2doorTurd Posted October 10, 2011 Report Share Posted October 10, 2011 My 210 with stock A14 and 5 speed. Over the last 3 months its been getting worse. I'm at about 20mpg right now. That's 50/50 mix city/freeway. I think its carburetor related, and so does anyone have a spare carb of any kind that will work? Quote Link to comment
2doorTurd Posted October 10, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 10, 2011 I've got an L series carb adapter for my intake too, would a L16 carb be too big? Quote Link to comment
I'm BLUE Posted October 10, 2011 Report Share Posted October 10, 2011 My buddy might have a carb , I will ask :) ,,, Weber 32/36 will work ? ,,, but good condition stock carb is hard to beat for MPG's ,,, ( MetalMonkey47 he is running one on same car currently :cool: ) As temp changes , so will gas mileage , last 3-months sounds interesting !? Change Fuel Filters ,,, Change Ignition Components ,,, Tune/Adjust Carb Per Factory Instructions/Specifications ,,, allowing for engine to catch up for adjustments in between each turn ,,, Check ALL emissions related crap is functionally correctly ,,, IS your exhaust system clear !? (clogged or partially clogged mufflers KILL engines power , capability , new cheap mufflers last 2-3 years most that I have noticed ,,, I use free flows ,,, thrush brand is louder than shit too ! ,,, not for all cars ollz ) Use Good Brand Gas ,,, (Chevron ,,, is what I use and always will) I know that's not what you were looking for ,,, but you will be doing this stuff either way ,,, :D Quote Link to comment
DanielC Posted October 10, 2011 Report Share Posted October 10, 2011 Before you go swapping carbs, do the basic stuff first. Check tire air pressure. Jack it up, do the wheels spin freely? When was the last time wheel alignment was checked? Engine tune up. I am not exactly sure what was required on a 1980 210, but I know a 1971 521 had a suggested minor tune up at every 3,000 miles, and a major tune up at 12,000. Check engine compression. If the rings, or valves are not in good shape, no carb is going to make it good. Quote Link to comment
2doorTurd Posted October 10, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 10, 2011 Ive gone all the way through this car minus exhaust. Full tune-up, new tires even new headgasket. I use shell gasoline, and the tires wear well. Power output seems normal, and my compression test revealed a range of 117-122 psi, which seems low, but this thing has a gazillion miles on it. Timing is set to 12btdc, and is steady at idle indicating a good timing set. Valve lash set per spec after the headgasket change. The emission crap is removed, and un used ports plugged off. Distributor vacuum is plumbed straight to ported vacuum on carb. I don't drive hard, and it seems freeway mileage is less than in town. I need a speedometer, as this one reads all over the board and the odometer says I've done more miles than I have, this is where I know that I am getting crap mileage, because even using the optimistic odometer numbers is still poor. Most of the time the engine seems to run strong, though occasional rough idle does occur. Right now, I've burned about 8 gallons and I'm showing 225 miles this tank, which again, is more than I have done. Sounds like I need to shove a pipe through my cat, and swap mufflers. Any thoughts? Quote Link to comment
2doorTurd Posted October 10, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 10, 2011 My buddy might have a carb , I will ask :) ,,, Weber 32/36 will work ? ,,, but good condition stock carb is hard to beat for MPG's ,,, ( MetalMonkey47 he is running one on same car currently :cool: ) As temp changes , so will gas mileage , last 3-months sounds interesting !? Change Fuel Filters ,,, Change Ignition Components ,,, Tune/Adjust Carb Per Factory Instructions/Specifications ,,, allowing for engine to catch up for adjustments in between each turn ,,, Check ALL emissions related crap is functionally correctly ,,, IS your exhaust system clear !? (clogged or partially clogged mufflers KILL engines power , capability , new cheap mufflers last 2-3 years most that I have noticed ,,, I use free flows ,,, thrush brand is louder than shit too ! ,,, not for all cars ollz ) Use Good Brand Gas ,,, (Chevron ,,, is what I use and always will) I know that's not what you were looking for ,,, but you will be doing this stuff either way ,,, :D Everything helps. A spare carb is always a good thing to have too. Quote Link to comment
DanielC Posted October 10, 2011 Report Share Posted October 10, 2011 "my compression test revealed a range of 117-122 psi, which seems low, " If this is not the actual problem, it is definitely not helping. You need to find out what the compression should be. Quote Link to comment
