aggressive fuel consumption - carburettor fail?

[Sam Hunt]

Hello all fellow Tercel enthusiasts!

I love my Toyota Tercel like no other car! But filling it up at the gas station is a pain. My Tercel does about 10km or 6 miles per liter. Is this just normal for a car from the eighties or are there any improvements to make regarding the carburettor or the generel fuel system?
Being this expensive to drive, my Tercel seems only to be affordable around gas prizes like the ones of the Middle East and not European prizes...What can I do?

thanks for reading, thanks for answering

[4wdchico]

Is that city or highway fuel economy that you are reporting at 6 miles per liter? Automatic trans or manual? Any other info would also be helpful: elevation, mountain or flat & level terrain, 3a engine, condition & miles/kms on the car & ect.

[dlb]

hi sam. 10 km/liter is a little low but not alarmingly so. i tend to get roughly 12 km/liter, and that's actually pretty good in comparison to most cars. i'm sure newer compact cars like the aveo or honda fit can get better mileage but they're obv more expensive to buy, full of computer BS which can't be fixed by a backyard mechanic, and look stupid so forget them. have you done routine maintenance on your terc, like fuel, air, and oil filters? those can actually make quite a difference.

[Petros]

Welcome to the list,

besides the way you drive you can do the following checks: Check tire (or is it tyre where you come from?) pressure, that no brakes are dragging, front end alignment, etc. Check for vacuum leaks on the engine and carb, verify your catalytic converter is not bundled up, and the rest of the exhaust system is free flowing. Make sure the cold air inlet is working, set your ignition timing to 10 deg BTDC (not the factory 5 deg), verify your mechanical and vacuum spark advance is working, you got good plugs and wires, your float level is correct, and you should be getting about as good as it gets.