MPG now it's getting a bit chilly

J

John Skittles

New Member
I scraped approx 160 miles out of 50 litres of petrol this month. That puts me somewhere in the 14-15 mpg bracket. Ouch!

Admittedly, that's from a (very) cold start and then a 6 mile journey to work in traffic, but the numbers still hurt.

Is anyone else getting comparable figures to make me feel better, or do I have an unusually thirsty motor. At the MOT in October, I was told it's running at little on the lean side.

John
 
Probably about right in those sorts of driving conditions, for a V8 anyway. A bit thirsty for a 4-cyl though. Its not an auto is it?
 
John Skittles said:
Nope, not an auto. Standard 4spd.

I'd also expect to see a v8 running those figures, not a 4 pot. Hence my furrowed brow ??? .
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You have a big problem. My 2200 auto is not over good on the MPG but even that does 21mpg.

A good running 2000 manual can easily be persuaded to do around 30mpg. A 1971 2000 I had could manage 32 on a long trip, driven fairly lightly.

Cheers
Nick
 
I can safely say my 2000 has never been driven carefully in 12 years, and has always given at least mid to high 20s.

Its not a fuel leak somewhere is it?
 
There's certainly no evidence of a leak in the engine bay (no odours either), and I've not been able to see anything dripping anywhere underneath.

I can frequently smell petrol in the cabin though. Time to pay this a bit more attention methinks.
 
Not wanting to scare you but I would check the oil.

I had a seal go on the fuel pump and ended up with a sump full of petrol. This can thin the oil and not somthing that you want to happen for to long.

You may also have a sticky choke.

I would dip the oil and smell and feel for petrol. Also take out the plugs and check them out.

Could just be the carb needing adjustment.


Colin
 
With your long list of things to check ,add the thermostat ,If the engine's running cool it will drink fuel
Dave
 
John Skittles said:
I can frequently smell petrol in the cabin though. Time to pay this a bit more attention methinks.
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We have this in the 2200 & V8 when the tanks are filled over a certain level. It's worse when the windows are open. I'm expecting the breather pipes to be the culprits but haven't investigated further than looking for visible leaks yet. :;):
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Are these the breather pipes that I've read run somewhere up the rear panels? Certainly, the smell is worse with the windows open.

Engine running cool? Hadn't really given it much thought, but it is struggling to get up to temperature in this weather. I noticed at the weekend that once I got up to 50-60'ish in the cold, the running temp. dropped significantly. Got a bit twitchy until I was able to pull over and check everything was OK.

Fuel pump seal? Don't like the sound of that. I'll check the oil tonight. I'm fairly comfortable that the carbs and choke are set up and functioning OK. That's the reason I've been a bit puzzled really.

Thanks for the opinions - John
 
John Skittles said:
Are these the breather pipes that I've read run somewhere up the rear panels? Certainly, the smell is worse with the windows open.
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Yes! They run from the tank, behind the roof pillar trims & exit behind the rear wings I think, so the wings have to be removed to check them properly. There is a previous thread about it somewhere.
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hi,
early cars exit out on the n/s rear wing, but later cars go back inside the car and exit near the tank down through the floor.

ianp6man
 
Finally checked the oil and no taint of petrol in there. Phew.

Also, I finally managed to get into the garage and use the air pump for the first time in about 2 months (and I really know that I need to check my pressures every week as they are prone to a little pressure loss) and found my f/n/s tyre was down to 11 psi! Contributory factor to low mpg? Oh yes. Stupid Skittles.

Icing on the cake, condenser (probably) packed up on the way home last night. Didn't have a spare with me and had to wait 1 1/2 hrs for the rescue guy to turn up and take me home. Roll on the weekend.
 
John have a run down to halfords, I managed to get a compressor that runs of ciggy lighter there, with built in digital gauge for £22. as its all automatic you just plug it into giggy lighter, set the pressure conect to the tyre, and flick a switch, retire to somewhere warm, it inflates the tyre and turns its self off :D none of that old working up a sweat, twisting your ankle problem of old :D
 
hi i have a series2 2200 tc which i parked up in the garage at the end of september 05 and recently went to start it to blow out the cobwebs and when it started found that one carb is leaking fuel from the side where i believe the fuel overflow is.has anyone else had this problem and if so can they tell me what might be the problem.thanks hermy
 
Hi,
I had exactly the same problem with my Mini - you will find that it is a sticking needle valve, I managed to cure it by removing the fuel inlet and blowing through with an airline. Hope this helps.
 
...either that or the float is stuck in the chamber.

My fuel problems turned out to be more serious than expected. Vac. leak on the rear carb and a burnt out valve on no. 2 that finally made itself apparent by nasty rattly noises and appalling running. Bother!
 
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