- Location
- Morrison, CO
Well, if you guys are asking, and if Dave doesn't mind the threadjack, here's what I do. Mind you, I'm running 4.90 gear ratio, automatic with a PML. I'm also 2WD, but I've got other folks around the area equal mileage on their stuff. And I'm at 6000' in altitude, so the lower guys should be getting much better mileage than me.
First, timing. The book gives a +/- 2 degrees. So if it's supposed to be 15 degrees, go up to 17 degrees.
Timing belt. You don't have to replace it if it's not near the interval, but can retension it. The tensioner isn't a continuous unit. You set the tension when it's replaced, but it gets locked down and doesn't ever get retensioned. This may seem a bit extreme to some, but over the course of the life of the timing belt, slop happens and the cams are no longer perfectly in time. This can cause power loss. Considering that the distributor is also cam driven, the timing can also go away due to timing belt slop. So doing a t-belt retension is a great start on getting the mileage back to where it belongs.
Plugs. Stock NGK is the only way to go. No Bosch, no double platinum, nothing fancy, just stock units. I've seen Bosch plugs fail a vehicle (Frontier) on emissions. He just did a tune-up and it still failed. I put in NGK stockers and changed his oil, flew through. Lesson learned.
MAF. I clean it every 15k miles. I don't use anything fancy, I pull it when it's cold, spray it off with brake cleaner, blow dry it with my mouth (insert joke here), not compressed air, and reinstall it.
Hard reset on tune ups. I never see folks do this, but it's important. With the engine running, pull the MAF plug. Let the engine die. Turn the ignition off, reinstall the MAF plug and restart it. If the check engine is on, you know what's for and you can either let it stay on or pull the battery for 30 minutes or so. Or you can have it cleared by someone if they have a reader. This resets the computer's learning for the old tune. The computer will now start off with known good perameters, and with a fresh time and tune, it's like it just rolled off the line.
Throttle body. Clean it. Pull the boot off and spray some brake cleaner on a rag and wipe the inside out. All of the inside, including the blade.
I've never done the Sea Foam thing. I've heard folks say it helps too, but I'm good with almost 21mpg. I could probably do it and clean things up, but I'm a busy guy, I have beer to drink.
Don't speed. Sounds stupid, but it helps with the mpg's as well.
First, timing. The book gives a +/- 2 degrees. So if it's supposed to be 15 degrees, go up to 17 degrees.
Timing belt. You don't have to replace it if it's not near the interval, but can retension it. The tensioner isn't a continuous unit. You set the tension when it's replaced, but it gets locked down and doesn't ever get retensioned. This may seem a bit extreme to some, but over the course of the life of the timing belt, slop happens and the cams are no longer perfectly in time. This can cause power loss. Considering that the distributor is also cam driven, the timing can also go away due to timing belt slop. So doing a t-belt retension is a great start on getting the mileage back to where it belongs.
Plugs. Stock NGK is the only way to go. No Bosch, no double platinum, nothing fancy, just stock units. I've seen Bosch plugs fail a vehicle (Frontier) on emissions. He just did a tune-up and it still failed. I put in NGK stockers and changed his oil, flew through. Lesson learned.
MAF. I clean it every 15k miles. I don't use anything fancy, I pull it when it's cold, spray it off with brake cleaner, blow dry it with my mouth (insert joke here), not compressed air, and reinstall it.
Hard reset on tune ups. I never see folks do this, but it's important. With the engine running, pull the MAF plug. Let the engine die. Turn the ignition off, reinstall the MAF plug and restart it. If the check engine is on, you know what's for and you can either let it stay on or pull the battery for 30 minutes or so. Or you can have it cleared by someone if they have a reader. This resets the computer's learning for the old tune. The computer will now start off with known good perameters, and with a fresh time and tune, it's like it just rolled off the line.
Throttle body. Clean it. Pull the boot off and spray some brake cleaner on a rag and wipe the inside out. All of the inside, including the blade.
I've never done the Sea Foam thing. I've heard folks say it helps too, but I'm good with almost 21mpg. I could probably do it and clean things up, but I'm a busy guy, I have beer to drink.
Don't speed. Sounds stupid, but it helps with the mpg's as well.
I'm not in a hurry..
