1997 Pathy Fuel Economy~

Post by **Iceman2989** » Wed Nov 24, 2010 3:47 pm

I just bought a '97 Pathfinder, and need to fix a couple things, but the MPG I get is KILLING my wallet! Im getting around 10mpg. Thats insane. Can anybody help me out so I can make it at LEAST 15? I was hoping for 20ish, but im getting 'round half that now. Ive changed all the fluids and it seems to be okay there, but please help!

Much appreciated.

Post by **EsotericImage** » Wed Nov 24, 2010 4:14 pm

Well...heres my .02

Wintertime fuel companies put additives in the fuel that hurt economy... this is wintertime only..
Also, Colder air coming into the engine means dense air which = more fuel used.

I would clean the fuel system and engine with seafoam engine treatment and see if theres any improvement.

Like i said, this is my .02

Post by **Iceman2989** » Wed Nov 24, 2010 5:18 pm

Thanks, Ill give it a try. I just got back from checking why my check engine light was on and got these codes:

P0420 Catalyst System Efficiency below threshold
P0325 Knock Sensor 1 Circuit (Bank 1)
P0443 Evaporative Emission System Purge Control Valve Circuit
P1447 Evap Purge Flow Monitor

Not really any clue as to what any of this means, but think it could be the problem source? Any clues on how to fix em? Thanks for your 2 cents!

Post by **EsotericImage** » Wed Nov 24, 2010 5:27 pm

Yep.. fix those and you should see alot better milage.

Im not too familiar with Nissan terminology as im a Honda guy, but sounds like exhaust gas return to me. blower to add air to exhaust for better emmisions.. But i could be waayy off the mark.

Do some research on these codes as far as a fix is concerned and you should have your answer.

Post by **Iceman2989** » Mon Nov 29, 2010 1:26 am

As of right now I cant afford to fix those problems, but I DID go ahead and replace my spark plugs. Found out that the one in the WAY back hadnt been changed along with the others when the previous owner did it last, and when he put in one of em, he put it in incorrectly making it so I was actually only running on 5 cylinders instead of 6! Man! Glad I got that taken care of. Now My engine has a much nicer purr to it.

Post by **EsotericImage** » Mon Nov 29, 2010 8:41 am

i hope the valve is still in good shape after that.

Post by **Iceman2989** » Mon Nov 29, 2010 8:52 am

Yeah, you're not the only one! Im prayin' it doesn't blow out on me. So far so good.

Post by **EsotericImage** » Mon Nov 29, 2010 9:02 am

well, if nothing happened by now, you should be good to go :thumbup:

Post by **Iceman2989** » Mon Nov 29, 2010 10:09 am

Thats great to hear! Thanks

Post by **Iceman2989** » Wed Dec 01, 2010 12:27 pm

Ok, so heres an update. Turns out Ive got a leak in my exhaust manifold (passenger side). Thats tripping my O2 sensors and therefore im not getting the proper dosage of fuel into my engine (excess fuel is being used). Is it difficult to replace? I found a guy willing to replace it for $60 in labor, but Id need to find the part myself... Is that a good deal? Id like to get it taken care of before Christmas if possible.

Post by **fueler** » Wed Dec 01, 2010 1:12 pm

60 to replace an exhaust manifold? holy cow thats cheap!!! i wouldnt touch it for less than 200

Post by **EsotericImage** » Wed Dec 01, 2010 3:33 pm

fueler wrote:60 to replace an exhaust manifold? holy cow thats cheap!!! i wouldnt touch it for less than 200

youll have to goto a U-Pull-It or find one on ebay or something.

Cast manifolds are usually pretty durable, but do take a sheot sometimes. if the crack is easily accessible, maybe weld it up. Or have your 60.00 guy take it off, go get it welded, and have him install it again.

Post by **Iceman2989** » Fri Dec 03, 2010 3:25 am

Great. Thanks.

Post by **Iceman2989** » Sun Dec 05, 2010 11:34 am

Ive been looking around for parts, has anyone ever shopped at rockauto.com? Their prices seem pretty good.

Post by **asnorton44** » Mon Dec 06, 2010 6:23 am

Iceman2989 wrote:Ive been looking around for parts, has anyone ever shopped at rockauto.com? Their prices seem pretty good.

Yeah I ordered a headlight switch on the steering column from them and they had fast shipping, item was as described.

Post by **Iceman2989** » Mon Dec 06, 2010 10:52 am

Great. I just ordered a new manifold from there. Thanks every one for your help!

Post by **Iceman2989** » Fri Dec 17, 2010 4:08 am

Got the new manifold installed finally! Its running a lot smoother now. Ill post pics of the old manifold later. Thank you all again for your help!

Post by **CanuckQx4** » Fri Dec 17, 2010 4:40 am

post pics

Post by **wildpig** » Mon Dec 20, 2010 12:38 am

used to have a 1997 til recently. if i overflow fill my tank from near complete empty (22 gal) i can get 440 miles highway so that works out about 20mpg.

don't do much city driving but i would say about 16 mpg

Post by **m0nkeyprince** » Mon Dec 20, 2010 1:08 am

omg 440 is insane, i get 320-340 MAX

Post by **wildpig** » Mon Dec 20, 2010 3:57 am

m0nkeyprince wrote:omg 440 is insane, i get 320-340 MAX

you must be doing a fair amount of city driving. 440 is if i only doing highway. If i do my regular driving (mostly highway with a small amount of stop and go) I still would get 400+.. i do drain my tank all the way down though and when I do fill up i do really overfill it all the way until there is REALLY absolutely no room whatsoever in the tank...

Post by **Iceman2989** » Wed Jan 05, 2011 12:59 am

Wow, I would LOVE to get that kind of mileage!! I just drove around 800+ highway miles and got an average of 14/15 mpg. Not sure whats wrong, maybe its my oxygen sensor thats no good since I just replaced the exhaust manifold that had been cracked in half. Ill give that a look next.

Post by **wildpig** » Sun Jan 09, 2011 7:00 pm

Iceman2989 wrote:Wow, I would LOVE to get that kind of mileage!! I just drove around 800+ highway miles and got an average of 14/15 mpg. Not sure whats wrong, maybe its my oxygen sensor thats no good since I just replaced the exhaust manifold that had been cracked in half. Ill give that a look next.

15 mpg highway is definitely not good. I would defintely check it out. Just don't know what the cost vs benefit vs how long you want to keep your car, etc that would make any fix worth it though if it turns out to be an expensive fix. As long as the fix is cheap though would be worth it given gas price going up....

Post by **Iceman2989** » Wed Mar 23, 2011 1:02 am

Okay so I replaced the exhaust manifold last December, but it busted again last month. Finally got another new one (it was under warranty) and should be able to put it in this week. I'll actually take pictures this time! haha, totally forgot last go-around.

Post by **ottofalcon** » Thu Mar 24, 2011 3:30 am

dang, i feel like crap now that i saw how much better your fuel economy is, im doing abour 12mpg...

crap!

Post by **Iceman2989** » Thu Mar 24, 2011 9:11 am

I know how ya feel.... Im at 9mpg now

Post by **Squiz** » Thu Mar 24, 2011 11:30 am

ottofalcon wrote:dang, i feel like crap now that i saw how much better your fuel economy is, im doing abour 12mpg...

crap!

I'm in the same boat, but I don't have any indicators that something is wrong. My 97 sounds great, no check-engine light, etc... I am however replacing my fuel filter and hoses....?

1997 Pathy Fuel Economy~

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