Taurus '93 eats too much gas!!!!

[staz]

ok, I have this 93 taurus 6 cylinders, 3.0L... and since Ive started driving it I found out that it eats 18 liters per 100 km, its like Escalade Although it's still pretty good on highways, about 10 L/100Km. I did what I could - I changed air filter, check tire pressure, added ingnition cleaner... nothing changed... any ideas?

[KimMG]

Is the car running rich? What do the spark plugs look like? Are they black? Tan? What weight motor oil are you using?
Inspect all the fuel lines and make sure there are no leaks. Minute leaks from old cracking fuel lines can cause a 10% loss in fuel economy with out leaving puddles of fuel on the ground.
Driving conditions have a lot to do with fuel economy.
Have you observed a noticeable drop in fuel economy?

[Cjbronco]

been having the same problem in both of mine 94&95 since november, i heard through the grape vine the oxygenation of the gas. makes sense. but i was getting about 300 miles/tank and now i get 220/tank. driving styles have remained the same, and the temps here in jersey have been very mild 40-60.

[brokenantimatter]

I don't know much about the specifics of gen 1&2 Tauri (they never really appealed to me much) but going off what I know of cars in general.

• Poor gas quality?
  You might consider buying your gasoline elsewhere.
• Faulty or clogged fuel injector?
  Check and if necessary replace.
• Could you possibly have the emergency brake on?
• Transmission problems?
  When was the last time you had it serviced?
• Faulty thermostat?
  Check and if necessary replace?
• A Possible PCM Error?
  Carry to mechanic to have it diagnosed.
• Possible pinhole fuel leakage?
  Check your fuel lines and fittings.
• Possible Air in fuel system?
  Check using a fuel pressure gauge.
• Possible vacuum leak?
  Have a mechanic check.

[shorod]

And don't leave out the coolant temperature sensor and possible contamination of Mass Air Flow (MAF) sensor.

As KimMG suggested, you should probably have the car connected to a scan tool with a datastream mode. While driving the car, monitor the oxygen sensors and see if they read rich the majority of the time, or if they are continuously toggling between rich and lean. If they remain rich, you probably don't have an external fuel leak (but you could have a leaky injector).

Does the car seem to run fine other than the fuel consumption? Does it idle around 700 rpms and seem responsive coming off idle, etc?

-Rod

[staz]

Originally Posted by KimMG

Is the car running rich? What do the spark plugs look like? Are they black? Tan? What weight motor oil are you using?
Inspect all the fuel lines and make sure there are no leaks. Minute leaks from old cracking fuel lines can cause a 10% loss in fuel economy with out leaving puddles of fuel on the ground.
Driving conditions have a lot to do with fuel economy.
Have you observed a noticeable drop in fuel economy?

Ive checked fuel lines, there are no leaks...
is oil may cause loss in fuel economy? (please explain)
Acually I haven't observed really big drop in fuel economy...its always between 17-19L/100km in city (it has to be 13 or 12L/100km).

Also, I was going to check ignition timing, do you think it might help?

Thanks for your advise

PS gonna check sparks (they seemed to me pretty good last time )

[brokenantimatter]

Bad spark plugs = disaster on gas

Poor / bad oil = thick and dirty, will cause engine to carry an uneeded load.

[shorod]

Originally Posted by staz

Acually I haven't observed really big drop in fuel economy...its always between 17-19L/100km in city (it has to be 13 or 12L/100km).

I'm confused by this statement. Are you saying you are currently seeing 18l per 100km in city average, and you used to get 12l per 100km?

Going from 12l to 18l per 100km is a pretty significant drop in fuel economy if nothing about your trips has changed. Has there been a change in your commute (more stop and go due to construction, increased traffic, or significant weather change)?

For those of us in the US, 18l per 100 km comes out to 13 mpg, 12l per 100 km comes out to 19.6 mpg.

As for checking ignition timing, that is computer controlled in your Taurus and requires a special process to check properly. You need to remove the SPOUT jumper, etc. It is not user-adjustable either.

If you are using a thick oil and the weather is cold, the oil is causing an increased load on the engine until everything gets up to operating temperature. This increased load can effect fuel economy.

-Rod

[staz]

Originally Posted by shorod

I'm confused by this statement. Are you saying you are currently seeing 18l per 100km in city average, and you used to get 12l per 100km?

Going from 12l to 18l per 100km is a pretty significant drop in fuel economy if nothing about your trips has changed. Has there been a change in your commute (more stop and go due to construction, increased traffic, or significant weather change)?

For those of us in the US, 18l per 100 km comes out to 13 mpg, 12l per 100 km comes out to 19.6 mpg.

-Rod

yeah, it used to be around 13L/100km.
actually, nothing changed about my trips...

do you think I should go to mechanic shop or I still can do something on my own?

[shorod]

Unless you have access to a scan tool for your '93 that can display datastream data, you are probably better off visiting a technician who can hopefully properly diagnose it the first time. Or, you can probably spend about the same amount of money or more replacing numerous components. It's basically how much you value your time and sanity opposed to getting it done quickly (hopefully).

-Rod

[seasonalskier2006]

i have this same problem on my 94 taurus wagon. i bought it off a guy and have been checking my economy, and it is only 14 mpg! i think my speed sensor is dying because when i hit around 45 it will start to shake back and forth in the +- 1 mph range until i hit about 50 and it stops. Would this be a mojor problem in not reading it right? also my car always puts out white smoke no matter what conditions, and when it is cold out i can blow out so much smoke you would think that the car is on fire. what would cause this? and if i brought this to a mechanic about how much would it cost me to get him to diagnose it? any ideas would be much appriciated!

[shorod]

Originally Posted by seasonalskier2006

i have this same problem on my 94 taurus wagon. i bought it off a guy and have been checking my economy, and it is only 14 mpg! i think my speed sensor is dying because when i hit around 45 it will start to shake back and forth in the +- 1 mph range until i hit about 50 and it stops. Would this be a mojor problem in not reading it right? also my car always puts out white smoke no matter what conditions, and when it is cold out i can blow out so much smoke you would think that the car is on fire. what would cause this? and if i brought this to a mechanic about how much would it cost me to get him to diagnose it? any ideas would be much appriciated!

I would suggest you make this a separate thread. The issues you are mentioning sound like you might have a bad head gasket. Is there a blue tint to the exhaust, or is it white and sweet smelling? If there is a blue tint to it, you are probably burning oil. If it is white and sweet smelling, sounds like coolant and you probably have a bad head gasket, cracked block, or cracked head.

The bouncing speedometer needle is more likely due to a dry speedo cable from the VSS to the guage. I believe the '94 was still cable driven rather than electronic. I wouldn't expect that bounce to have a significant effect on the odometer reading since you mention it bounces +/- 1mph, so the average would be 0mph offset.

If you do decide to make this a new thread, include the engine in your car as there are common issues with each of the engines used in Taurii.

-Rod