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Bad gas mileage - smells

summitlt

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Maine
Specs to start:

1990 MJ - 4.0 - 5 Speed - 4.10s - 31's - 2" BB - Air filter - glasspack

I consistantly get 13 - 14 mpg. Doesnt seem to care if I baby it, or if I have fun, itll never break 15mpg, highway, city or anything. WILL NOT break 15mpg.

Had a friend behind me and he said it stinks, like a old POS. I smell that rotton eggs smell every once in a while.

Cats been off and its not clogged, not performance difference with it on or off so its not clogged.


I beleive im running rich, hence the rotton egg smell. Where should I go first, it starts and runs fine, just smells. I was going to replace the 02 sensor, since its $25 and its never been done for all I know. Then im going to go through and check every sensor I can. Anything I should look at specifically.

Also, another thing, whe its idling, it kinda hunts, doesny vary much but it sounds like is has a load on it, then nothing, then a load...
 
Last edited:
Bad gas and stinks? Me too. BBQ'd for the first time of the season today and .....Oh sorry, wrong gas & stink.

Put a cat back on, stink should be gone at the same time. Why did you lose the cat? I get 17-18mpg in town and 22 on the highway with a cat- I'd try running a high-flow cat to start with, although I doubt it will affect much more than your odors.

summitlt said:
Specs to start:

1990 MJ - 4.0 - 5 Speed - 4.10s - 31's - 2" BB - Air filter - glasspack

I consistantly get 13 - 14 mpg. Doesnt seem to care if I baby it, or if I have fun, itll never break 15mpg, highway, city or anything. WILL NOT break 15mpg.

Had a friend behind me and he said it stinks, like a old POS. I smell that rotton eggs smell every once in a while.

Cats been off and its not clogged, not performance difference with it on or off so its not clogged.


I beleive im running rich, hence the rotton egg smell. Where should I go first, it starts and runs fine, just smells. I was going to replace the 02 sensor, since its $25 and its never been done for all I know. Then im going to go through and check every sensor I can. Anything I should look at specifically.

Also, another thing, whe its idling, it kinda hunts, doesny vary much but it sounds like is has a load on it, then nothing, then a load...
 
Your O2 sensor is probably fubared. If you want to test it, hunt down the gray wire in the loom that runs under the FPR. Stick a straight pin in it, and test it with a multimeter for a 1v switching to 0v, once every second, at idle.

If the O2 is bad, you'll probably get no switching and 0v on the gray wire.
 
Check the MAP sensor and any lines to it for vac leaks.I just had the line from the throttle body go bad and it really ran rich and would not idle correctly.
Wayne
 
i've gotten better mileage with a cat. just my experience. as above, i'd suspect the O2 sensor. the "hunting" is not unusual, but would have to hear it to tell ya if it's extreme. i did a short stint at a chrysler garage and a lady with a new LHS complained about the idle going rough, then smoothing out. we were told by chrysler that the system does like a reset and reread (for lack of better terminology) every so many minutes in a cycle. my dads 94 minivan did the same thing and it drove him nuts. no biggy to me, i can feel it in my 01 XJ, but ignore it. by the way my 87 with all the emmisions intact, 4.0L and puke-joke 5 speed got 20.3mpg over 33 tankfulls which included freeway, around town and wheeling. so i would suspect that something's wrong unless you are running 35"s with 4:88s.
 
Could be cheap gas... There seems to be a problem in NJ where stations are watering gas down or putting diseal in to thin it out. It happened to me today. I've been going to that station almost religously. I've noticed my mileage go up and down. I'm wondering if they've been watering the gas down in the pass and today they just did it enough where no ones vehicles would run at all.

Just a thought.
Doug
 
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