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| The Weekend Rebuild; and XFi cam swap | |
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| Topic Started: Jan 26 2009, 08:12 PM (5,249 Views) | |
| dimetrodon | Jun 6 2009, 09:13 PM Post #61 |
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Did another odometer calibration using the mile markers on the Illinois toll road. The previous calibration showed a ratio of 1.058 actual miles for each odometer mile. Since then I slightly increased tire pressure and the calibration showed a new ratio of 1.061 : 1. Gas mileage at the last fill up was 58.03 mpg. |
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| dimetrodon | Jun 18 2009, 09:18 PM Post #62 |
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WEEKEND REBUILD UPDATE: Thursday 18 June, 2009 364.4 miles, 6.111 gallons = 59.6 mpg. Tested compression last weekend: 170, 170, 154 |
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| dimetrodon | Jun 23 2009, 09:41 PM Post #63 |
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WEEKEND REBUILD UPDATE: Tuesday, 23 June 2009 Driving 55 mph in hot weather with no winds did the trick. 178.4 miles, 2.965 gallons = 60.2 mpg  |
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| Johnny Mullet | Jun 24 2009, 05:34 AM Post #64 |
"Geo Whisperer"
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Sweet! |
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| Manny | Jun 30 2009, 11:43 AM Post #65 |
 
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Hey Johnny, What did you use to clean out the cylinder block surface and to take off the old gasket out? mean the dirty were left there when lift up the head ? Thanks!! |
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| Potter | Jul 8 2009, 04:56 PM Post #66 |
"Mini Mullet"
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60.2!!!! you just killed a Prius and slaughtered a Jetta TDI, ate a Yaris and pooped an Aveo with those numbers!!!  Johnny.. for some reason this topic made me hungry! lol Edited by Potter, Jul 8 2009, 04:59 PM.
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| Johnny Mullet | Jul 8 2009, 08:35 PM Post #67 |
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"Geo Whisperer"
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I have an air compressor at home and used a die grinder with a roloc disc attachment and mild discs. |
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| dimetrodon | Jul 8 2009, 09:49 PM Post #68 |
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Right after the 60 mpg trip, two things happened: 1.) I thought the extremely hot weather would continue and so I put a heavier mix of oils (2 qts 10w30 and 2 qts 15w40) in the engine. 2.) As soon as I put in the heavier oil, the weather cooled off. My last four mileage calculations were in the 57 mpg vicinity. I am now actually hoping for more of that extreme heat so I can retest the 60 mpg level. |
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| dimetrodon | Jul 14 2009, 10:29 PM Post #69 |
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Update on mileage, wheel bearings and Walmart tires. Last Saturday I dumped the 50-50 mix of 10w30 and 15w40 motor oil that I put in expecting very hot (+90 degF) weather. The average mileage during the time I had that heavier mix of oil in it was not 57 mpg. It was more like 55.5 mpg. (I keep the mileage log book in the car.) This afternoon, after two round trips back and forth to work, I refilled with gas and calculated 57.7 mpg. It really does seem like the thicker oil was costing me 1 or possibly 2 mpg. Today driving home I heard funny noises coming from the rear of the car. Turns out I am either loosing a rear wheel bearing on the left rear wheel or the spindle is somehow loosening. I read some threads here tonight and it sounds like new bearings can be pretty expensive. Incidentally, I now have about 25K miles on those Walmart 155/80-13 tires. Brand new they only seemed to have just slightly more than 1/4" of tread depth. I wondered how long they would last. But tonight while checking that left rear wheel, I looked carefully for tire wear and could not perceive any. At the (slow) rate they are wearing, I would be very surprised if I don't get 75k out of these tires. Not bad for $35 each. |
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| dimetrodon | Aug 13 2009, 10:36 PM Post #70 |
