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[mrjimbo]

Drivers side

Passenger side


I have just finished checking the cam timing and found the passsenger side bank to be approximately 3/4 tooth advanced so i've adjusted it back to where it should be using the locking tool and all seems OK, no sign of anything untoward found, more likely an error when cambelt was changed.

Would that small timing error cause the 21.4mpg though ?

Can't find anything wrong in the exhaust department either.

[05omegav6]

quick question, does your gear box have an overdrive? if so is this working as it should? also is the gearbox fluid level right? apologies if these have been checked already. :-/

[TheBoy]

Drivers side

Passenger side


I have just finished checking the cam timing and found the passsenger side bank to be approximately 3/4 tooth advanced so i've adjusted it back to where it should be using the locking tool and all seems OK, no sign of anything untoward found, more likely an error when cambelt was changed.

Would that small timing error cause the 21.4mpg though ?

Can't find anything wrong in the exhaust department either.

Can you take pics but this time with the timing tool in place?  The cutouts in the rear camcover don't really mean anything, its just an approximation

[mrjimbo]

Too late, it's all back together 

Thats the best i could get of the passenger side bank straight on because the bulb in the aircon pipe is in the way but the locking wedge (red one) wouldn't go in like that but it would when the idler between L and R banks was loosened and adjusted. Tensioned it all back up again and turned it 2 full rotations and both wedges would fit rechecked tensioners and turned it 2 full rotations again and it all lined up again and the wedges fitted.

Now both exhaust cams line up perfectly with the mark on the backplate but the inlet cams line up slightly off the mark on the backplate ( both pointing slightly towards the "V") The wedges wouldn't fit with the cams timed to the inlet marks so i would say it was timed up right now.

It now sounds a bit differant when started from cold, before it used to sound "heavy" on the passenger side as if the passenger side centre box was blowing but there was no leak at the flange where it joins the cat or in the centre box and the back box is good aswell. The heavy sound has gone and the revs seem to settle down to idle a bit quicker too.

When you drive it in "D" through the gears the TC seems to lock-up at 48mph as it did before but before it used to feel "heavy" like it was locking-up to soon and labouring but that is much improved aswell.

[Kevin Wood]

Too late, it's all back together 

Thats the best i could get of the passenger side bank straight on because the bulb in the aircon pipe is in the way but the locking wedge (red one) wouldn't go in like that but it would when the idler between L and R banks was loosened and adjusted. Tensioned it all back up again and turned it 2 full rotations and both wedges would fit rechecked tensioners and turned it 2 full rotations again and it all lined up again and the wedges fitted.

Now both exhaust cams line up perfectly with the mark on the backplate but the inlet cams line up slightly off the mark on the backplate ( both pointing slightly towards the "V") The wedges wouldn't fit with the cams timed to the inlet marks so i would say it was timed up right now.

It now sounds a bit differant when started from cold, before it used to sound "heavy" on the passenger side as if the passenger side centre box was blowing but there was no leak at the flange where it joins the cat or in the centre box and the back box is good aswell. The heavy sound has gone and the revs seem to settle down to idle a bit quicker too.

When you drive it in "D" through the gears the TC seems to lock-up at 48mph as it did before but before it used to feel "heavy" like it was locking-up to soon and labouring but that is much improved aswell.

.. but the marks on the backplate aren't very accurate. The proper tool for setting the timing fits onto the front of the sprockets and has accurate markings. 

Kevin

[Sixstring]

Approx 80 mph seems to be the best on my 3.0 estate, best mpg attained then, between 30-33 mpg on a motorway.

Around town, 30-50 mph variable, 22-26mpg max.

[mrjimbo]

Right, just a little update.
I used the car on Saturday and did a journey of 69.2miles, all dual carriageway and A roads. Car was kept to 70mph on dual carriageway on the cruise control and a steady 50mph on the A roads, mostly on the cruise control, kept on the move all the time, no stopping for queueing traffic or stopping at traffic lights etc, only 3 roundabouts each way.
Brimmed the tank at the start and again at the end of the journey at the same petrol station using the
same pump and stopped refueling on first click of the nozzle and still only managed 24.54mpg


Used to get 25mpg towing a trailer with a car on without even trying, somethings not right but i can't find anything obvious.
If it keeps on like this, it'll have to go 

[shane1000]

the optimum cruising speed if you want to take the risk is actually 56mph... you are likely to see many forms of hand signals and hear a lot of colourfull phrases but you will get the best fuel return......

[GaryBC]

It's an auto


On the dual carriage way it was a steady 80-85mph no real slowing then speeding up and the A road was the same a steady 50-55mph again no real slowing or speeding up, only slowed to around 20mph on the A road to let cars turn right twice and the junctions A road-dual carriageway-Aroad were all free flowing and only stopped at one set of roadworks for about 30sec as came back into Didcot on the way home.

The outward journey was at 07.30 and the roads were pretty much deserted and the homeward journey was at 19.00 and although the roads were quite busy the outside lane on the dual carriageway was maintaining a steady spead of between 70-85mph all the way home.

When i first had the car i went from Didcot to Knockhill in Scotland and back driving at a steady 80-85mph and returned 33mpg so i don't know whats going on now.

 I can't speak for the 3 litre as I have the 2.5. But I find that reducing my cruising speed from the mid eighties to the low seventies makes an enormous difference - high 20s to low to mid 30s in mpg.

And it's obvious why you got better consumption travelling south - it's downhill!!

[mrjimbo]

When i had problems with the cambelt a couple of years ago the local garage couldn't get to the bottom of the problem and i eventually had to sort it myself. In there attempts to find and sort the problem they had several attempts at diagnosing the problem using electronic diagnosis tools and had a couple of mobile electronic "experts" look at it as well, it was also sent to Gurney's at Benson twice who also failed to diagnose the problem with thier Tech2 and i'm begining to wonder whether in all thier messing about with things they didn't understand they reset something in the hope that it would cure the problem.

Is it possible that they altered the Fuel Trim while they were looking for a cure ?

The thing was running very rich at the time and alsorts of things were changed, MAF sensor, Air temp sensor next to the MAF, Coil pack, HT leads, Plugs, Crank sensor etc al to no avail. As a last resort i took it to my mates barn and decided to start striping everything out looking for the problem and thats when we found that the cambelt had slipped due to the bottom R/H idler/adjuster wheel had been put on back to front when plod last changed it, the cambelt had supposedly been checked by the local garage but obviosly hadn't. Cam belt kit was fitted and normal running was returned.

I had never bothered to check the MPG since then until recently as i haven't done any real journeys in it. Before the cam belt issue i could get 25mpg pulling a trailer with a Mk1 Escort race car on it (Didcot-Lydden Hill- Didcot) without even trying but as i haven't been there since then i hadn't bothered checking mpg but i'm now getting less mpg without the trailer and race car.

Could the fuel trim have been altered or interferred with to mask the problem ?
Could it be something like the Purge valve or Carbon canister at fault ?

Any other suggestions ?

Driving everywhere at 56mph is not really an option, I was getting 33mpg driving on motorways and dual carriageways at 75mph before, now getting 24/25mpg.

[2woody]

split hose to purge valve can cause same symptome, or indeed any of the four hoses at the back of the plenum.

[mrjimbo]

I've checked the hoses at the back of the plenum and they all seem OK