Ford Focus 1,6 2001, Very bad on fuel consumption + oil in the spark plugs


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Old 02-27-10, 05:19 PM
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Ford Focus 1,6 2001, Very bad on fuel consumption + oil in the spark plugs

Hi all i been reading lots of threads around and finally decide to put my question here.
I have bought this Ford focus 1.6 2001 Wagon two weeks ago. it has got 124500 miles. after driving it around i noticed that its consuming lots of flue. around 22MPG which is quite high for 1.6 engine. I looked around on the net and find out to check my air filters spark plugs etc. I checked my air filter, its dirty but not that much, i am able to see the light across it. so i don't think this is the issue with my fuel consumption.

then I looked for spark plugs, as soon i removed the cable i noticed that there is lots of motor oil there, i have 4 spark plugs, having lots of oil in the left one, and not that much in the right most one. I was unable to remove spark plugs since i need some different spark plug opening tool then the one i have, but i don't think that oil is coming from the the combustion chamber, i think i have to replace the gasket.
I have cleaned that oil though.

btw I live in Sweden. and its quite cold winter, having lots of snow . car has winter tires on. but it should not make that big difference. i park it in warm garage.

I need some help here, can anyone tell if this issue with spark plug is causing in using lots of fuel?
car has been serviced at ford since new. and last service was in dec 2009
can any one suggest something else ? why my car is using so much fuel?
please help me out here!
 
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Old 02-27-10, 06:31 PM
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If you have oxygen sensors, those should be replaced every 60,000 miles. That along with the recommended factory service for everything. Be sure they are doing everything the factory service manual recommends for each mileage interval.

It will say to check/replace certain things at say 85,000 miles, then check/replace other things at 100,000 miles, etc.

So you would take it in and say I want the 120,000 mile service (or whatever), then they should do all that.

If you're working on it yourself, do all the regular maintenance items. Air, fuel, oil filters. Change oil. Spark plugs, spark plug wires, distributor cap, rotor (if you have that). Clean engine. Check fluid levels. Clean MAF sensor if you have that. Check air in tires.

Also might want to check the "engine coolant temperature sensor" with a multimeter to be sure it is accurate. The ohms readings at various temperatures would be listed in a factory service manual set, fuel and emissions manual. This sensor tells the engine computer to adjust fuel/air rich/lean depending on the engine temperature.

After replacing the oxygen sensors, remove a battery terminal for 10 minutes, then reconnect. Then let engine idle for 5 minutes and drive above 45 mps as soon as possible.

The helps the engine computer to "relearn" its new adjustments.
 
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Old 02-27-10, 06:32 PM
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MAF sensor cleaning time

A brand new focus has a combined rating of ~25 mpg.
Perhaps the oil you see around the plug is a result of spilled oil? Now if you pulled them out and saw a black oily tip, then you could assume bad valve seals or oil rings (on the piston). It's a good idea to look at each one anyway. Might answer your question. Just remember to replace them if needed, with original equipment and nothing fancy.

But from reading that you've got a car with 125,400 miles I can suggest an often overlooked maintenance procedure. Get a can of MAF sensor cleaner and clean your MAF sensor. It's located in the air duct between the filter housing and engine. It's a sensor that Ford uses and it's function is pretty much exclusive to maintaining fuel efficiency. They take awhile to begin to foul but when they do they can really influence mpg.
Grab a repair manual for your car for location and access info. I mean that's my $0.02!

See what your expected mpg is for your car.
 
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Old 02-28-10, 12:24 PM
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Thank you very much Bill190 and mickblock. I visited local store and bought few things. once i removed spark plugs i found that there was no oil at the bottom end. since there was already some oil left on the top area, so when i unscrewed it that's how this part of the spark plug got oil. here is a picture



if you notice tip looks dry, but i think those spark plugs needs to be changed ASAP?

I have also got MAF cleaner but unable to open that part. may be i will go to workshop and will ask them to clean it for me.

as for now, i have removed all the oil and it looks dray,



i will wait and see if there is more oil there. in that case i will take it to workshop and ask them to change top gasket.

I know the previous owner and this car for past 3 years, that's why i took a chance to buy it. I called him and he came and visited me. he said that all the services protocols has been followed for this car. and he never observer it doing anything under 28mpg, he is saying that take it easy with drive, those past two weeks were really hell for driving since we had a record snow.

I have clean everything. and now will observer in next few days and will get back here.
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Old 02-28-10, 01:37 PM
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You kinda have to compare apples to apples. Comparing summer mileage to winter mileage can be WAY different. Idling the car longer, spinning tires, not having the fuel/air mixture at optimal temp at all times.

My mileage, in all my vehicles, cars and pickups, big and small engines, drops off dramatically, in the winter. Especially when doing a lot of stop and stop driving. And worse yet with stop somewhere for an hour, car engine gets cold again, restart and go somewhere else for an hour, etc.

Regarding 'dirty' air filters. Probably depends what really is making that filter dark. Some engines were actually designed to run say with an oil bath filter or say a sponge filter you oil and squeeze out. I have had 'dirty' filters where then I put in a brand new one, expecting my car to take off like a rocket ship, and instead, notice nothing different. Not even in the mileage category either. Not anything really drastic anyway. And it is hard taking accurate mileage tests, when the temp and humidy and wind and sun changes all the time.

Probably the best way you could test would be to take a long cruise on a stopless highway, and replicate the testing with the old and new filters, maybe a couple times each, if you were really curious. I'm a hard sell though when it comes to those claims of 10% or higher fuel savings. Maybe for cars that always drive down dirt roads, without ever changing the filter.
 
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Old 03-11-10, 12:02 PM
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what is it the name of this hose ?

last Friday I took this car to workshop. a new gasket took care of the oil leak. now i have new spark plugs and air filter. while driving back i noticed its driving little rough. anyway i dint do any ting. today i noticed that car has little rough idle , like at stop light or in traffic.even if it engine was warm. it was not that much, but i was able to notice. anway when i got to work i checked under hood. and found out that this pipe (highlighted in image) coming under other pipes. WHEN i had cleaned the spark plug oil last week i had noticed that pipe. it comes from the top of engine and goes to the bottom right of the air filter. anway, i had pulled it out and fixed it back from the top of other pipes.



I have noticed that idle got better right way, i don't know what is this hose called ? and what does it do
flue consumption is bit better but still not good enough.

what is PCV value and PCV hose and where are they located in my car ? and by replacing , cleaning them will have effect on my gas millage ?
 
 

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