way too high fuel consumption: the beginning

[lost2]

Hi everyone,

I had the van for a week now, and it is a wonderful vehicule, no doubt! Nevertheless, the van consumption is way too high (estimated roughly at 18l per 100km, maybe more. I'll know for sure tomorrow when I fill it up).

Next tuesday, I will put the van on a lift and make with a mechanic a detailed inspection of the basics (front & rear brakes, lines, suspension, filters, grease points, air intake, muffler, and if it is possible: engine compression, etc.) I want to eliminate as many potential sources as possible before seeking for specific assistance with you, fellow delica owners.

But since some might have experienced similar trouble with there van, I thought I could share the little I know and let you suggest where to look at, on this trip to the garage!

The van:
*1990 Delica L300, 4wd, 2.5 TD, RHD. Imported to Quebec via BC in 2005.
*Had 25 000k, on arrival, 115 000km when I bought it last week.
*Was converted to WVO in the meantime, but is now back on Fuel only. I need to put an electric 3-way valve to reconvert it.
*Was once a participant of the "500 Club" ;)
*Had its EGR Valve removed (I have to check if the metal plate replacing it is still airtight)
*Has new glowplugs, new starter selenoid, new 1080 (?) amp battery, new oil and new oil filter

My slight observations for now on are:
* Engaging in 4 wheel drive is very difficult (especially on 4L).
* Often, I feel a (quite strong) resistance to move when I put it in drive (I can feel it especially on reverse). It is quite noticeable when not pushing on the fuel pedal, vibrations of the engine are intense and the van seems to be stuck in glue...
* It may be linked to the use of 4 wheel drive, but not to the "winding" of the tires caracteristical of a 4x4 when it takes a steep curve. The resistance is present even when moving straight.
* The front wheels autolocks seem to engage/disengage properly. The dashlight saying "locks on" works the same.
* The blue icon on the dash (featuring 4wheels and two axles) lights on and off randomly (what is this anyway, I thought it would indicate whether I am on 2WD or 4WD)
* Some noises seems to be coming from the front wheels/brakes pad (not investigated yet)
* Except when I start it in the morning, It doesn't do fumes (white nor black)
* For what I know, the engine as a nice & fluid sound. (It's the first TD engine a have, but I previously owned a 1992 Volks Golf, with a 1.6 Diesel Engine)

What I already planned to do, as preventive work:
* Change the timing belt, water pump, thermostat, and the rest of it (the "kit")
* Change the muffler (it as a 1/2" diameter hole in th rear of it, and starts to be a noisy fellow)

Well, that's it for now. I am not a experienced mechanic. For now on, my best work ever was to change the brake master cylinder and the brake lines of my VW Golf... but I like challenges and I expect to be better everyday.

I don't have a heated garage, well in fact I don't have ANY garage except God's garage, but have friends willing to share some space a few days at a time during the winter.

Thanks anyway for any inputs,

Davy

[FalcoColumbarius]

What are you filling it up with that does 18L/100K?

[fexlboi]

Did you measure the distance with an GPS or the odometer?
Why do you want to change the timing belt, water pump and thermostat? After 90k km on Canadian soil I hope the previous owner did it already.
Is it a 5spd or auto?
Are the front wheels spinning without any drag when you lift the van?

[Firesong]

One thing I would check right away is the fluid in the front diff.
Take the bash plate off underneath and check the fluid levels
and the state of the fluid. When I was low from a unfortunate
issue I created and felt the resistance etc, the fluid was really low.

Just takes a couple minutes of work to check

FS

[jessef]

Unbolt/remove the front driveshaft as a test to see if the transfercase is engaging 4x4 on its own (which it shouldn't be).

Check all of the brakes/slider pins. Seized caliper can cause drag which can affect fuel economy.

Put it neutral, up on a hoist and spin each wheel. If they don't spin freely(at least one/few rotations on their own), you have drag somewhere- check brakes first

[lost2]

Did you measure the distance with an GPS or the odometer?
Why do you want to change the timing belt, water pump and thermostat? After 90k km on Canadian soil I hope the previous owner did it already.
Is it a 5spd or auto?
Are the front wheels spinning without any drag when you lift the van?

The exact fuel consumption is 21.2l/100km. I filled up this morning and got 58.001 liters with a distance of 273.1 km on the odometer. I filled up both times myself, making sure it was really full. My tires are new Goodyear Nordic P235/75/R15. Most of it was city driving with 4WD on (4H), but I did about 1 hour offroad, climbing a ski hill to experiment 4L.

