Hey all,
Been a while since I posted - that's a good thing! But now something seems to be awry...
The last two tanks of gas I've burned through have shown decreased gas mileage. The first averaged out to 17.5 mpg and this last 18.7. I used to get right around 21.5 - 22 on average.
What the heck happened?
Let me fill you in on what I've done recently that could account for it.
Several weeks ago (and many gas tanks of normal gas mileage ago, too) I replaced the injector seals and had the injectors cleaned out. At the same time (we're talking early November here) I replaced the flame trap, cleaned the throttle body, and replaced a broken vacuum hose.
That's pretty much it. Installed some non-engine interior stuff since... The other issue is what sounds like a muffler problem, or at least something awry with the exhaust. This has been a problem since I purchased the car in September. There's a loud rattle and lots of noise around 2500RPM. Also, since I've had the car I can smell exhaust (or perhaps, scarily, raw gas) when I'm stopped at a red light. But again, the mileage has only recently dipped.
A corollary here would be: is it normal to get this low of mileage with a B21 that is running fine? I don't even know what the normal low to high allowance is for mileage on this car, but I do know that the last few tanks I've burned through have seen me on the hills of San Francisco and in a lot of stop and go traffic. But I also did some freeway miles, though not too many. Not sure how different the driving habits of the last two tanks vary from the norm, but this would be an easy solution, as there would be nothing wrong with it!
I'm driving several hundred freeway miles next week (to Oregon and back) and I really want my mileage to be acceptable. Any suggestions on what I might do would be appreciated!
Thanks brickheads,
Matt