Technical 17.8 MPG!! How come?

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Technical 17.8 MPG!! How come?

I figured that much, even if I'm a tw*t ;)
 
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Resentful
Obsessive
Barchetta
Owning
Twat


Or as we like to call him, Robot :D;) Sounds more like me hehehe lol

I resent you calling me that doc :shakehead:

Shouldn't
Use
Pounds
Earned on
Rusty
Spares
Picked
Of
The
Taiwan
ebay
Really


lol :D:);) Not sure about the on bit hehe

10 out 10 for trying:D:D

Damn
Old
Cars :D:D

Lad's, if you don't play nicely Alan will put you all in detention!!
 
OK Just took the B out on a quick run to Tescos, really the first drive since I had the work done on it towards the end of last week. From the invoice, here's what got done:

- Lubrication service
- Operations: flush engine, replace oil and oil filter, safety and systems check
- Mechanical labour: replace wheel bearing
- Wheel bearing rear Barchetta no ABS
- Camshaft variator, cam belt, idler and tensioner bearing
- Spark plug FR7 LDC x 4
- Air filter Barchetta

Advisory notes:
- Radiator fins corroded
- Heat shield cracked
- Oil cooler pipes rusty
- Front tyres inside edge worn close to legal limit
- Rear metal brake pipes rusty

I have to say, even though I've only driven it a few miles so far, it is idling so smoothly!! Almost purring! I knew a failing variator would make the engine sound rough but I don't think I realised how bad it previously was until I got it sorted. It sounds lovely now :)

Also I was surprised about the rear wheel bearing - surely the MOT at my local garage last month should've picked that up. Don't think I'll get the MOT done there again.

It's nice to have the "big" jobs done now (exhaust last month, variator this month), even if it has made me skint for a while (n)

What about those advisory notes? Anything "big" need doing there to get those sorted?

Oh yeah still no idea yet if this work has sorted out the crappy MPG. I'll get a better guage of that towards the end of the week when I'va actually done a few miles
 
What about those advisory notes? Anything "big" need doing there to get those sorted?

Advisory notes:
- Radiator fins corroded
- Heat shield cracked
- Oil cooler pipes rusty
- Front tyres inside edge worn close to legal limit
- Rear metal brake pipes rusty

IMHO.....

-Rad fins - mine is the same, keep and eye on it and if you start to see damp patches get it changed otherwise it's probably not a problem.

- Heat shield - not an issue, most of them split - replacements available on eBay, don't go for a FIAT replacement as it will split the day after you put it on!

- Oil Cooler pipes - get under the car with some wire wool, clean them up and give them a coat of paint - I very much doubt that they will not be recoverable.

- Tyres - erm, I think there is a point of law here!! - I would suggest getting the tracking checked when you have them replaced if they are not wearing evenly.

- Rusty brake pipes - mine are a bit corroded on the outside, not an issue as long as as you keep an eye on them and make sure its only surface rust. If you are worried give them a rub over with some wire wool and a coat of hammerite.

HTH - now wait for Doc to tell you to replace them all with stainless steel parts made to order by NASA!!!! :p
 
Cheers LRB, I'll keep an eye on those things (except for the tyre and tracking which I'll get done this week). They're on the long-term possible to-do list! Right now though I have this fuel consumption problem which I need to get sorted very short-term. I just realised if I'm going to drive up north and back for Xmas it'll cost me £100 in petrol the way things stand!!

OK so quick update...

Still getting 20mpg. One by one I'm going to eliminate a lot of the potential causes suggested by you lot. The camshaft variator was done, air filter was changed, spark plugs changed. The tracking will get checked next week when I get a new tyre put on, but I can't see tracking issues being responsible for such a massive increase in fuel consumption. So next think to look at is O2 sensor...

I'm now starting to think that the O2 sensor wouldn't have been bodged by DTR when they changed the exhaust. The car was failed on its MOT at a different garage in October for "Exhaust system has a major leak of exhaust gases" and "Exhaust emissions Lambda reading after 2nd fast idle outside specified limits", so I took it to DTR and got them to put the stainless steel exhaust on, after which I took it back for the retest, which it passed. So that suggests to me that it left DTR working fine since the O2 reading at the retest was fine. Does that logic make sense, or am I missing something?

Anyway, tonight I'm borrowing a friend's multimeter to check the voltage of the O2 sensor just to see if it gives me any clues...

Any more bits of advice/ideas welcome!! (y)

Oh one more thing (hehe makes me sound like Columbo)... had the car idling this morning after work to show my friend the smooth sound of the engine compared to pre-variator being changed, and every 10-15 seconds or so there was a change of sound for a few secs, a lot more "activity" coming from somewhere to the left of the engine when you're facing it. (Is that what the engine is doing when it's "hunting" by the way?) He suggested it sounded like issues with the belts that are down there - when I got home after a 30 min drive I left it idling and couldn't hear anything like that any more - do you think it's maybe nothing to worry about? It's a very minor thing, especially compared to the clanking variator sounds I had before, but does anyone have any idea what it may be? Just trying to learn as much as possible to try and get to the bottom of this terrible mpg problem.

Phew, sorry about the long post, ta for reading!
 
If you have the incling that it started after the exhaust was changed would still look there could have been an intermitant fault that allowed the MOT pass but now knackered? O2 sends the signal to the ecu to stipulate how much fuel the engine needs and if faulty can go either way pumping too much or too little that has to be compensated by the pedal both running rich or lean will result in poor fuel consumption. So as said from the start get it put on a machine to have it checked.
 
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