turkey_club Posted February 15, 2010 Report Share Posted February 15, 2010 Here's the Skinny... 1997 L67 142xxx mi owned since 139xxx (Labor Day) Off road November-4 Feb HWY avg...26-28mpg Mixed (70c/30h) <16mpg WTF is going on Here yall?!?!?!? Additional Info: I drive about 10 miles a day between going to class and work (on campus). Between last Feb 4 and Feb 12 I used up 7/8 of a tank with only 190mi of driving.I use Shell VPowah and drive fairly conservatively. I'm thinking it might just need a tuneup and an oil change cuz there is no SES. Also I have always smelled a slight burnt oil scent after driving but I never thought it was anything serious. Any suggestions to what my problem might be.. Driving cold? Tune Up? Oil Change? Should I open it up more? Fuel Leak? (Sure Hope not) Help Please!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobertISaar Posted February 15, 2010 Report Share Posted February 15, 2010 I have always smelled a slight burnt oil scent after driving but I never thought it was anything serious. do you live near water? it's probably unrelated, but unless you like the possibility of your car becoming a mobile BBQ pit, get the recall done. short trips, especially in city, during the winter, is horrible on fuel economy. also: fuel level guages aren't all that accurate, so unless you were able to push in 7/8 tank of fuel, don't assume that it was 7/8 tank burned. assuming an 18 gallon tank, if you did go through 7/8 tank, that would be 12MPG.... if you like to let the engine warm up quite a bit before driving, that alone could bring it down substantially... EDIT: if your 70%city/30%highway economy number is right, then 12MPG isn't that farfetched.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turkey_club Posted February 15, 2010 Author Report Share Posted February 15, 2010 I have always smelled a slight burnt oil scent after driving but I never thought it was anything serious. do you live near water? it's probably unrelated, but unless you like the possibility of your car becoming a mobile BBQ pit, get the recall done. short trips, especially in city, during the winter, is horrible on fuel economy. also: fuel level guages aren't all that accurate, so unless you were able to push in 7/8 tank of fuel, don't assume that it was 7/8 tank burned. assuming an 18 gallon tank, if you did go through 7/8 tank, that would be 12MPG.... if you like to let the engine warm up quite a bit before driving, that alone could bring it down substantially... EDIT: if your 70%city/30%highway economy number is right, then 12MPG isn't that farfetched.. Is there a way I can check and see if my car had "the recall" done? And I'm assuming by "recall" you mean the IM. Also, It actually only used 12.6gallons but the readout number on the DIC was very optimistic. It was not this bad at first but has been getting worse over time...Maybe its something simple like an air filter?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobertISaar Posted February 15, 2010 Report Share Posted February 15, 2010 well, 190 miles and 12.6 gallons is 15MPG... by recall, i mean the channels or whatever it is that are installed to keep oil off of the exhaust manifolds... it's only been in effect for a few months. it could be something as simple as an air filter... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penglii Posted February 15, 2010 Report Share Posted February 15, 2010 by recall, i mean the channels or whatever it is that are installed to keep oil off of the exhaust manifolds... it's only been in effect for a few months. Do you have more info on this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cubsfan24 Posted February 15, 2010 Report Share Posted February 15, 2010 Do you have more info on this? http://www.autoblog.com/2009/04/13/gm-to-recall-1-4-million-passenger-cars-over-potential-engine-fi/ This is so sad cause I see many 3800 BBQ's in the junk yard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turkey_club Posted February 15, 2010 Author Report Share Posted February 15, 2010 well, 190 miles and 12.6 gallons is 15MPG... by recall, i mean the channels or whatever it is that are installed to keep oil off of the exhaust manifolds... it's only been in effect for a few months. it could be something as simple as an air filter... Most of the articles online say that the recall is just for the L36. Is that true. And in any case I think I am going to go buy an air filter on wednesday. Anyone have any suggestions. OEM? FRAM ( )? K&N (I have heard really bad reviews about these though)? others? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhatTheFehl Posted February 15, 2010 Report Share Posted February 15, 2010 I'd say go with a Hastings or a Wix unless you want to upgrade to a CAI Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penglii Posted February 15, 2010 Report Share Posted February 15, 2010 Do you have more info on this? http://www.autoblog.com/2009/04/13/gm-to-recall-1-4-million-passenger-cars-over-potential-engine-fi/ This is so sad cause I see many 3800 BBQ's in the junk yard. Ahhh, yes... THAT issue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobertISaar Posted February 15, 2010 Report Share Posted February 15, 2010 3800 series 2, supercharged or not, are prone to engine fires. this is due to GM being cheap(SURPRISE) where they shouldn't have been... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Posted February 16, 2010 Report Share Posted February 16, 2010 thats about the mileage #'s i get, and i drive with a fairly heavy foot. hwy can be higher if you set the CC at 60 and are on completely flat land. