Heavy Drinker?

Matt-Page · 25 Feb 2006 at 15:32

My Ford Orion seems to be drinking fuel like a Jag. See the cars spec

Ford Orion Encore
Reg - J
Miles - 38k (Genuine)
Engine - 1.6

Mileage:
£30 -£35 to fill her up will get me around 200 miles.

Is this right? Surely not, if not what could be wrong? The car was my Nans before i had it hence the low mileage. It sat still for about 2 years untouched and then i have started using it, and have been for about 3 months, any ideas?

Bear · 25 Feb 2006 at 15:37

Thats what roughly 24mpg ?? Not good for a 1.6 what sort of driving are you doing ??

ajgoodfellow · 25 Feb 2006 at 15:39

Working that out in MPG assuming a price of 90p per litre:

£30 gives you £30/0.9 litres (33.33litres)

This gives (30/0.9)/4.54 gallons (7.34 gallons)

200 miles with 7.34 gallons of fuel gives a consumption of 27.24mpg

This is high but not hugely high for an old 1.6 litre engine. If it's mainly urban driving then this could expain it

Matt-Page · 25 Feb 2006 at 15:42

My typical drive is about 11 mils, but 50% of it is dual carrigeway, but of course not going over 60mph

Seriously though i dont hammer it.

Another problem, if/when i put my foot down, the car steadily accelerates up to about 3-4k then it suddenly accelerates faster, is it meant to do that? No it's not injection, completely standard

Matt82 · 25 Feb 2006 at 15:43

id guess it would benefit from a good carb cleaner and new engine and gearbox oil.

tyre pressures correct?

Matt-Page · 25 Feb 2006 at 15:45

Matt82 said:
id guess it would benefit from a good carb cleaner and new engine and gearbox oil.

tyre pressures correct?

Could do with a good clean out, does that get done with a full service?

Matt82 · 25 Feb 2006 at 15:59

what is a "full service"? who is carrying it out?

a full service could be emptying the ashtrays to one bloke and rebuilding the engine to the next. it can be a mine field out there.

i would buy a carb/injector cleaner from a company like Millers, they do not tend to BS.

a local Forumla One or Pit Stop garage can do engine oil changes for about £13.

maybe you could ask them about gearbox oil too

Matt-Page · 25 Feb 2006 at 16:22

Any iideas on the lag in acceleration im getting, or is that normal ?

Matt82 · 25 Feb 2006 at 16:30

do you put your foot down and then it falters/hesitates, and then accelerates?

Matt-Page · 25 Feb 2006 at 16:33

Yes Exactly...

Matt82 · 25 Feb 2006 at 16:35

that would sound like the mixture (air/fuel) is wrong. they can basically end up becoming unadjusted.

that hesitation would seem to be too lean, which is a possible explanation why youre not getting good economy.

an MOT station should be able to reset/adjust your carb for you, but i cant comment on carbs as ive not mucked about with them in the past

Matt-Page · 25 Feb 2006 at 16:38

Ta very much my man!

needmorespeed · 25 Feb 2006 at 17:01

is it a twin choke carb my sierra had a twin choke carb and the second choke didn't open untill 3.5k rpm which would give a boost in acceleration

Dogbreath · 25 Feb 2006 at 17:02

From memory, the 1.6CVH may have a vacuum operated secondary choke. These can stick and cause problems.

FeFiDoh · 25 Feb 2006 at 17:17

if its running lean look on the carb for a mixture screw

Matt82 · 25 Feb 2006 at 17:34

oh yes... it really will be as simple as that

Scania · 25 Feb 2006 at 17:44

Matt-Page said:
Mileage:
£30 -£35 to fill her up will get me around 200 miles.

£30 gives me about a third of a tank!

However, your getting roughly the same to the gallon as I do with my 728i BMW!

A good service, including fuel & air filters plus plugs and a tune up should see 5 more mpg easily I'd have thought.