Car Still Wasting Gas After Minor Repairs (Confused)

15 years ago

I'm driving a 93 Pontiac Grand Am SE with a 6 cylinder engine. The car is up to 111,700 miles now. The car loves gas and eats it at every chance it can. Theres Still No Results in the things listed below to help solve the cars Gas wasting problem.

The thing's I've Completed as a Project are as is

1. Got a Oil change using High Mileage Oil. And added Engine Treatment with that.

2. Added Fuel Injection Cleaner. Normally do this a couple times a month.

3. Changed out the PCV Valve.

4. Changed the Oxygen Sensor.

5. Cleaned the Mass Air Flow Sensor.

6. Cleaned out the throttle body with Throttle body spray cleaner.

7. Replaced the Air Filter.

8. Had the Fuel Filter replaced a couple months ago.

9. The Spark plugs still got awhile before needing replaced.

Any Idea's.... I did every KNOWN Gas Related problem to help save a little more on my mileage but still there is no damn increase in saving more Fuel for the Gallon.

Also my Power Steering fluid is Leaking due to a problem with the Rack and Pinion bar being cracked or something. I have taken out 12 ounces of the power steering fluid with a Turkey Baster and added a 12 ounce bottle of Lucas Stop Leak power steering fluid made for old Rack and Pinion's so far the leak is going suicidal and is dripping less each time, But still may need another treatment. Can only imagine how long it has to last lol.

Comments (7)

