Dale, I tried running those same Rapidfire plugs and mine had the same chalky deposits on them only after a few weeks- Those plugs are crap- try a different brand.

Note to all- when I labeled "brown", that implied tan (or a grayish brown for that matter), this is ideal plug temp and fuel stotch.

 

Everyone should have one of these in the back of their book but

 

gumby, thanks for chart. Mine is missing from my books at the house

Agood, I went with normal acdelco plugs this time.

Looks like it says its running to hot

1. Correct Heat Range, I would hope correct, unless parts store fubared
2. Timing, its at 11deg
3. Lean Fuel Mix, Maybe o2 was bad, or them injectors are just that worn
4. Vac Leak, checked, nope
5. Valves, no clue
6. Cooling, reads fine too me. I have replaced the guages, fans hardly kick on by themselfs.

 

Dale, it is normal for the 3.1l plugs to be bone white. Maybe a splash of pink or orange from fuel additives. Although they shouldn't have the deposits as shown above. I remember the first time I changed the plugs in mine. Bone white, oh-no, what is wrong with this engine.

Needless to say it was my first fuel injected engine and didn't realize how clean they run. The 3.1l's also run a 3-way cat which requires the AFR to be held very tightly at 14.7:1, even at idle. Ever notice the slight misfire that occurs from time-to-time during idle?

RBob.

 

3way cat, we dont have one of them stinkin things

Slight misfire??? I thought that was dirty injectors!!
It has slightly rough idle, but I figured that was due to a high milage engine. Just like my old 86 cavailer that had like 160k on the whipped 4cyl.

I just need to hurry up and get a 3.4 . All my worries will be gone. Parts that I would be swapping over are new.

 

Well, I'm stumped for gas milage too... I write it down every time i get gas, so 77121.4 is what it is now, 46705.0, so its 416.4 miles. That seems a little high.... To figure out MPG, dont you just divide that by the size of the tank? I heard its 15.5... according to that, i get 26.87 MPG, this seems a little odd, i have a lead foot ... Any ideas whats up?

 

You right down milage you fill it up, drive, then milage you fill it up again.

Subract 2nd # from 1st #, then divide that buy how many gallons it took to FILL IT UP, not the size of your tank.

So tech that number will be higher.

 

Easier way is just wait till you got about a 1/8 a tank of gas, filll it up, put in 5-10 dollars, what ever just note how many gallons you got.[easier if you get an even number of gallons.] Wrtie down the mileage and/or hit the trip button. wait till your almost out of gas again and do the math.

so many miles divided by how many gallons you bought.


Matt

 

Is it just me or is 416.4 a bit high? I have no error codes or anything, car is runnin perfectly, but i do have a lead foot....

 

my 2.8 babied gets 35mpg, 28mpg heavy foot. I have 15,000km on a rebuilt .020 engine with a cam that supposed increase fuel milage/performance. It does need tir-rods and wheell align. my old 82 camaro got about the same, but it was tricked out by the previous owner.

so from my experience I think a new cam would pay for itself. But I think a stock V6 should get 30mpg if it's in good condition. Suspension and correct inflation of tires has a suprising affect on MPG.

 

My old V6 Camaro was lucky to get 18. And it ran pretty good. But *** do I miss 18. My daily gets about 14 right now and I put between 500 and 750 miles per week average on it.

 

AND with 4.10 gears, it merges into traffic ALOT quicker, too!
Try an old worn engine in a 1974 Corvette (3.08 rear & 3 speed TH400 tranny).
I'm lucky if I get about 10 MPG, right now.
No I'm not driving far at all, just here & there.
How I love the Firebird, I get such great gas milage outta it.
Bigger 3.4 engine really helped increase MPG, too!
Torque.
Rules.
High milage aged engines eat gas, no matter what ya do. Until ya fix the aged mill right with tighter tolerences.

 

I just love when poeple complain about gas prices, I wish I had your problems- I drive an '89 Chev 1/2ton truck with 3.70's in the rear and a 34 gal fuel tank that I fill aprox 6 times a month at about $75 a pop (I have to run super unleaded because of motor work). I get about 8 miles to the gallon- welcome to my world.

 

I definitely agree with that. My old engine stock cam and internals got LESS gas mileage than my new crate engine with a cam, heads, and roller rockers.

AGood....man, I'm glad I'm not you. And I b*tch about having to pump $20 a week...

 

This is why I let the insurance and plates expire on the $5 a day Buick 350x wagon. And chose to keep the $5 a week car on the road.

Matt