BOMBdig
CEG'er
would tire pressure really make a substantial difference?
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why am I getting terrible gas mileage?
- Thread starter BOMBdig
- Start date
would tire pressure really make a substantial difference?
Dyoel182
Addicted CEG'er
A few percent. Not as big as doing a tune up or having a functional emissions system.
its extremely rare for the cat and/or EGR to fail on a zetec, in fact I dont think I have ever seen a Zetec car throw a code for the Exhaust system before that wasnt because of a driver upgrade.
even so, it just doesn't make sense, the last thing I can think of is that the rear e-brake cables are dragging, of course, with that low of gas mileage, it would be a noticeable thing, but I could be wrong.
BOMBdig
CEG'er
how do i check if the they are dragging?
zorrex
Enjoys the Abuse
Well now that you mention it, when ctmystique and I swapped out the rear shoes, the drums were quite a tight fit...I'm wondering if maybe we didn't adjust the shoes right and it could still be dragging. Definitely gotta jack it up and spin that wheel! :shocked:
Dyoel182
Addicted CEG'er
Like he said you spin the wheel with the handbrake off and listen for noise. Technically they should self-adjust and not be dragging but it doesnt take long to check and cross it off the list.
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BOMBdig
CEG'er
ok so i checked the rear brakes on the car today and it seems like there is a problem there. I'm not sure if it has to do with the e brake dragging but when the wheel turns there is a consistent scraping-like sound that causes the wheel a little resistance. I spun the wheel and after barely touching the brake the wheel stopped. is there any significance in that? it could be that the adjuster is too tight i'm not sure. let me know what you think seeing as i know nothing :help:
It's natural to have a little drag on the rotor from the pad, and because the weight of the wheel isn't overly significant, it may stop sooner than you expect when you're spinning it without the weight of the car. However, if it seems that it's binding up, y'all might want to look at regreasing that slider pin.
zetecs have rear drum brakes. alittle drag is normal. do you use your parking brake? if not have you recently for some reason?
striker2
Official CEG Vendor
Someone needs to read :laugh: she has rear drums, not discs
still, a little drag is considered normal. it keeps you from having to press the brake pedal really far before they start to actually brake the car.
edit: dang, BrApple beat me to it.
zorrex
Enjoys the Abuse
OK well then that rules that possibility out. I could definitely hear a tiny bit of drag on the top side of the drum (I had no time to disassemble the brakes), and it would visibly slow down the wheel, but not bad at all.
Someone needs to read :laugh: she has rear drums, not discs
still, a little drag is considered normal. it keeps you from having to press the brake pedal really far before they start to actually brake the car.
edit: dang, BrApple beat me to it.
This reading thing is new to me. I'll hammer it out yet. Had my head in SVT land when I answered that question, that's for sure. :laugh:
However, if you do find a slider pin back there, that would definitely be a problem.
zorrex
Enjoys the Abuse
The noise occurs on a consistent interval, but isn't ALWAYS occurring, meaning that it is not always dragging.
Dyoel182
Addicted CEG'er
Interval meaning one spot per rotation or every few minutes driving down the road?
BOMBdig
CEG'er
one spot per rotation.
striker2
Official CEG Vendor
most places will consider that normal but it does indicate that you may have a slightly warped drum. its not going to cause a drop gas mileage though.
DDV
CEG'er
As I've found out on my CSVT, faulty wires or plugs do not throw a CEL. If possible, hook it up to a computer to see what's going on.
If it's not possible, I'd take a close look at the plugs to make sure they're gapped correctly and that they're not arcing to ground. Take a look inside the spark plug boot (the plug end of the wire) and look for carbon streaks, which might also be evident on the spark plugs themselves.
If you see carbon streaks, clean the plugs using alcohol and be sure that the threads are clean too. If you used anti-seize compound, use it very sparingly. I've found that it can "squeeze out" and cause shorts. I simply put a small dab on the threads and wipe it around, making sure it's ONLY on the threads. Clean up any excess with alcohol and let dry before installing.
Good luck