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mach 5 Posted February 16, 2010 Report Share Posted February 16, 2010 do the valve cover gaskets as that recall basically only removes the front wire retainer clip and we install 2 new clips in its place. Maybe you have a bad coil or something. i would do a tuneup maybe run some Lucas injector cleaner through it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xtremerevolution Posted February 16, 2010 Report Share Posted February 16, 2010 That number sounds about right. I'm having an extremely hard time getting better than 16mpg on my Bonneville with mostly city driving in the winter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regal_GS_1989 Posted February 16, 2010 Report Share Posted February 16, 2010 do the valve cover gaskets x2 I have not taken my car to get the recall done simply because of their fix. The way I see it, my engine is squeaky clean and doesn't leak a drop of anything, so no risk of a fire from that. And should the valve covers ever start leaking, then i'd be fixing the issue properly, rather then just removing the plastic retainer. Now, Winter MPG is affected by the Fuel, Ambient temperature, the engine temperature and warm up time (both idling and driving) on top of the usual stuff like the way you drive, Hwy vs City, tire pressure etc...First is the fuel....That has a fairly drastic effect on MPG, regardless of everything else. For me, I usually average between 28 - 30 MPG in all around driving in the summer and into the Fall. I can tell as soon as the winter blend fuel hits because I drop down instantly to about 25-27 MPG. Winter blended fuel is everywhere in the winter, not just in places that get below freezing or get snow. Once the cold weather hits, now I average between 21 - 25 MPG in all around driving. This is because I usually idle my car for around 5 - 10 Minutes before leaving for work, and before leaving work everyday. Plus the colder the ambient temperature, the longer it takes the car to warm up, therefor, it is running richer for longer as the car stays in open loop for much longer. This is all on a vehicle that is well maintained and gets good fuel mileage in warm weather.The Thermostat is good, and the tires are always inflated properly. How is the heat in the car? Does the temperature gauge hit the normal range, or at the very least, get fairly close to it? If that is good, then the next thing to check would be the air filter, plugs, wires, fuel filter etc.... Basically, anything Tune-Up related. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turkey_club Posted February 22, 2010 Author Report Share Posted February 22, 2010 Thanks for the suggestions guys Did a mileage figure today and it came out to 14.5...ouch! My good ole DIC tried to make me happy by putting up a 15.0. I took it into the local dealership the other day and had them look at it. The guy suggested that I get a new air filter, a new fuel filter and get my injectors cleaned. So I put a new air filter in the next day and ran some injector cleaner through starting today. I'm going to let him change my fuel filter some time next week. Also gonna get an oil change since its time for that anyway. Also, he said that the oil leak is coming from the valve gasket cover which he said would be a $900 fix ( ). I dont believe it would be that much bc I had to do it on my Probe and was able to do at least the front in an hour. He mentioned that my wires and plugs are in great condition and should last me until close to 200k. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Night Fury Posted February 22, 2010 Report Share Posted February 22, 2010 NINE HUNDRED DOLLARS?!?! HOLY HELL! God! Do 'em yourself and spend less than $30! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Posted February 22, 2010 Report Share Posted February 22, 2010 Also, he said that the oil leak is coming from the valve gasket cover which he said would be a $900 fix ( ). stop going to this guy. $900 is beyond ass rape. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobertISaar Posted February 22, 2010 Report Share Posted February 22, 2010 Also, he said that the oil leak is coming from the valve gasket cover which he said would be a $900 fix ( ). stop going to this guy. $900 is beyond ass rape. double assrape? lemon party? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhatTheFehl Posted February 22, 2010 Report Share Posted February 22, 2010 Also, he said that the oil leak is coming from the valve gasket cover which he said would be a $900 fix ( ). stop going to this guy. $900 is beyond ass rape. lemon party? AHHH! IT BURNS!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobertISaar Posted February 22, 2010 Report Share Posted February 22, 2010 lemon party? AHHH! IT BURNS!!! WHY DID YOU LOOK? YOU SHOULD KNOW BY NOW! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhatTheFehl Posted February 22, 2010 Report Share Posted February 22, 2010 lemon party? AHHH! IT BURNS!!! WHY DID YOU LOOK? YOU SHOULD KNOW BY NOW! I do... I looked a long long LONG time ago... it was a repressed memory you brought back. Jerk. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobertISaar Posted February 22, 2010 Report Share Posted February 22, 2010 lemon party? AHHH! IT BURNS!!! WHY DID YOU LOOK? YOU SHOULD KNOW BY NOW! I do... I looked a long long LONG time ago... it was a repressed memory you brought back. Jerk. ORLY??? touch my wii have fun with that one Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turkey_club Posted February 25, 2010 Author Report Share Posted February 25, 2010 Wellll...put some injector cleaner in and a new air filter and its at least is staying in the 15.5 mpg as far as the readout is concerned....Hopefully this fuel filter will get me at least close to 17! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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