factory gas mileage

General discussion about our beloved Tercel 4WD cars
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JDNightFox
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Posts: 171
Joined: Sun Nov 01, 2015 5:39 pm
My tercel:: toyota
Location: CA

factory gas mileage

Post by JDNightFox »

Did my first in town / highway run on the car and it only lasted me roughly 140 miles before the fuel light came on, which calculates out to 17mpg... that's worse than my 4.2L Jeep gas mileage

Why is that a thing. What should I be looking at replacing
xirdneh
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My tercel:: 87 tercel 4x4 wagon w/reringed engine, 83 tercel 4x4 wagon w/salvaged engine and 4.1 Diff's
Location: seabeck, washington, USA

Re: factory gas mileage

Post by xirdneh »

manual tranny should get above 25 for all around driving
most of the tercels i have had average 26-28 winter 27-31 summer
1. check tire pressure should be at least 30 ( i run 32)
2. check brakes make sure one of them isnt dragging
3. check timing should be advanced 7-10 degrees
4. check vacuum hoses for leaks
5. if none of that helps i replace the carburetor or rebuild it
in my experience its always the carburetor
Love those Tercell 4x4 wagons but they sure suffer from road noise.
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Mattel
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My tercel:: 1988 Corolla 4wd Wagon (AKA Corolla All-trac) 5speed, AC, Power Sunroof, Windows, Mirrors, Steering, Locking, Diff Lock, 14" Corolla SX Alloys with Silica Hankook Tyres, 4afe, King Springs, Upgraded Headlights, Full Synth oils, 210,000kms
Location: Melbourne, Australia

Re: factory gas mileage

Post by Mattel »

driving style as well is a huge part of it. I drive these cars like I would ride a bicycle. I try and maintain constant speed as much as possible even if I have to hussle it through the corners a bit faster than my passengers would like sometime!

Roof racks can take 5% off.

How does the car drive does it idle rich or miss fire or anything?
Previous: 83 Tercel SR5 4wd, 84 Tercel SR5 4wd
88 Corolla 4wd Wagon 5speed, All power options, Fact Sunroof, Diff Lock, 14" SX Alloys, Hankook Tyres, 4afe, King Springs, Upgraded Headlights, Full Synth oils, Tow Bar, 210,000kms
JDNightFox
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Joined: Sun Nov 01, 2015 5:39 pm
My tercel:: toyota
Location: CA

Re: factory gas mileage

Post by JDNightFox »

The exhaust smells a bit rich and when it's warm it keeps trying to stall unless I hold my foot on the gas lightly
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splatterdog
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Location: Minnesota, USA

Re: factory gas mileage

Post by splatterdog »

Sometimes, a Weber is a bolt on 7-8mpg. Pays for itself mighty quick at that rate..

Try plugs first. If I'm putting lots of miles on, I do them once a year(old turds). Don't bother with platinums.
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Petros
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My tercel:: '84 Tercel4wd w/extensive mods
Location: Arlington WA USA

Re: factory gas mileage

Post by Petros »

changing the carb may not fix the problem anyway. diagnose the problem BEFORE you try to fix it.

several other things may be an issue: check your AAP (see the service manual), easy check, pull the vac line off and look for fuel. If it is wet with fuel just cap off both ends of the line. a leaky AAP will suck fuel into the intake manifold through the thermal valve on the coolant outlet on the head. Also, check your spark timing, and that the mechanical advance is working (use a timing light, the spark should advance when you reve the engine). easy check is to see if the mechanical advance is rotating freely (pull the distributor cap and see if the rotor can be rotated and when released returns). If it is stuck you usually can spray penetrating oil into the distributor and work it back and fourth until it moves freely.

Also, double check for vacuum leaks and all vac lines are routed properly.

You should get 26-28 mpg city, and about 31-34 highway if you drive it gently.

good luck
'87 Tercel 4wd SR5 (current engine swap project)
'84 Tercel 4wd (daily driver, with on going mods)
'92 Mazda MPV 4wd (wife's daily driver)
'85 Tercel 4wd DLX auto(daughter's daily driver)
'01 Honda Civic (other daughter's daily driver)
Hiro
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My tercel:: 1986 Toyota Tercel FWD 5spd

Re: factory gas mileage

Post by Hiro »

So far, I"m averaging 26mpg with 50/50 city/hwy. Could do better, I think, but it's not terrible. It's also winter, so I'd expect it to go up to around 28 or 29 when spring time comes around. I'm used to seeing about a 10% hit to MPGs when winter rolls through.

http://www.fuelly.com/car/toyota/tercel ... oak/540393
'86 T2 DLX (114,000 miles and counting)
'90 EE4 RT4WD
'92 EG VX Hatch
'95 YJ 4.0L
'05 C6 Z51 (460rwhp)
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Petros
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My tercel:: '84 Tercel4wd w/extensive mods
Location: Arlington WA USA

Re: factory gas mileage

Post by Petros »

I regularly expect 300-320 miles per tank on trips. In snow, rough roads, or heavy traffic that might go down to about 260-280 miles per tank.

The most I have gotten was about 340 miles in one tank, drive it down through the reserve and est I only had about .3-.4 gal left in the tank.
'87 Tercel 4wd SR5 (current engine swap project)
'84 Tercel 4wd (daily driver, with on going mods)
'92 Mazda MPV 4wd (wife's daily driver)
'85 Tercel 4wd DLX auto(daughter's daily driver)
'01 Honda Civic (other daughter's daily driver)
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Ace
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My tercel:: '83 DLX 4WD Tercel wagon 3AC

Re: factory gas mileage

Post by Ace »

I almost always average 30+ MPG with very conservative driving and mostly highway miles ('83 Tercel with manual transmission). When the car was newer I could consistently average 36 MPG on long trips. My MPG figures seem lower with the newer ethanol-mix fuels.
donnyre
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Joined: Fri Jan 13, 2017 1:32 am
My tercel:: 95 Tercel

Re: factory gas mileage

Post by donnyre »

I usually get 27mpg during city driving which I think is not bad.
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