Mileage and the cracked elbow

[zaffo oxnard]

I have been having erratic idle, stallling at first start-up when under 70 degrees overnight. It always smoothed out after 1 mintue or two, but it began stalling in the driveway and really getting bad when the CEL came on and codes 171/174 appeared. Past year I have only put 6,000 miles on it, but the mileage has been HORRIBLE - 10 mpg at best around town. exhaust has been smelly rich for a long time.



I did the cracked elbow repair. I am only on my first tank of gas, but it appears to have booseed the mileage significantly. I'll track it for a while and see.



It must have been leaking for a long time, but not triggering the CEL.



Get in there and change it out!

 

[Scott Tanner]

try unconnecting the battery for 20 minutes, then reconnect and drive it for an hour or so to that the computer will re-learn its settings...

 

[Greg Bosin]

I had the same thing happen to me a few months ago. Same exact symptoms and the code CEL cleared after the battery reset. I noticed much better throttle response as well.

 

[Dan Chatten]

Add me to the parade. When I fixed the cracked elbow, I not only noticed a much better ride, but a boost in my mileage, too.

 

[Rodger Tellefson]

I suggest cleaning the IAC motor as well. That will help with the idleing & stalling issues. See the projects section / maintenance.

 

[zaffo oxnard]

I replaced the IAC a while ago. I'd bet that it is NOT the culprit 99% of the time - it is really an air/vac leak that is messing up the idle. To test my theory I have a neighbor with a 05 who has recently seen a big dip in mileage. We'll try and spray propane out of a plumbing torch around the engine compartment (not lit) and see if the rpm jumpes, then look for the leak. WD40 works just as well, just leaves a mess.

 

[Rodger Tellefson]

Depends on how many miles you have on the iACM, but it would not hurt to give it a shot of carburator cleaner. And, do the Seafoam cleaning too.