Bad Fuel Economy on my Mums FORD EL, slowing down going DOWNHILL?? assistance plz
hi there guys rather than switch to a ford forum, ide rather ask here. my parents own a FORD EL, which we have recently put gas on. its a 70L tank and we are only getting 300km per tank. my vr calais on gas gives us ~340km per 70 tank. my vy 450 per tank
i was driving this car on the freeway more specifically the west gate bridge./ going city bound coming down the bridge my vy and the vr speed up to over 100km per hour with the 80km speed limit, the car picks up speed.
the EL was slowing down! going down hill? I was tripping out, clearly there is some resistance somewhere
the transmission is way over its service-could this be a restrictive factor?? the spark plugs i dont believe have been changed for over 40+000kms. i will be getting the tranny service done next week, and will be changing the plugs very very shortly.
What could be reasons for a car slowing down going DOWNHILL? is it possible the break pads are on backwards or touching the rotors? Maybe the diff needs oil and is dry and needs something done? bad bearings?
or is it because its a ford?
ps. i will get mechanic to do a tranny service and at the same time check out whats happening, but i wanted to get some ideas here so i can tell him to check 'what im told here' out.
Cheers
TJ!
btw tyres are fine, brand new nearly pumped to 35psi, reccomended is 33. i pump them up slightly more so they roll a bit better considering the poor economy.
Blues Brother # 1
Yes its a ford that why lol
Just joking mate, Is there any difference performance wise ?
If a brake pad is jammed on, go for a quick drive, and then go around to each wheel and see if theres any excessive heat. My dads VS had a calliper lock on and it was a bit down on power, would not roll down hills at all. then we stopped and the disc was glowing lol. woops
Also just try going down the hill in Neutral, if it still slows down then we know more to solve the issue here.
I would be starting with the basics first regarding the economy issues:
* Oil & Filter change (Air, Fuel, Oil,)
* Run some Injector & Valve cleaners through made a huge difference to my VS after it had been sitting for a couple of years and got fairly clogged/gunked up
* Replace Spark Plugs & Leads
leads and plugs ill be doing next week, tranny service next week. since its on gas now though the injector cleaner isnt as important. i think its something more sinister than dirty injectors.Originally Posted by someguy360
look performance isnt the key, its the terrible bloody economy. my mums 46 lol. im going to check the break pad sticking idea.
hrmmm ill try that out tonight, the car doesnt sway from side to side, but you know what, ill try out putting it in neutral that way i can exclude the transmission out of this, good thinking.
Tree cutter
It probably had new sparkplugs put in when the gas was fitted because you normally run colder plugs with gas. I would go with the seized caliper theory.
nah mate, plugs where left as is. i just changed them today with NGK's, so whats been done from today is leads,plugs,oil,filter--- next couple of days=tranny service by either myself, or i will take it in for it to be done, and ill get the mechanics to have a geeze at a few possibilties, how often does a diff need oil in it? could it be its dry or something or needs topping up so it rolls, what about bearings of sorts? im not to familiar with the wheel system, basically could anything that is involved in the wheel and tyre system be causing resistance?
BTW im supplying the tranny kit to a service centre ive been qoutes 165 for a tranny flush... is this to cheap or ok? he'll be using TQ-95 (i made it clear over the phone that i could change the pan oil easily, but what i want is a flush of the torque convertor, and said if its not gonna be a flush, tell me so, he confirmed itll be a flush,)
is this the going rate?
Blues Brother # 1
No THats about the right price mate
I paid 220$ at holden the other day for flush & Filter, not just a new filter like most do
if you dont know if the diff fluid has been b4 then you should do it, i just changed an ef's diff fluid today and it was a poo brown color and car has 185,000km's
"A life lived in fear is a life half lived"
hasnt been touched 100% sure, though ive been reading that sometimes diff oil dnt need2b changed?
im gonna get the guys 2 check o2 sensors
Last edited by Go_Slow; 13-03-2011 at 10:45 AM.
BTW, You know the brake fluid resevoir, what is that plastic part for just under the cap (black, has the two ribbed circles). Basically, the part thats ribbed, one side was FULLY pulled out it was like a cone, while the other side was ok. I didnt bleed the brakes (takes too long urrggh) , but I took out the old fluid with an old syringe and added new DOT4. Hopefully that's ok...
found out, all is well
Last edited by Go_Slow; 15-03-2011 at 09:29 PM. Reason: missing info
Almost not here!
Is the car still slowing down going down hill if you slip it into "N" for a bit? that should tell you if it's tranny related or something to do with the rolling chasis. Brakes/calipers, wheel bearings or hand brake not releasing all the way.
White 05 V6 VZ Executive - Thrashed Ex Telstra car
and 3 Dangerous non ABS VN's
Yo man no its not, once its in N it doesnt speed up, but it certainly doesnt slow down. I will try it again my area isnt very Hilly, so once I go somewhere and I got the chance to go down a steep hill Ill neutral it.
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