also add oxidizers to fuel (MTBE and methanol being two of the chemical that are used) in winters to help prevent pollution. These also decrease fuel mileage.

Jeff

Well every time I fuel-up I get a nice printed receipt that shows exact gallons purchased. It shows gallons to the 3rd decimal place even. Also I reset the milage gauge at every fill-up I make.

If my math is off then perhaps I should buy either a new calculator or get a refund for Microsoft Excel?

I don't see how I could be wrong. All you do is divide the miles driven by the number of gallons required to fill the tank SINCE you last reset the gauge and filled the tank.

I do however like a mystery, so if you could show me a 'new' method of calculating MPG then by all means let me know.

I am always open to new ideas as it relates to division.

thanks.

Are these the original size wheels/tires? gearing?

yes