Hey guys,

Newbie here, I've been cruising the forums for year withour creating an account and I have found this forum to be the most helpful. Here's my problem:

1997 850 awd turbo. I have a huge problem. I am currently getting 14 MPG, when i bought her 1.5 years ago she was getting 20 MPG, and i'm doing the same driving. Also, it has a high idle. When im driving and take the clutch out and put it in neutral, it will still rev at 1500 right before she comes to a stop, then it drops to 900. I have already cleaned the ICV and MAF sensor. Whats next? Plus, how do I get my MPG back up to 20, or even higher? And, has anyone ever tried using those Pulse Plugs?

Thank bru's.

 

When was the last time you've done a tune up?

 

I did the plugs in the summer. A tune up includes distributor, rotor, wires, and plugs right? What else should i do? Im a student and I wanna keep it cheap hopefully- thats why i've been cleaning everything first. What do you suggest? and any reviews on the pulse plugs?

 

Use Bosch or OEM plugs only.

 

With a high idle, check for a vacuum leak.

 

If you want the car to run properly, tune ups are among the most important. Use either all OEM or bosch. usually a full stage zero is in place for when you take ownership of the car, for your case, I would start out with plugs, plug wires, cap, and rotor. Use all OEM parts. Using aftermarket plugs can lead to poor idle and misfires. Also, what do you have the plugs gapped to?

 

Im not sure what they are gapped to. I was out of town and my dad got the stealership to do it. I'll check them. I'm on IDP and fcpgroton looking for tuneup kits. Has anyone has any experience with amsoil paper air filters? my freinds is a dealer - its easy to be one - and he said he can get me one for 60 bucks and you can re-use it. but its only paper, so im a little iffy on buying a 'reusable' paper filter; he says you just vacuum it out. Should i get it? Or just use the oem one from the sites?

so all in all, plugs, wires, caps, and rotor it is. and any suggestions for air filter?

 

If your going to spend 60 bucks on an air filter, just get a KN performance filter, which are like 45, and reusable. Plugs should be gapped to .028

 

This sounds like you have a decent size vacuum leak somewhere. I would check all of your intake hoses and all the small vacuum lines for cracks.

 

sounds good guys. Other people have told me to replace my pcv system. now i've done my research on how to replace it, but my question is what are the symptoms and how can i tell that my pcv system is clogged? also, how do i do vacuum leak check?

 

Clogged PCV system check is easy, with the car running, remove your oil dipstick and look for white puffy smoke escaping. If you find this, you pcv system is most likely clogged.

 

Alright, so i check the dipstick when the car was warm and running, no smoke. I checked the oil fill cap and some light grey smoke came out, maybe it was steam. Does my system still seem ok? Also, Im going to be checking the spark plugs tonight, and was wondering, last time i did some work, months ago, there was some oil pooled up by the plugs, what does this mean. And if its there tonight, how should i fix it in the future?

 

Oil around the plugs usually means a bad O-ring on the Oil Cap. It should be soft and not brittle....couple of bucks at the dealer. You dont get steam from the engine. What I did was take a rubber glove, like a mech glove or medical glove and put it around the oil dipstick as if you are blowing up a balloon. Make sure the car is running up to temp. If the glove inflates, you need to do your PCV.....funny way, but it works.

 

One of the big signs is a smoking dipstick tube. Once the engine is warmed up, remove the dipstick and see if it is smoking. Also, place a small balloon or something on the tube and see if it inflates or the car tries to suck it in. If it inflates or you see smoke, your PCV is clogged.

EDIT: Did not see that the post made it to a second page. :-)

 

sounds good guys. i love this forum.

 

Just to be clear on what they said. when you remove the dipstick to check for smoke. The smoke will be very light, like a consistent light mist of steam. ive noticed another sign is to check for oil blow-by on the lower portion of the air intake hose and around the top of the turbo hose. When the PCV is clogged oil is blown out around those areas & others.

 

ok so i checked my dipstick, and someting on the left side of the engine kept clickign and engaging. When it clicked, light white smoke would appear, when this 'click' would disengage the smoke would no show up. Then when the click would engage, the smoke would appear again. Plus i put a bag on it, and you can see the smoke/steam appear on the bag, but it wasnt inflating or being sucked in by any means. What does this mean? im ready to buy plugs, wires, cap and rotor from FCP, so i might as well buy the PCV kit to save on shipping. Help me out boys.