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Update, 13 August, 2009. I discovered that the new rear brake drums that I put on recently separated the outer races of the rear wheel bearings by almost 1mm more than the spacer between the inner races. A mismatch between the drum and the spacer is almost certainly the cause of premature rear wheel bearing failure. This would be easy to fix if I were nearer to my lathe, but alas, I am not. Suffice it to say that I have a temporary solution in place along with (4) brand new bearings back there. Now the tires freewheel for a long time when the car is jacked up. This morning I topped off the tank before leaving, drove 55-57 mpg back and forth to work, topped off the tank and calculated my mileage: 61.36 mpg - personal record. And I discovered something recently. I have long noticed that I got exceptional mileage after filling up at a particular Shell gas station. Now I know why. The gas comes out of the nozzle very, very cold. And unlike at every other station, when I top off the tank there, the level drops slowly and disappears down the filler spout in about 1 minute. The super cold gas was going into the tank and cooling the bubble of air above the filler tube level. When this bubble of air contracts, it pulls the fuel up with it and this pulls the level in the filler tube downwards. This results in a higher fill level than I get at any other station, and it introduces an error in the mileage calculations that makes you think you are getting better mileage than you really are. Why the cold gasoline? The gas station's pavement is pretty heavily shadowed and I suspect that the soil around the tanks is cooler than most other stations I frequent. Anyways... I am thrilled to have had another tank over 60 mpg. Hey, just remembered another thing worth mentioning. I noticed that i was getting pretty sleepy sometimes while driving my long commute. And I could notice engine fumes in the car when I have the driver side window open. I have been suspecting that having a window open while driving 55 creates a vacuum at the opening due to Bournoulli's (sp?) principle. This vacuum could draw air into the vents at the rear of the car which are normally intended to draw air out. So, I tried something. I bought a radiator hose at Auto-Zone large enough to fit over the exhaust pipe and about 16 inches long. It has a right angle in the middle. I rotated the thing to expel the exhaust down and to the side of the car where it more readily gets caught in the airstream flowing around the car. I can no longer smell any fumes in the car, and I suspect the air quality is much improved. |
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| dimetrodon | Aug 16 2009, 09:41 PM Post #71 |
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Measured my compression today: 175/165/165. Engine hot, battery charger helping the battery and throttle wide open. |
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| Bad Bent | Aug 16 2009, 10:09 PM Post #72 |
Facetious Educated Donkey
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That's good news! And getting excellent gas mileage. BTW I am now using Chevron from the station that's close to the lake and likely cooler by a few degrees. Thank you very much.
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| Mr Murf 59 | Aug 16 2009, 10:12 PM Post #73 |
Looking like a lost Irish tourist
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60 MPG Man thats wonderful. I am still struggling to sustain over 50. Maybe now with the new motor maybe. I am also trying to get ahold of 3Tech again and get one of those Xfi cams. But I will keep plugging away at it. I am glad I found this site. It seems though that as usual I am a late bloomer. 
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| dimetrodon | Aug 17 2009, 09:29 AM Post #74 |
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Murf, 60mpg requires a hot day, favorable winds, light traffic, and a lighter throttle foot. I should also add that 75 out of my 92 mile (each way) commute is divided four-lane highway with a 65 mph speed limit; where I routinely drive 57 mph. All this to make you feel a little better if you are getting less. When I first bought my Metro, I was hoping for a mileage in the mid 40's, which is still excellent for a four-wheeled vehicle. I just love to see the frame-repair threads on this discussion board because a Metro with a good, or repaired frame, is worth maintaining or rebuilding in all other ways. There is no other vehicle that I know of that can bring you state-of-art gas mileage for as little overall cost as a Metro. Besides that, it is a very fine highway car, with very low cockpit noise when on the highway with the window open. This means you can get along fine without AC. I like my Metro so well, that I am thinking about buying addition auto insurance - beyond just the legally required liability insurance. I have heard that some insurers will sell you insurance for your car beyond the blue-book value. If someone totaled my Metro, I would want 5K for the hassle that will be involved in finding and buying one, and then getting it into the same condition as this one. |
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| dimetrodon | Aug 30 2009, 01:56 PM Post #75 |
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Weekend rebuild update for 30 August 2009 I now have just about 30K miles on the synchromesh transmission oil, so I decided to change it. There was a black film of metal particles on the drain plug magnet, and there were a few flakes of metal visible in the bottom of the oil drain after I dumped the oil in the recycle drum. Nevertheless, the oil came out just as clear as brand new oil. |
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