Gas mileage keeps going down.
From : lou
Q: i have a 97 dodge 1500 with a 5.9 under the hood. when i bought it 11 years ago it got 17 mpg. now im seeing 10 mpg. i know that the topper robs me of 1-2 mpg but can anyone tell me where the other 5 went i keep it tuned oiled and havent driven like a maniac in 20 years. lou .
Replies:
From : lou
on may 23 619 pm christopher d. thompson nos...@nospam.nospam wrote on fri 23 may 2008 141715 -0700 lou wrote ok guys ive had a chance to crawl under there and find the o2 sensors. while under there i see that the entire muffler is split. its not noisy but i might as well change it. i cant remember the last time i had the catalyst changed if ever so i might as well replace that with the o2 sensors on both sides. thanks for all the advice. lou if your muffler is split and your considering replacing the cat and o2 sensors its well worth it to take the thing to a muffler shop and have them do the sensors and the cat/muffler. -- chris oh i agree chris my days of tearing this stuff apart are way over. ill be taking it into the shop next week for the whole thing. lou .
From : christopher d thompson
on fri 23 may 2008 141715 -0700 lou wrote ok guys ive had a chance to crawl under there and find the o2 sensors. while under there i see that the entire muffler is split. its not noisy but i might as well change it. i cant remember the last time i had the catalyst changed if ever so i might as well replace that with the o2 sensors on both sides. thanks for all the advice. lou if your muffler is split and your considering replacing the cat and o2 sensors its well worth it to take the thing to a muffler shop and have them do the sensors and the cat/muffler. -- chris .
From : christopher d thompson
on fri 23 may 2008 091845 -0700 lou wrote on may 23 826 am peterd pet...@hipson.net wrote on fri 23 may 2008 040700 -0700 pdt lou loup...@hotmail.com wrote and havent driven like a maniac in 20 years. lou you *really* expect us to believe that the new blends of piss and gasoline will reduce your mileage some as well. i think you are underestimating the loss due to the topper but i could be wrong on that since i cant see it. does it seem to perform properly still i could see a failure to lock the tcc as a possible issue draging brakes or other similar thing but i suspect your fuel is the main issue. the mandated blending of ethonal sp hurts mileage you burn the same amount of gasoline per mile however so it doesnt imho help any on pollution. yes it still performs properly. no dragging brakes or inlaws. its not empty but maybe 50lbs in the back. what is a tcc and can the o2 sensors be changed in my driveway or do i need to take it in lou the tcc is the torque converter clutch in the transmission. the o2 sensor can be changed in the driveway takes a 7/8 wrench some penetrating oil and a lot of patience. they do make special sockets to remove them but ive found that if i can get a good 6 point combination wrench on the thing ive had better luck getting them out. -- chris .
From : christopher d thompson
on fri 23 may 2008 064015 -0700 fmb wrote personally i would suspect youd see a code of the o2 sensors were off but that could be the problem. the o2 sensors are in the exhaust system one in front and one behind the cat typically--not sure about your truck it may have four with two cats. i had an older dakota that dropped milage like that without throwing codes. someone suggested the o2 sensor which i changed out and i got my milage back. fmb north mexico ** posted from http//www.tera.com ** exactly the upstream o2 sensor the ones closest to the engine has everything to do with fuel management. it is what tells the computer too much or too little in regard to what amount of fuel its putting in the engine while its running. the sensor reading could be off and the computer would have no way to tell. the only thing the computer can tell about the o2 sensor is whether or not it is switching rich/lean as it should. and that is what the computer watches for in order to set or throw a code. the catalyst is a muffler like device in the exhaust pipe. what i mean by that is the shape is similar to a muffler. you will find it between the muffler and the engine. this is not a part that most could replace on their own as the removal usually involves the use of a torch. -- chris .
From : lou
on may 23 826 am peterd pet...@hipson.net wrote on fri 23 may 2008 040700 -0700 pdt lou loup...@hotmail.com wrote and havent driven like a maniac in 20 years. lou you *really* expect us to believe that the new blends of piss and gasoline will reduce your mileage some as well. i think you are underestimating the loss due to the topper but i could be wrong on that since i cant see it. does it seem to perform properly still i could see a failure to lock the tcc as a possible issue draging brakes or other similar thing but i suspect your fuel is the main issue. the mandated blending of ethonal sp hurts mileage you burn the same amount of gasoline per mile however so it doesnt imho help any on pollution. yes it still performs properly. no dragging brakes or inlaws. its not empty but maybe 50lbs in the back. what is a tcc and can the o2 sensors be changed in my driveway or do i need to take it in lou .
