Old car fan

I got 18.25 mpgs yesterday on my last fill up. I drove it a bit harder this time. Maybe this is the way to drive these cars. It also turned 200K yesterday. It runs and drives like a car with only 50K.

I drove by one of the stations that have real gas, $3.99 for premium.

I'd gladly pay just 25 cents more for real gas because that would really make up for it mileage wise. I used to average better mileage from a pick up that had a 350 in it back when you could get real gas where I live.

The real gas around here in WA is about at least a buck more a gallon than the corn gas. I have to wonder if the real gas might get a bit stale at those prices. Also I wonder if one fuel outlet has more alcohol than another despite they post 10% on their pumps.

No not really. I've been driving it somewhat conservatively as always with no jackrabbit starts. I have accelerated briskly a few times to get on the freeway just to see how good I can get up to speed but no WOT. I know the gas has something to do with it but it's just the usual 10% blend like everywhere.

Well at my last fill up I got 17.4 mpgs. Not great since I expected a little better. It's more like what I used to get with old coils but it does have more power and it does run better, so I'm not disappointed. I'm wondering if by disconnecting the battery for a while might reset the computer and then running cleared of any soft codes might re-calibrate things?

You bet. This site is great.

I've been driving it for about week and it's been running great. It has more power now than I can remember it having. I filled up once but half of the driving from that tank was on the old coils. I almost got 17 mpg on that tank. I've never gotten over 19 mpg so I'm hoping to see something better on the next fill up.

Thanks for the reminder. I had read about the zip tie fix before. Luckily none of the connectors on the COP's broke.

I think I have problem solved. I replaced all the COP's with new Densos and I haven't had an issue since. It runs better than it has for a long time. It was an easy job taking less than 30 minutes. I think I spent more time opening the boxes and removing the coils from the plastic bags than R&R-ing everything. Most of the clips on the connectors for the injectors are broken. One of them must have gotten knocked loose and lost contact when driving last night. That got me a little worried and made me think at first a brand new coil when bad. It wasn't and the culprit was easy to find. Now I'm back to enjoying how nice it is to drive this car. I'm coming up on 200K and this car feels like it easily has less than half than mileage.

Good advice Fordtech but I have a feeling it would take more money and time than I could afford. I haven't changed the transmission fluid since buying the car and I've put nearly 40K miles on it so that may be overdue since who knows when it was changed last. I'll see how it drives after I get a chance to do a fluid flush and change.

I was told it could be the torque converter causing it. It happens at just over 45 mph and when I lightly tap the brake pedal it unlocks it and the stumble goes away. The only thing though it can sometimes stumble at lower speeds as well. At least a fluid change and flush may be needed.

I'm sure it's not the A/C clutch as I've had it happened with the A/C off. I've priced the coils around and a set of OEM's can be bought for less than $300. I would not keep the car any longer if I had to spend $500 as that is the spending limit I have set.

I'd almost be happy with getting any code at this point but a wrong code would really frustrate me. Thanks for that tip. I miss having a daily driver with points and a carb. There's little to go wrong and repairs are cheap.

I may have to go to a dealer then. I was hoping it would get bad enough to eventually throw a code. I've even tried to prolong a stumbling event to make it throw a code but no luck.

No as far as I know my scanner doesn't read mode 6 data. My problem is I don't have time to stop by the shop I trust as they aren't open Saturdays and they're usually closed by the time I pass them by on my way home from work during the week. I'd really like to be sure without a doubt it's the coils before shelling out nearly $300 for a set of new OEM's. Thanks.

I have a 2001 Crown Vic Police Interceptor with 198K miles. I've been dealing with this stumbling problem for at least a year if not more. It seems like this is a common problem. It doesn't throw any codes. I've tried to get real time readings with my code reader and nothing. It stumbles at the usual 45-50 mphs in 4th with part throttle or at lower speeds in lower gears going up a grade. It happens more with passengers. It doesn't always do it. It even seems to stumble a bit at WOT. It sort of feels like its not getting enough fuel. It most of the times runs great and gets around 18 mpgs in combined driving. I've changed the fuel and air filters. I've changed the plugs and cleaned the MAF. I've cleaned all the electrical connections at the coils. The coils are OEM but I don't know how old they really are. They have green Motorcraft logos on them. Visually they look fine as well as the boots. I'm leaning toward needing coils but I've read it could be the MAF or the TPS. I don't have money to throw at guesses. I really want to solve this once and for all. I used a good quality Matco code reader and was even trying to get soft codes but got nothing. It's frustrating. Any ideas? Thanks. DJ