Wasn't sure where to post this so here goes. Recently aquired a 94 Merc Tracer 1.9l. Hate the car. Gutless wonder. Hit up this site to learn about 1.9l performance. Lot's of great information, thanks! Recently removed air box silencer from filter box. Within one day I filled up the tank (E10 this time). Since then my mpg have dropped off about 5 mpg. I did notice a suprisingly significant difference in performance with just removing that silencer but am not driving any differently than before. Anybody have any similar problems so I don't have to spend a lot of time tracking down the problem? I'm capable of finding out what is going on but like to research similar issues before I start.
94 Merc Tracer sudden loss of mpg
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Might just be the ethanol blended fuel. Mine has been off because of the stupid ethanol. I work at my local AutoZone and we recently have had people come in with CELs on. I check there code and it shows an O2 sensor condition. We usually have an injector cleaner on sell so I recommend them run a bottle through before replacing the sensor and have had a few come back saying the code went away and they're mileage came back up some.
One of the managers at another store worked for a nascar team that had texaco as a sponsor. He had to do testing on different injector cleaners and they found out that the cleaners helped keep the O2 sensors clean, because the ethanol blend fuel cause a film build-up to form on them. He recommends to his customers to run a cleaner once the month or twice the month if the person is on the road all the time.
HTH
Patrick
One of the managers at another store worked for a nascar team that had texaco as a sponsor. He had to do testing on different injector cleaners and they found out that the cleaners helped keep the O2 sensors clean, because the ethanol blend fuel cause a film build-up to form on them. He recommends to his customers to run a cleaner once the month or twice the month if the person is on the road all the time.
HTH
Patrick
Thank you all for your help so far. I did spin the wheels the other day. Both front wheel seem tight to me but neither was tighter than the other. I check that the caliper slid easily back and forth and also the piston seems to move okay. I wonder if the drag is normal? I don't know about whether or not the sensor is original. It's quite possible. I'll look into getting a new one soon. I've run a professional grade injector cleaner through the injectors (run the car off of it with a pressurized canistor) with no significant benefits to date. I do believe the stupid ethenol blend is partly responsible. Also, just yesterday found that the number 4 exhaust lifter had a flat roller. I replaced it with new and the engine suddenly got quieter. BIG SUPRISE right!!? Still, it idles awful, hunts about 50 rpm and shakes the whole damn car. Next weekend I'll check the other lifters for flat spots. The motor came out of the junkyard with about 115k on it. The original dropped a valve seat. I'm working on a turbo set up for it and don't want the motor to blow before I get to boost the hell out of it. I'm curious to see what'll go first. The engine or the 4EAT trans.
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