datzenmike Posted October 10, 2011 Report Share Posted October 10, 2011 Pull the plugs are they tan and used? or are they dry black and sooty? When warmed up is the choke fully off? Check the bull's eye sight glass on the front of the carb... is the fuel level correct? When idling look down the carb... do you see gas dripping in? Air filter would have to be really clogged to affect mileage. Does the engine heat gauge show warm up to correct position... or is it running cold? Quote Link to comment
2doorTurd Posted October 10, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 10, 2011 Pull the plugs are they tan and used? or are they dry black and sooty? When warmed up is the choke fully off? Check the bull's eye sight glass on the front of the carb... is the fuel level correct? When idling look down the carb... do you see gas dripping in? Air filter would have to be really clogged to affect mileage. Does the engine heat gauge show warm up to correct position... or is it running cold? Last I pulled the plugs they were about right. Tan on top of insulator and dark towards the inside, but I will pull them again. Choke comes fully off as I recall, but it wouldn't hurt to have another look. Fuel level is perfect and I don't see fuel dripping while running with no load at idle or high rpm. Air filter is new as well. It seems to run cooler than I think it should, in town never being above 1/3 the way, and on the freeway at constant speed its usually between 1/3 and 1/2 unless I bury my foot in it, then it warms up to around 3/4 fairly rapidly. Quote Link to comment
zed Posted October 11, 2011 Report Share Posted October 11, 2011 steady at idle indicating a good timing set. occasional rough idle does occur. Don't assume your ignition is good. I had this problem recently on my L18. Most of the time it idled and ran well, but sometimes it ran rough and I was getting bad mpg. I assumed the ignition system was good because most of it was new. So I assumed the carb must be the trouble. Turned out to be an intermittently bad condensor. Quote Link to comment
2doorTurd Posted October 11, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 11, 2011 That's interesting, I've never had a problem with condensors over the years, maybe I've just been lucky... Since I have electronic ignition, there is no condensor. I think if there is a problem in the ignition circuit, it is related more to the age of some components such as the coil. Quote Link to comment
hogboy52 Posted October 11, 2011 Report Share Posted October 11, 2011 Is the vacuum advance working or has it developed a leak. Check timing at full advance not just at idle. Quote Link to comment
racerx Posted October 11, 2011 Report Share Posted October 11, 2011 How's your compression? Tuned up lately? Fuel Filter, Valve adjustment? Good luck.. Quote Link to comment
2doorTurd Posted October 11, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 11, 2011 Is the vacuum advance working or has it developed a leak. Check timing at full advance not just at idle. Good idea, will do that. Quote Link to comment
bilzbobaggins Posted October 12, 2011 Report Share Posted October 12, 2011 Check the dizzy to make sure the advance plates are not frozen together as well. Jets could be loose, my b210's came all the way out tho in the day. Wouldnt run at all. Leaking fuel pump? The diaphram will go bad and leak into the block. Just sum ideas. Good Luck! Jeff Quote Link to comment
2doorTurd Posted October 13, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 13, 2011 Did a whole bunch of work on the car today, mostly pertaining to removing the carpet and back seat, and decided to check my tire pressures. These were filled by the shop I normally go to for my tire needs. Fronts are 36 max, they were filled to 26. Rears are 44 max, they were filled to 25. Hmmmm.... well, I aired them up to 36 front and 40 rear. Car rolls much easier now! Next is to check the distributor and see if there is some fuckery afoot in there too. It hasnt pinged in awhile, so I may bump initial timing a bit. Will have to see what mileage becomes now. Quote Link to comment
elmerfudpucker Posted October 13, 2011 Report Share Posted October 13, 2011 Last time my gas milage went to crap it took a locking gas cap to fix it. :angry: Quote Link to comment
2doorTurd Posted October 15, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 15, 2011 Checked and re-adjusted timing up a bit for winter driving. Made sure tires were still all inflated, and did some carb cleaning. She's doing much better now! Back up to about 30MPG! w00t! Quote Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.