vs ute, couple issues
ok i've had my ute a couple months now and put 5k on the clock, she's in great condition and goes really well, has always been looked after.
when i drive around town in 3rd (it's an auto) and i go down a hill the revs come up and drop off and keep doing that and sometimes on the flat as well. it seems a bit strange.
the car is using a little too much fuel but i'm addressing that.
i run 95 / 98 octane.
i'm thinking idle air controller or tps sensor?
no error codes have been logged and it doesn't break down on me!
often i can smell fuel from in the cabin and i'm thinking the breather hoses around the fuel tank might be stuffed.. do i need to rip that access plate off in the tray to check under there? means ripping off the roll bars and tub liner first ....
where in the engine bay are the other breather hoses that i should check?
otherwise she's been great and goes a treat
Hope its just me thinking this but could it be your trans slipping which i hear is not too good as usually it follows with a expensive recon?
I've read on here about a lot of people having trouble with the utes and the petrol fumes .Im not sure if theres a fix for it.Try a search about it on here,there might be someone who has fixed it..As for the fuel usage,make sure you keep new filters up to it.(air and fuel) .I always use the 98 octane fuel,you get less at the bowser,but go further on that than you would on the normal watered down 91 octane rubbish.And run some injector cleaner through the fuel system once a month.It makes a difference.I just use wynns injector cleaner,about $10 a bottle.Also I found that when I first serviced my transmission(auto)that it made a bit of difference to the fuel economy . It might only make a difference if the trans has not been serviced in a while though.
Donating Member
The revs dropping on a trailing throttle in 3rd or D is normal...I'm not sure what exactly causes it but it is designed to do that. Maybe it's the TCC unlocking or the one way clutch somewhere in the bowels of the transmission. You will get better economy around town or cruising if use D and not 3rd. The lower the revs, the better the fuel economy.
Everyone has their own opinion and I would never recommend anyone doing as I do but I always use the cheapest fuel and have never had a problem. I've tried the expensive stuff and found no apparent difference. I've only ever used injector cleaner once for no other reason than to see what it did and noticed no difference. That's over 6 years and 140,000km.
I also use the cheapest oil....yes, I've even used Black and Gold and at 220,000km the car still uses no oil between changes.
Like I say, it's only my opinion....probably biased as we have 7 kids and more than a dozen grandkids so we've always had to watch the pennies.
Using cheap fuel shouldn't cause any problems.I just find that using cheap fuel ,it uses more.Higher octane fuels burn more efficiently.Which means less fuel is used to make the same amount of power.Most people think that because they get more of the cheap fuel for their money at the bowser,that they will go further on it.But it uses more to do the same job as the dearer stuff.Nowdays with full engine management,it constantly adjusts the ignition timing to make better use the high octane fuel .It can advance the timing further(which means more power,better economy) without pre-detonation(pinging or knocking) occuring when running on higher octane fuel.If you just use it once,you arent gonna notice much difference(although mine definitely runs better on 98 octane(VS,V6).The savings are made over time .Overseas, they get BP ultimate thats 101 octane.There were certain subaru wrx's that couldnt be sold in Australia because the fuel we get here didn't have a high enough octane rating for the compression ratio of the engine.The higher the octane rating,the more tighter the fuel /air mix can be squeezed inside the motor without pinging.It was the same years ago,you could get super(98 octane) or standard(89) octane.The standard fuel was used for the low compression engines that were available at the time from ford, holden etc.When you put standard fuel into an engine thats was made for super,it would rattle and ping its head off when under power.It would sound like a tin can full of marbles being shaken.
But ultimately it all comes down to personal choice.
Last edited by Brett_jjj; 21-12-2009 at 04:11 PM.
The good old premium Vs regular fuel debate... have a read of this... premium fuel - money down the drain - RACV
Na, no need to read about it,I can tell by my right foot,my fuel gauge and wallet.And its probably written by someone that cant drive out of sight on a dark night anyway.I find that most people who use normal ULP will argue that 98 octane fuel makes no difference and is a waste of money etc.Ive got some dyno charts somewhere that shows the difference in performance between the two fuel types.Its not a big difference,but there definitely is a difference.(I will try to find em and post em for anyone interested.)
Last edited by Brett_jjj; 21-12-2009 at 03:57 PM.
Nice edit to your above post!!!!!!!!!! :P
if you bother read that link it will tell you the difference that they noticed and the pro's and con's that was found in their tests.
I always use premium 98 in my motorbike for its extra performance and cleaning properties but use regular fuel in my car.
Last edited by westbad; 22-12-2009 at 05:32 AM.
Yeah,Ive found it works better in some cars and makes little no difference in others.My oldies falcon EB runs shithouse on either one(no difference).But I guess you would expect that,its one of the worst cars Ive ever driven anyway.
Yeah,ford should have included changing the head gaskets in their regular service routine.This thing has had 3 head gaskets in 3 years.It goes through them at a bullshit rate.No warped heads or anything either,just blows em for no reason.A complete joke.
Had a similar problem in my Calais with revs going up and down and generally unstable running even with cruise control on. Ended up being the TPC. Runs very smoothly now after it was replaced.
thanks for the thoughts guys, i'll look into it further, been running 95 / 98 octane since buying it and it's running a delcowizzid tune setup for 95/98 octane. the transmission is perfect, never slips gears, serviced every 20000 which i think is o****ill and it has a trans cooler which may have been factory on the series 3 utes. last tank i got 500km out of and the first 200 was around town. averaging around 11 litres per 100 combined and i'm sure that's a bit high for premium unleaded.
other mods include:
SS CAI, k&n filter, pacemaker extractors, 2.5 exhaust, bosch super 4 plugs and sports leads. my new oxygen sensors arrived today and i'm hoping they help a bit as i'm not sure when they were last changed.
car just clicked 200,000km this week! doesn't use a drop of oil and after 4000km it still looks new.
i'll be happy when i get 700+km to a tank on the highway...
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