gary__
15 years ago
What mpg are you talking about? How are you checking it? How is the car being driven?
axiomkid
Original Author
15 years ago
Miles Per Gallon. I'm not getting what the car should have anymore for the bang of the bucks. The car holds 15 gallons at most. I've had the car for awhile now and it never had this gas eating problem which only seems to be getting worse. I keep pondering is there a "LEAK" somewhere in the tank resevoir or somewhere in the fuel lines. Can only see that this may be a conclusion at most. Driving 15 miles with a full tank takes out about a quarter each and every time. Never had the problem awhile back driving 15 miles was NOTHING to that car now its Eating all the Gas for the 15 mile run I usually need to make.
Related Discussions
replacing central natural gas systems after 16 yrs, need advice
Q
Comments (36)
Hi TD and thanks. We do have other gas appliances, and still are considering the gas generator backup so I feel that the dual fuel system is still of most interest. At present, one major dilemma is replacement of all of the ductwork, which was suggested by the Carrier dealer with the high prices, and the Trane dealer who miscalculated, waited weeks to give an estimate and did so only after I called them numerous times. They also have not yet gotten back to me with the corrected estimate. Also the latter really did not want to give me the equipment specs. The Lennox dealer has been very responsive. He initially recommended replacing only some of the ductwork, but thought we could leave the trunk lines alone for the most part. So one of the elements, which adds quite alot of expense, is whether or not to replace all of the ductwork. The Lennox dealer would be willing to do that, but it would add over 4k to the cost. Any thoughts on that? All the dealers commented on the adequacy of the duct system after a rather cursory inspection. When I questioned the Carrier rep. further he indicated that he could tell just by looking at a few spots that the ductwork was "too big in some lines and too small in others), and the branching from the main duct was not done properly. Also any thoughts on a good Lennox package? Is the package suggested by their bid adequate? It has I think a single speed (coil? compressor?) paired with a 15 SEER unit. He calculated that would give a 14 SEER used together. I have tried to find another Carrier dealer who services my area with no luck. The only other Carrier dealer is a national chain store. I had scheduled a visit for them to give me an estimate at the very beginning of this process; however, the appointment was cancelled with no follow-up. I called them back to reschedule and the earliest appointment that they have would be mid-June--I hoped to have installation complete by then! THe Lennox dealer said that had previously offered Carrier, but that the distribution center for our area was so unresponsive that they had many concerns about dealing with them because they had problems obtaining parts in a timely manner. The Carrier dealer also said that the distribution center did not carry some equipment such as the Carrier 14 SEER heat pump. Unfortunately, we live in a small town, and even the dealers from whom I am receiving estimates are in other surrounding towns--no one competent in our community! Thanks again for all of your help. Regards, Beth
...See More
Gas Saving Tips
Q
Comments (20)
Cars will last a lot longer than most people will take the time and effort to make them last. It appears that many people have a lot more money to buy new things than they have time to take care of things, or at least they pretend that's the case. As gas prices have spiked up again lately, there is a lot of interest in smaller and more fuel efficient cars, which in itself is a good thing. But if a person trades in a 20 mpg vehicle for a 30 mpg vehicle, and if they drive 15,000 miles a year, that's a savings of 250 gallons of gas a year. Certainly that's worth considering IF you need a new car anyway, but even at $3 a gallon, 250 gallons a year is only $750. The sales tax alone on the new car is likely to take all of the first year's savings, and even much of the second year savings if you live somewhere with a high sales tax. Then there's the interest you pay, higher insurance, etc. The bottom line is, the best way to save the most money is to keep the car you have for a long time and drive it in as efficient a manner as possible. It's amazing how many people are literally "car poor." If you trade yours in for a new one every two or three years, you're always paying interest on loans and always absorbing big depreciation losses. Consider a $20,000 car that's purchased new and kept for three years, and traded in for $9,000 (in many cases that's an optimistic figure): Sales Tax @6%: $1,200 Depreciation: $11,000 Interest: $2,500 Total Cost for Three Years: $14,700, or just under $5,000 a year. Many people go through this with not one but two cars, raising the yearly cost just to have these vehicles parked in the driveway to $10,000. And that's before they pay the first insurance premium, perform the first maintenance service, or buy the first gallon of gas. Even if you go from two new cars to one new and one old one that's paid for, that's $5,000 a year in savings. So if you have an older car that's paid off, there's just no earthly way to save any money by trading it for a new one, even if the new one gets double or even triple the gas mileage of the old one.
...See More
Buyer has asked for $5K after inspection AND now is asking for repairs
Q
Comments (14)
"who cares if I pi$$ them off" I think some buyers have that attitude. What they forget is that the owner still is living and taking care of that house until the closing. Do you really want to piss off someone who is taking care of one of the biggest investment you probably will make in your life? It don't think it work out good for our buyer. As I said before, ours was a custom home built by us and using commercial electrician and plumber. There was valves and switches all over the house that a normal house did not have. I was going to label everything for the new owner until the princess started trying to squeeze money out of us. Heck there was switches I didn't even know what they were for, but my husband did. Then my attitude changed to "figure it out yourself." The last straw came when a few days before the closing when she wanted to inconvenience everyone to change their schedules to move the closing up by a day so she wouldn't be inconvenienced and could have some work done before they moved in on Saturday. Of course we said NO. That is when I really lost it. It was not nice, but I sabotaged the house. I knew she didn't know how to do anything and I don't think he he knew a hammer from a screwdriver. I didn't do nothing petty like taking light bulbs or damaging the home. I made sure every switch and valve was off. I know they probably ended up calling in trades to figure out why the doorbell didn't ring, or why the gas fireplaces and grills didn't work, or why they couldn't program the garage and front door, etc. Well the doorbell had a hidden switch to turn it on and off and I shut it off. There were extra safety valves for the gas fireplaces and grills in the basement ceiling at different locations that were turned off. The codes they were given to open the garage and front door was a guest code not the master code. The garage door didn't open because it was also on a switch and the same with the outside garage motion detector. The outdoor plugs didn't work either unless a switch was on. Somehow they got my son who lived close by phone number and tried calling him several times. He just ignored them. I know it wasn't nice to sabotage the house, but looking back I still have no regrets, because she was a royal bit_ch. We move to our new house a week before the closing and after all we were just protecting the empty house from theft or gas leaks. lol
...See More
Talk me out of another car, please
Q
Comments (45)
maefleur01-- yes, "It is embarrassing to put your foot through the floor." I've kept a car so long My foot got wet when I drove in the rain! I actually once drove to my sister's house wearing a climbing helmet inside the car (didn't want to get a head injury if I was in an accident. My sister said the helmet wouldn't have helped, because apparently my head came pre-injured) I've also got into a car and had the front seat inch through what was left of the floor. Pretty dang embarrassing, especially the stares on the highway when I wore the helmet. Ahh, my twenties. When my judgement was green. I'd forgotten about that until I read your comment. So maybe I do deserve another car. I test finally drove a Buick Encore. They have an arm rest that is attached to the driver's seat like it is on an airplane. You can slide it ups but otherwise you can't adjust it at all and it is too high for me. I'd be driving around with one hunched shoulder. There is no arm rest for the passenger. I didn't like the Encore as much as I thought I would. Could be because the kid from the dealer rolled up one for me to try that "had just come in" and it was filthy. Dust and dirt everywhere, literally chunks of mud on the driver's floor mats. Yikes. Freaked me out thinking that all the cars on their lot were totally abused. I actually rejected it. And asked him to get another one to test drive. I knew more about the car than he did, so I directed him to some internet resources to help him sell 'em to other people. I was probably the weird test driver of the week. Ah well. I'm now thinking of a used Mazda CX-5. a 2017. They drive well, and are on the smaller side, although bigger than the Buick Encore. Who knows when they will start to come off lease? I know nothing about this. The local dealer sales people don't work on commission, so I don't mind buying there. And I drove one and mostly liked it. I should have spent more time adjusting the seats first. I need to go back and give it another go. I've got to say the Mazda CX-5 feels big compared to my 2005 Civic. They have a CX-3 model that is smaller, but perhaps too small. Looking around, the CX-5 also seems to mostly come with black interiors, which is kind of a yuck. The dealer has one available now with every bell and whistle for a decent price and milage, dealer certified, but it is black with black interior. Sadly, I am not Batman and choose not to drive around in the Bat Cave. We have 7 months of cloudy weather where I live. It's dark enough thank you! And the saga continues!
...See More
axiomkid
Original Author
15 years ago
Just to follow up on this a little. This was my MAIN concern as you can see from the following Picture.

