FrankReynoldsCPA

Well, some of you remember my thread a month or two ago about the coolant temp sensor and the difficulty reaching it. I finally went at it again today(been busy as hell and unmotivated to work on this thing in the heat), and managed to get that damn coil out of the way and change the sensor. The dang plastic connectors on that coil were old and stuck on there, but I got it. It sure seems to have better throttle response now. I'm going to have to try and keep my foot out of the pedal and see if I can get better than 12-14 mpg around town. I also pulled plug # 4 and inspected it. I had read that they go well beyond the 90,000 mile interval without problem. I'm at 116,000 currently, and they did look like they could use replacement. Maybe in the coming week I'll go buy some plugs and do it. I wanted to do it on the spot while I had it torn down, but the only 2 part stores in our town were closed.
I'm still on the fence about whether or not to shell out the extra $$$ and get a set of wires for it. I like to be sure that everything is good, but I also really hate spending $$$ that i'm not sure I have to spend. Maybe I'll do plugs first and see how it runs.


Also, to learn from my mistake, have a bucket or something under the car when you change the sensor to catch all the antifreeze that runs out. For some reason I didn't have the foresight to do that......

deanshark

Yeah that sensor makes it feel like a whole new car. Ya save gas by changing it but you burn more by standing on it b/c you have more response. If you don't want to spend money on wires you should at least check them with an ohm meter to see if they're still in spec. I'd hate to think how many wire sets (on other cars) I changed that didn't need to be changed.

fluxedup

was gona mention testing with multi meter, beat me to the punch...lol. I cant believe how many of my friends pay out 100 bucks or more for fancy colored high perf wires that have same resistance as cheapo generics.as long as you dont see a light show under the hood at night, resistance is all that matters.

FrankReynoldsCPA

I have a friend that keeps hounding me because I don't like to spend money on my car. He keeps giving me crap because I won't change my O2 sensors to see if I can get better mileage. I tell him it's not worth it, especially since I don't know if they are bad. He keeps saying 'Don't you want to save money?' I just reply that there are better, more effective ways in life to spend money than to spend over $100 just to save a couple mpg.

deanshark

Oh yeah, great minds think alike. Why spend more money then you're gonna save? It just don't make sence. (cents)

FrankReynoldsCPA

I just don't think he understands the principle of cost vs. benefit analysis. To be fair, he didn't do well in school in any subject, let alone math. He also believes every advertisement he sees and regards it as indisputable fact. Also, he's never been taught to understand the value of a dollar. Example, he buys milk at the gas station for $5 a gallon when he knows he can get it for $2.50 at the grocery store. I tell him and he just shrugs apathetically, and says it's worth it to not have to walk all the way into the store......whatever......

deanshark

Some people, huh? I think we were all like that (a little) when younger, until we had to work for it. But you don't really think on what a dollar is worth until you don't have it and can't get it. About the milk; it's the opposite here, I pay $3 at the gas station and $4.50 at the grocery store, go figure.

FrankReynoldsCPA

I think it may be the fact I live in a rural tourist town, and we get hundreds of tourists every day during the summer, and our boss capitalizes on that. A little dishonest if you ask me, but it's not my store and I only work here one more week before moving to the city for school.

I did a little math for my friend. It wasn't exact, but I told him that suppose it costs $150 to replace the O2 sensors and you gain an average of 2 mpg, raising me from 15 to 17 mpg. Assuming the price of fuel stayed the same indefinitely, at $3.849 here for premium. I would have to drive approx. 18,000 miles for the sensors to pay for themselves. Of course, this isn't going to be a 100% accurate figure, due to changes in driving, price of fuel, etc. Just some quick math I did on my cell phone to show him. He seemed to get it.

sam12345

iTrader: (1)

How much for a catalytic converter because your oxigen sensor is running the car too rich?

FrankReynoldsCPA

We have no emissions testing around here. The day a catalytic converter clogs is the day it comes off the car.

denverdog

20 galons at $3.50/ = $70. 10% of that = $7. $100/$7 = 14.29. if a part or a procedure saves a couple mpg, and you are getting 20 mpg most of the time, you'll get your money baqck in 14.3 tankfulls of 20 gallons each. that's not such a bad cost/benefit ratio.

if you compare dollars to miles, the math is skewed. com[p-are dollars to dollars and it is more obvious.

and if BrettJacks is getting 12-14 mpg before, there's a great chance that whatever change is effective will give him more than a 10% increase in mileage.

and if

S30ZG

iTrader: (5)

Is this city driving only? It seems pretty low...I got 20 combined with a heavy foot.

FrankReynoldsCPA

It's not highway driving, but I wouldn't consider it city driving. I live in a very rural area. My drive to work includes 2 stop signs and one stop light over a 3 mile distance. I stop very rarely when I drive anywhere, and usually maintain the speed limit of 25(sometimes it's 35). No traffic at all.

As an update, no specific numbers yet, but I'm pretty discouraged right now. Have 40 miles since last fill up, and I am down to 3/4 of a tank.......something's not right. Hope it's just the gauge F****ing with me.

deanshark

Wow Brett, with driving that short of a distance, 6 miles to work and back, you might not even see any difference at all. Right now I only drive a few miles a day usually, (10 miles would be alot) so with both of us most of the gas we use is warming up the car before we drive. So getting 12 - 14 MPG isn't really that bad anyway. These fuel gauges are weird, mine seems like it drops quick after I fill it also, but mine is just the gauge. Are you stomping on it more, now that it has better response? I know I did when I first changed mine and I was going through more fuel til I slowed back down again.

FrankReynoldsCPA

What I did when I changed it was I drove it for a few hours and stomped the living hell out of it to get it out of my system, and then filled it up again and have been driving very conservatively. I often have people tailgating me when I start out from a stop. I'm going to probably take a highway trip over to St. George next week, so I'll see how she does on the highway. I'll fill up before I leave, fill it up when I get there, do all my errands and crap while I"m there, and then come home. That way I'll see what I get just on highway driving, and then I'll see what I get for half city/half highway.