From : fmb
on fri 23 may 2008 050718 -0700 pdt lou loupark@hotmail.com wrote on may 23 651 am christopher d. thompson nos...@nospam.nospam wrote on fri 23 may 2008 040700 -0700 lou wrote i have a 97 dodge 1500 with a 5.9 under the hood. when i bought it 11 years ago it got 17 mpg. now im seeing 10 mpg. i know that the topper robs me of 1-2 mpg but can anyone tell me where the other 5 went i keep it tuned oiled and havent driven like a maniac in 20 years. lou just a stab but maybe the o2 sensors are going south also its a 97 so its 11 years old maybe the catalyst is plugging up tires inflated to 35 psi or what ever the door asks for on the tire info placard using e85 fuel i understand many see a drop when they switch to e85 over regular petrol. could be other things could be a lot of things. -- chris dont use e85 but there is ethenol in the fuel. tires have more than half life left and are inflated. dont know where to look for o2 sensors or catalyst. lou personally i would suspect youd see a code of the o2 sensors were off but that could be the problem. the o2 sensors are in the exhaust system one in front and one behind the cat typically--not sure about your truck it may have four with two cats. i had an older dakota that dropped milage like that without throwing codes. someone suggested the o2 sensor which i changed out and i got my milage back. fmb north mexico ** posted from http//www.tera.com ** .
From : peterd
on fri 23 may 2008 050718 -0700 pdt lou loupark@hotmail.com wrote on may 23 651 am christopher d. thompson nos...@nospam.nospam wrote on fri 23 may 2008 040700 -0700 lou wrote i have a 97 dodge 1500 with a 5.9 under the hood. when i bought it 11 years ago it got 17 mpg. now im seeing 10 mpg. i know that the topper robs me of 1-2 mpg but can anyone tell me where the other 5 went i keep it tuned oiled and havent driven like a maniac in 20 years. lou just a stab but maybe the o2 sensors are going south also its a 97 so its 11 years old maybe the catalyst is plugging up tires inflated to 35 psi or what ever the door asks for on the tire info placard using e85 fuel i understand many see a drop when they switch to e85 over regular petrol. could be other things could be a lot of things. -- chris dont use e85 but there is ethenol in the fuel. tires have more than half life left and are inflated. dont know where to look for o2 sensors or catalyst. lou personally i would suspect youd see a code of the o2 sensors were off but that could be the problem. the o2 sensors are in the exhaust system one in front and one behind the cat typically--not sure about your truck it may have four with two cats. .
From : peterd
on fri 23 may 2008 040700 -0700 pdt lou loupark@hotmail.com wrote and havent driven like a maniac in 20 years. lou you *really* expect us to believe that the new blends of piss and gasoline will reduce your mileage some as well. i think you are underestimating the loss due to the topper but i could be wrong on that since i cant see it. does it seem to perform properly still i could see a failure to lock the tcc as a possible issue draging brakes or other similar thing but i suspect your fuel is the main issue. the mandated blending of ethonal sp hurts mileage you burn the same amount of gasoline per mile however so it doesnt imho help any on pollution. .
From : lou
on may 23 651 am christopher d. thompson nos...@nospam.nospam wrote on fri 23 may 2008 040700 -0700 lou wrote i have a 97 dodge 1500 with a 5.9 under the hood. when i bought it 11 years ago it got 17 mpg. now im seeing 10 mpg. i know that the topper robs me of 1-2 mpg but can anyone tell me where the other 5 went i keep it tuned oiled and havent driven like a maniac in 20 years. lou just a stab but maybe the o2 sensors are going south also its a 97 so its 11 years old maybe the catalyst is plugging up tires inflated to 35 psi or what ever the door asks for on the tire info placard using e85 fuel i understand many see a drop when they switch to e85 over regular petrol. could be other things could be a lot of things. -- chris dont use e85 but there is ethenol in the fuel. tires have more than half life left and are inflated. dont know where to look for o2 sensors or catalyst. lou .
From : christopher d thompson
on fri 23 may 2008 040700 -0700 lou wrote i have a 97 dodge 1500 with a 5.9 under the hood. when i bought it 11 years ago it got 17 mpg. now im seeing 10 mpg. i know that the topper robs me of 1-2 mpg but can anyone tell me where the other 5 went i keep it tuned oiled and havent driven like a maniac in 20 years. lou just a stab but maybe the o2 sensors are going south also its a 97 so its 11 years old maybe the catalyst is plugging up tires inflated to 35 psi or what ever the door asks for on the tire info placard using e85 fuel i understand many see a drop when they switch to e85 over regular petrol. could be other things could be a lot of things. -- chris .
From : lou
ok guys ive had a chance to crawl under there and find the o2 sensors. while under there i see that the entire muffler is split. its not noisy but i might as well change it. i cant remember the last time i had the catalyst changed if ever so i might as well replace that with the o2 sensors on both sides. thanks for all the advice. lou .