Engine burning too much gas?

[318tiSpeed]

Here in Canada we have to get an emission test for any old used vehicle. When I got mine done, it JUST passed (was right on the threshold). The guy who tested the emissions said it was burning too much gas!

Well, something strange's afoot! I notice that when I drive it hard I can notice something gassy coming into the cabin, but they are odourless. I know I'm breathing them because when getting out after driving for awhile, I get dizzy and find it hard to breath a little. I hope it's not carbon monoxide!

And the engine sounds a little loud to me... but that may be normal. The engine on my car was replaced last fall by the previous owner so I called him up and gave him the scoop. He didn't really have much to say except that the mechanic who swapped the engine did a great job and that he didn't have any issues with the car when he sold it to me.

I'm off to the dealer to pick up an O2 sensor right now to see if changing it will offer any improvements. I should do this anyway as most mileage problems I've been reading on here indicate the O2 sensor is the cause for a lot of problems... only getting 500km (or 311 miles) on a full tank right now, less than the 400+ miles people are getting with theirs.

[318tiSpeed]

OK, back from the mechanic with a new O2 sensor installed in my Ti. Gonna see how it goes and such with the mileage and all.

[FATHER]

check the air filter and the spark plugs

[318tiSpeed]

Thanks for the input FATHER, bought an air filter at the dealer while I was picking up the sensor, checked with the mechanic if I needed to swap out the old one and he said it's not necessary right now! So I'll hang on to it and swap it out later.

As for the spark plugs, you could be right on that. I'm really excited to find what parts are in this thing (I've only owned it for about a month) and REALLY hoping to find out that the previous owners stuck with the OEM-recommended stuff.

[318tiSpeed]

I just picked up a can of Sea Foam and gonna try to run it through the brake boost vacuum line tomorrow. It wasn't cheap at $9.99 CDN, but I know it will be worth it!

[318tiSpeed]

I just ran the Sea Foam about 2 hours ago... man what a diff! THE PRODUCT WORKS! Man was there a LOT of smoke coming out of the exhaust! I put it through the brake boost line nipple and had my brother on the throttle.

I was scared that a neighbour would call the cops on me for excessive pollution, so after a few minutes of running it at 4000RPM I headed out on the highway, and it still smoked.

The difference? The engine returning to idle and no dipping. A smoother engine. Greater apparent power when in eco mode or sports mode. Wow!

[weezer]

What's the color of the smoke before the seafoam?
If it's black, you're running too rich and most likely the fuel pressure regulator. It wouldn't hurt replacing the fuel filter as well.
Open your throttle body boot, if there's too much gunk, get CRC throttle body cleaner and clean the darn thing. Also check your MAF sensor, or in your case AMS and use CRC MAF cleaner.....good luck.

[al95ti]

Where did you get the seafoam... I can't seem to find any in Canada ???

[FATHER]

what is seafoam? to what is god? explain me please!!!!

[nusstroy]

Quote Father: "what is seafoam? to what is god? explain me please!!!!"





this is site, it explains it
http://www.seafoamsales.com/motorTuneUpTechGas.htm

[Calgary98TI]

Are you getting 500km per tank of driving in the city? Or some on the highway too? I will usually get up to 550km per tank of pure city driving and between 650km - 700km on the highway. I am guessing that you are driving the car pretty hard, so 500km is not unreasonable. It never hurts to do all the maintenance that you are planning. Good luck.

[318tiSpeed]

weezer- I had no smoke before the Sea Foam, the exhaust was pretty clean. I was thinking of getting at the fuel injectors with the stuff and at the same time replacing the fuel filter, but that's for a different time. Thanks for your input!

al95ti- I found the stuff at Parts Source. They have it at the Brimley and Sheppard location in Toronto. Check out http://www.partsource.ca/store/ontario-stores.asp
for their loc.

Calgary98TI- I drive perhaps 80% city, 20% highway, and yes, sometimes I do drive it hard, but that's not the norm. I should be getting more mileage out of it so I've been eliminating the list of possibles: O2 sensor, clearing out the engine, etc. My next projects will be to replace the spark plugs and maybe even the fuel filter.

[3DGE]

how much is on KM to a mile??

[318tiSpeed]

1 km = 0.6214 miles

[al95ti]

Originally Posted by 318tiSpeed

[al95ti- I found the stuff at Parts Source. They have it at the Brimley and Sheppard location in Toronto. Check out http://www.partsource.ca/store/ontario-stores.asp
for their loc.

Thanks... too bad we don't have that store here in Atlantic Canada