20MPG :( with 240 sedan Brisbane Australia

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snoopy42

i get about 20mpg (350k's for 50 litres) from my 89' 240 sedan, sounds a
touch excessive, its got new plugs, new air cleaner eliment, new plug lead,
haven't used the a/c and its mainly highway driving at approx 100kph. i
cleaned the throttle body and drive carefully.

any ideas??? sounds like i should get it checked out, what do you think?

a good mechanic in brisbane australia would be good, someone told me 'comet'
at albion is ok, i live on the northside of brisbane.

thanks guys in advance :)
 
when I first got my '89 240 wagon about 4 years ago, I was getting around
21MPG... I gradually increased my tire pressure to about 36PSI, and I
routinely get around 25MPG, same kind of driving. Before you invest in a lot
of expensive work, you might give that a try. The ride is a little harsh on
rough roads, but handling is fine and the tires hardly wear at all! Just a
thought....

m9876c at yahoo dot com
Atlanta, GA
 
When I had a 240 GLE with I think the B230 engine and I think a
Stromberg carb I found the throttle needle needed replacing
periodically.A sign this was needed was fuel consumption went from
around 27mpg to 20mpg.
regards,Mark.
 
snoopy42 said:
i get about 20mpg (350k's for 50 litres) from my 89' 240 sedan, sounds a
touch excessive, its got new plugs, new air cleaner eliment, new plug lead,
haven't used the a/c and its mainly highway driving at approx 100kph. i
cleaned the throttle body and drive carefully.

any ideas??? sounds like i should get it checked out, what do you think?

a good mechanic in brisbane australia would be good, someone told me 'comet'
at albion is ok, i live on the northside of brisbane.
Click to expand...
Spark timing is the only thing I ever had make a significant difference to
mpg's on a car, if it's out by much. That and heavy loads and/or the strong
cross-winds round Caiguna/Widgiemultha between Norseman & Eucla.
 
snoopy42 said:
i get about 20mpg (350k's for 50 litres) from my 89' 240 sedan, sounds a
touch excessive, its got new plugs, new air cleaner eliment, new plug lead,
haven't used the a/c and its mainly highway driving at approx 100kph. i
cleaned the throttle body and drive carefully.

any ideas??? sounds like i should get it checked out, what do you think?

a good mechanic in brisbane australia would be good, someone told me 'comet'
at albion is ok, i live on the northside of brisbane.
Click to expand...

350km = 218 miles
50 liters = 13.2 gallons
218 / 13.2 = 16.5mpg

That is horrible for a 240- about half (or less) of what it should be
getting on the highway. Check that the E brake and the service brakes
are not dragging. Check the temps of the wheels after a drive- they
should be about the same (an IR thermometer is great for that). Also
check for fuel leaks, and you might want to look into a locking fuel
cap as I would suspect someone is syphoning fuel from your car.

Also check the gas or try another brand. There have been incidents of
stations putting cheap additives into the gas to stretch profits.

Running that much fuel through the motor is VERY bad for the motor. It
will wash lubrication off the cylinder walls and will cause excessive
wear on the rings and cylinder walls.

Also, verify that your odometer is operating accurately using
mileposts along a stretch of roadway.


__ __
Randy & \ \/ /alerie's
\__/olvos
'90 240 Estate - '93 960 Estate
 
jg said:
In Australia they are imperial gallons
50 l = 10.999 imp gal
Click to expand...

For goodness sakes!!! I have enough problems with the ridiculous US
standards of measurements without throwing IMPERIAL gallons into the
mix! Next we will be discussing Whitworth! ;-)

Scotty to bridge: "The Newton Meters are off the scale Captain. I
don't know how much longer I can hold it."

Captain to Scotty: "Keep your personal lifestyle out of it and just
fix the thing, Scotty!"


__ __
Randy & \ \/ /alerie's
\__/olvos
'90 240 Estate - '93 960 Estate
 
snoopy42 said:
i get about 20mpg (350k's for 50 litres) from my 89' 240 sedan, sounds a
touch excessive, its got new plugs, new air cleaner eliment, new plug
lead, haven't used the a/c and its mainly highway driving at approx 100kph.
i cleaned the throttle body and drive carefully.

any ideas??? sounds like i should get it checked out, what do you think?

a good mechanic in brisbane australia would be good, someone told me
'comet' at albion is ok, i live on the northside of brisbane.
Click to expand...

