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Drtrash
Samba Member
Joined: April 29, 2019
Posts: 135
Location: Phoenix
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 Posted: Fri Jul 05, 2019 5:19 pm Post subject: Mpg? |
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| New thing owner, first tank of fuel, broken gas gauge but filled it up, recently stop working wihile driving home and acted like i ran out of gas, went 100 miles i think fuel tank is 10 gal so 10 mpg? Cant be right? It seems to run ok, recent tune up, could it be that rich |
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Joe 20
Samba Member
Joined: August 27, 2005
Posts: 655
Location: Ohio
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| Posted: Fri Jul 05, 2019 7:27 pm Post subject: Re: Mpg? |
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| Get a stick and stick it in the tank and see how much gas is on it when you pull it out. I never checked my mileage but 10mpg seems way low. I'd guess in the 20-25mpg range. Could you have a leak in the tank or bad fuel pump? a Clog in the line or fuel filter or carb? You didn't say if the car had been sitting for a long time (like years). Did it leave you stranded? Did you put more gas in it and it worked? If so, forget the stick lol. It could be a bunch of things. It's either fuel or spark. I'm sure people will chime in. Maybe take the gas line loose at the carb, hold it over a cup and have someone crank the ignition to see if the pump is working and go from there... good luck! You'll figure it out!! |
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obus 
Samba Member
Joined: March 08, 2001
Posts: 11070
Location: just off Garden State Parkway Exit 81
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mondshine
Samba Member
Joined: October 27, 2006
Posts: 2770
Location: The World's Motor Capital
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| Posted: Sat Jul 06, 2019 4:02 pm Post subject: Re: Mpg? |
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Thing fuel mileage will never match that of a modern car.
I have been in the 21-23 neighborhood for several years, but I only drive with the top down (unless I get caught in a storm). Putting the top up easily adds 2 MPG, but I just don't like it.
For 35 years, my Thing's fuel gauge has never been "linear". The first 125 miles will lower the gauge to about 5/8, then zoom! The next 75 miles take me to the red.
I'm an old man, so I re-fill at 1/8 tank indicated. |
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Drtrash
Samba Member
Joined: April 29, 2019
Posts: 135
Location: Phoenix
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| Posted: Sun Jul 07, 2019 9:25 am Post subject: Re: Mpg? |
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| Do you fill up to the neck or just guess? Worried it will spill out while driving with it splashing around |
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mondshine
Samba Member
Joined: October 27, 2006
Posts: 2770
Location: The World's Motor Capital
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| Posted: Sun Jul 07, 2019 7:18 pm Post subject: Re: Mpg? |
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I try not to fill the neck; just a couple of quick blips once the pump shuts off.
On long trips, I carry a 2.5 gallon NATO safety can for bad judgement errors on my part. I've never had to use it (so far). |
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Drtrash
Samba Member
Joined: April 29, 2019
Posts: 135
Location: Phoenix
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| Posted: Mon Jul 08, 2019 5:45 am Post subject: Re: Mpg? |
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| Good news, i think is i ran out of gas, so filled it up and will check mileage again, really need to get gas gauge working very embarassing running out of gas on the road. Could not find any visible leaks but possible only leaking under pressure. If carbs are out of adjustment that much would think it would blubber and load up but seems to run ok, never easy finding to find needle in haystack |
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BlissBignall
Samba Member
Joined: June 20, 2016
Posts: 72
Location: San Angelo, TX
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| Posted: Wed Jul 10, 2019 11:05 am Post subject: Re: Mpg? |
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I get 10mpg in my 74 Thing. I have a 1776 (from a sand rail) with dual carbs, and the thing sucks gas. It's still cheaper to drive than my new Ford truck though!
_________________
1963 Beetle...My mom's car that got sold in 2012
1969 Beetle...That was fun!
1972 Beetle...Never ran right
1974 Thing....Daily driver on sunny days |
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yel-mel
Samba Member
Joined: May 07, 2015
Posts: 421
Location: Tampa Florida
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| Posted: Fri Jun 23, 2023 12:16 pm Post subject: Re: Mpg? |
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Im getting 27-28mpg in my 73.....that seems high and I dont know why ?
Everything is stock, I do run the dual stock military oil bath air filters. That should not effect anything imo. |
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doublecanister
Samba Member
Joined: September 23, 2008
Posts: 1184
Location: Richmond, Va
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| Posted: Sat Jun 24, 2023 6:30 am Post subject: Re: Mpg? |
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Check the gas tanks fuel gauge sending unit, work the arm (you will need to provide a ground for this to work when you remove it from the tank)
With key on -not the engine running.
Be careful here please as the gas tank will be open to the environment(since you pulled the float arm out) so cover it with something to minimize fumes.
Be careful here ground wires can also spark with power applied!
And we all know what can happen so just be safe.
If the float arm moves the needle on the dash when you move the arm, odds are the float could be cracked and sinking.
Or if it don't work the Sending unit could be bad (if you confirmed you know you have a good ground during the test).
A replacement sending unit would confirm.
Mine did that (fuel needle sloshed around when driving was the sign for me) so you may need a new float or (and/or experiment in plastic welding like I did).
At least you can rule out the sending unit from the dash gauge.
Good luck with it!
T
_________________
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2020 - Mustang Eco Boost [High Performance]
1973 - Thing
1966 - Mustang GT- Fastback
1951 - Ford F1 pickup Flathead V8 |
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SilverThing
Samba Member
Joined: July 19, 2004
Posts: 810
Location: Everett
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| Posted: Thu Jul 13, 2023 5:24 pm Post subject: Re: Mpg? |
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| yel-mel wrote: |
Im getting 27-28mpg in my 73.....that seems high and I dont know why ?
Everything is stock, I do run the dual stock military oil bath air filters. That should not effect anything imo. |
The dual oil bath air cleaners shouldn't be making a difference on your mileage as far as my experience has been. What kind of conditions are you getting 27-28 mpg under? My Thing's current 1835 engine with solex 34PICT3 (28mm venturi), single oil bath, and dvda distributor will get ~27mpg on long, flat 60mph drives. It is only 22-24 around town, though. The around town mileage hasn't changed whether I have run dual or single oil bath air cleaners. I haven't done any long drives with the duals so I don't have any data there.
One of the things I have noticed is most of the dual air cleaner set ups are not how the factory set them up. The factory set up had 211 part numbered oil baths for both air cleaners with neither of them having a preheat flap (neither wax thermostat nor vacuum) nor did they have a weighted flap for the oil breather. When I was running the common set up (181 oil bath on the passenger side), I found that very little air was going through the passenger filter judging by how little the weighted oil breather flap would deflect (compared to it being the only filter) and how much less dirty the oil inside got compared to the driver side. I suspect that the oil breather flap was the culprit.
Because I am a VW nerd I'll point out that the dual air cleaners aren't listed in period price lists as military specific. They're just listed as M153 "air filter system with 2 oil bath air cleaners" and aren't listed in conjunction with or exclusive of other option codes. They were a 121 mark option in Oktober of 1971 (a 181 cost 9100 marks back then). 181 from the first model year (1970) don't appear to have had the mounting bracket for the driver air cleaner, but the engine compartment was obviously designed with them in mind. I don't have any official information on when the mounting bracket first appears in engine compartments, but 181 listed as 1971 model year seem to have them.
_________________
"I like how everyone likes talking about Zeke's Thing yet he's the only one that's ever seen it." - Katie
"I've seen pictures..." - Jeremy |
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