{{gwi:1406385}}

My Check Engine Light would go on and off periodically. Wasn't everyday you would see the light go on. As well as my check Gauge light has been dimming there on the right on the panel and would VERY SLOWLY go away as the car warmed up. After replacing the PCV Valve and replacing my O2 sensor I then realized I guess those lights wont be coming on anytime soon.

{{gwi:1406386}}

I found the PCV Valve to have looked Burnt out. As I shaked the piece up and down it seemed it was sticking than running freely. I also found a small crack on the PCV valve but it didn't seem to be affecting the air flow thru the valve.
axiomkid
Original Author
15 years ago
The car also from what I know hasn't had the O2 sensor replaced since I got the car at 86,000 miles. My Grandma gave me the car as a gift and I know they barely drove the car which is why the mileage was low and they never had anything changed out important such as O2 sensor, Pcv Valve, Spark Plug wires... and this for sure is going to be my next project once I figure out how the spark plug wires connect in the front of the engine the wires run underneath the engine cover in the front of the car and looks rather difficult while the back plugs are virtually the easiest to replace. I also have a cracked Valve Cover Gasket I've been driving with this problem for over 33,000 miles and yet there is little mess of oil and grime on the engine and doesn't seem to be causing problems and nor do I think it will. I don't lose any oil.
gary__
15 years ago
Fill the tank. Check the mileage reading on the odometer. Run it till it's about out. Fill tank again. Subtract previous mileage reading from current one. Divide that by how many gallons you put in the car. Then post that number. Your 15 gallon tank and car wasting gas discriptions are meaningless.

If it's leaking fuel, you'll smell it even if it's just a little.

If you don't feel a misfire, the plugs and wires are doing their jobs so leave them alone.

If it's burning gas as fast as you suspect it is, there ought to be visible emmissions...cloud of black smoke following you around.

If you're going by what the gas guage says without checking, the problem could just be the gas guage. I've seen them read full for 200 miles then drop quickly to 1/4 tank, or drop quickly from full and stay at a quarter tank. If you're going to try to figure this kind of thing out on your own, you got to at least do the math for starters.
axiomkid
Original Author
15 years ago
Thanx for the reply.
axiomkid
Original Author
15 years ago
Yea I could be bugging out a little bit. It does seem as if it's taking time for the new O2 sensor to wear in a little to perform its job and yea I can see a big difference. Instead of the pressure pointing downward it's going back up to where its suppose to be at on the gauge instead of sucking it all the way down again., and the Gas that hasnt burned yet is being brought back into the system and being burned normally than being wasted. Seems my car was having a difficult time determining the air and fuel mixture and seems to be regulating normally now.

Car Still Wasting Gas After Minor Repairs (Confused)

Comments (7)

gary__

axiomkid
Original Author

Related Discussions

axiomkid
Original Author

axiomkid
Original Author

gary__

axiomkid
Original Author

axiomkid
Original Author

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

Car Still Wasting Gas After Minor Repairs (Confused)

Comments (7)

gary__

axiomkidOriginal Author

Related Discussions

axiomkidOriginal Author

axiomkidOriginal Author

gary__

axiomkidOriginal Author

axiomkidOriginal Author

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

axiomkid
Original Author

axiomkid
Original Author

axiomkid
Original Author

axiomkid
Original Author

axiomkid
Original Author