Read the ECU codes. Reset and run. Then read after a few hundred Kms. Check
the O2 sensor (under $150 for a replacement make sure it meets or exceeds
the OEM specs.) I would also check the throttle body gasket, flame trap and
assorted other items. I can get my 90 240 auto down to about 375-400 off a
tank IF I am flat out and using the AC. Your not driving like this. Normal
mileage for me is about the 450 mark with some use of the AC and not driven
sedately. I can get 500 on the rare occasions I can stop myself making full
use of the modified suspension I have. Highway driving significantly
improves this and the best my car has done was about the 8-9L per 100Kms but
I wasn't the driver for this.



AJS
 
looks like its off to the mechanic to have the 240 checked out, let you all
know what the outcome is :)
 
just noticed that the engine check light doen't work, maybe its been taken
out, we will see what happens when i go to the mechanic soon :) see what
hides underneither it, problem wise . . . . .
 
Sure scotty did not say Erg, the meters...


Randy G. said:
For goodness sakes!!! I have enough problems with the ridiculous US
standards of measurements without throwing IMPERIAL gallons into the
mix! Next we will be discussing Whitworth! ;-)

Scotty to bridge: "The Newton Meters are off the scale Captain. I
don't know how much longer I can hold it."

Captain to Scotty: "Keep your personal lifestyle out of it and just
fix the thing, Scotty!"


__ __
Randy & \ \/ /alerie's
\__/olvos
'90 240 Estate - '93 960 Estate
Click to expand...
 
Hi,

we only get 420k for the same out of our 90 740 16v, Volvos do not get good
fuel economy period.
But we live in the hills area Victoria and a lot of short runs so 350 for
Brisbane area sounds bad unless you plant the foot a lot.
V6 Camry gets 550k home to city n back. Volvo still only got about 420 for
the same run.

rgds

Peter
 
well they found the problem . . . . . airflower meter has seen better days
and needs replacing and the O2 sensor near the catalytic convertor needs
replacing. . . they said the engine check system had been disconnected so
it wouldn't show any faults when it was on . . . . very sneaky of the past
owner . . . so i'm looking to have a better 240 soon . . . will let you all
know how it goes whn i get the brick back tomorrow :) now i maybe able to
call her the "flying brick with better economy" :)
 
well . . .the mechanic fixed that problem . . . but . . . he told me that it
looses power in 2nd gear (auto) unless its shifted manually to 2nd, which i
have noticed, (thought that must be 'normal' for a 240) and the torque
converter needs to be replaced . . . more $$$$ :( . . . anyone else had this
problem with a 240 auto sedan? . . . thanks in advance for any advice :)

he did say the motor is good now, well thats something good to hear :)
 
Good you got it fixed. Your petrol prices still rocketing in Oz - at least
petrol in Bris is still lower than in NSW.
 
well she's all fixed, new lamda sensor and airflow meter, goes like a dream,
even better than before :) and they fixed the auto transmission, it was a
just the kickdown cable, that was too short, didn't belong to this model . .
.. .

just one question for the group please:-

is there a lamda warning light on the dash? and when does it come on, when i
turn the iginition on and all the other warning lights come on, and then
they all go off when the engine is started, or does it only come on when
there is a fault in the system? where is the light located on the dash, or
is it somewhere else?

thanks guys :)
 
snoopy42 said:
well she's all fixed, new lamda sensor and airflow meter, goes like a dream,
even better than before :) and they fixed the auto transmission, it was a
just the kickdown cable, that was too short, didn't belong to this model . .
. .

just one question for the group please:-

is there a lamda warning light on the dash? and when does it come on, when i
turn the iginition on and all the other warning lights come on, and then
they all go off when the engine is started, or does it only come on when
there is a fault in the system? where is the light located on the dash, or
is it somewhere else?

thanks guys :)
Click to expand...

If you have the diagnostic connector "blink boxes" under the hood, then
you should have a lambda light that works as you described in the first
part of your paragraph above. See
http://www.brickboard.com/FAQ/700-900/EngineOBDCodes.htm
All our 240s got this feature for the 1989 model year.

--
Mike F.
Thornhill (near Toronto), Ont.

Replace tt with t (twice!) and remove parentheses to email me directly.
(But I check the newsgroup more often than this email address.)
 
snoopy42 said:
well she's all fixed, new lamda sensor and airflow meter, goes like a dream,
even better than before :) and they fixed the auto transmission, it was a
just the kickdown cable, that was too short, didn't belong to this model . .
. .
Click to expand...

You owe that guy a six pack (a "sixer"?). You could have spent a lot
of $$$ trying to figure out that shifting problem. If he doesn't
drink, let him marry your sister! ;-)

__ __
Randy & \ \/ /alerie's
\__/olvos
'90 245 Estate - '93 965 Estate
"Shelby" & "Kate"
 
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