And no, the previous owner didn't change the timing belt after 90k km (a good part of it was done while doing a trip to mexico). Should I try do get belts, water pump and accessories via my local NAPA or CARQUEST, or is this kit a fair price ?:
http://www.delica.ca/forum/delica-l300- ... tml#p67596

It has an automatic transmission. I didn't lift the van yet, but will do on next tuesday, so I can't tell for the wheel spinning. When trying the van for the first time with the previous owner, he engaged the parking brake and to my taste, it didn't seem to work sharply. Maybe the wire got partially stuck. I know also for sure that the front brake pads are worned (last owner changed these with less hard than usual material, to prevent disk erosion, but i feel I'll go back to the normal hardness material). Anyway, if it was a problem with the front brakes, i beleive the van would pull on on side or the other, unless both brakes would have broken at the same moment (!)

One thing I would check right away is the fluid in the front diff.
Take the bash plate off underneath and check the fluid levels
and the state of the fluid. When I was low from a unfortunate
issue I created and felt the resistance etc, the fluid was really low.

I'll try to see what this bash plate is with the material available on this site, and I'll let you know.

Thanks for the inputs,

Davy

[naterade]

Most of it was city driving with 4WD

Why would you be driving in the city in 4wd?? I assume on dry pavement?

4wd will certainly impact your mileage.... Not sure it 4wd alone will affect mileage as much as you are stating, but I'm sure it will have some noticeable impact on fuel consumption.

[yojimbo]

Get it out of 4wd drive and now and never engage it again until you understand when to use it. The L300 DOES NOT have a central diff and you should not be using 4wd on any hard surfaces.

Aside from that, it will add some drag to the transmission, and will hit fuel consumption, probably not as much as you are seeing, but the front hubs are auto-freewheeling for a reason.

[fexlboi]

Did you measure the distance with an GPS or the odometer?
Why do you want to change the timing belt, water pump and thermostat? After 90k km on Canadian soil I hope the previous owner did it already.
Is it a 5spd or auto?
Are the front wheels spinning without any drag when you lift the van?

The exact fuel consumption is 21.2l/100km. I filled up this morning and got 58.001 liters with a distance of 273.1 km on the odometer. I filled up both times myself, making sure it was really full. My tires are new Goodyear Nordic P235/75/R15. Most of it was city driving with 4WD on (4H), but I did about 1 hour offroad, climbing a ski hill to experiment 4L.

And no, the previous owner didn't change the timing belt after 90k km (a good part of it was done while doing a trip to mexico). Should I try do get belts, water pump and accessories via my local NAPA or CARQUEST, or is this kit a fair price ?:
http://www.delica.ca/forum/delica-l300- ... tml#p67596

Measure your distance with an GPS to make sure your numbers are right.
Never ever drive an l300 in 4WD on hard surfaces.
Did the previous owner at least change the timing belt, water pump etc after he imported the van from Japan? If not, do it asap and change your radiator while you have everything out.

[lost2]

Get it out of 4wd drive and now and never engage it again until you understand when to use it. The L300 DOES NOT have a central diff and you should not be using 4wd on any hard surfaces.

Aside from that, it will add some drag to the transmission, and will hit fuel consumption, probably not as much as you are seeing, but the front hubs are auto-freewheeling for a reason.

Hello!

I like the imperative tone I think your last sentence would be more efficient like this "but the front hubs are auto-freewheeling for a reason, innocent young boy!"

Maybe some more explanations: our city is 6300 inhabitants, has plenty of dirt and gravel roads all around. I live up a hill that used to have a straight, dirt road, 350 feet long, 18-19% inclination driveway. It has now been reduce to 12% with laceshoe type of road (means it goes on the right side of the hill, than on the left, then the right, and so on), and it is wonderful how 4WD makes this driveway an easy road. Of course there is pavement in town, but most of the displacements I did where between work and home. Anyway I said most of it was on 4H, not all of it. And I'm not stupid enough to think a 1990 van would have the kind of 'evoluted' differential you find for instance in a 2010 AWD Subaru... the reason I like older car is for their simplied mechanical and electrical design.

@fexlboi: I don't have a GPS at hand, but I assure you odometer seems to work fine. The speed it reads corresponds to the speed of our Crappy Dodge Caravan, and it is quite evident that I did'nt do much more distance than what it reads, while only going from point A to B 2 times a day since I filled it up first time +this trip on the ski hill (50km, more or less)The previous owner didn't change the timing belt at all, even upon arrival. Aren't there 2 radiators in front of the engine? Do you suggest to change both?

Again, thanks for everyone inputs.

Davy

[yojimbo]

Get it out of 4wd drive and now and never engage it again until you understand when to use it. The L300 DOES NOT have a central diff and you should not be using 4wd on any hard surfaces.

Aside from that, it will add some drag to the transmission, and will hit fuel consumption, probably not as much as you are seeing, but the front hubs are auto-freewheeling for a reason.

Hello!

I like the imperative tone I think your last sentence would be more efficient like this "but the front hubs are auto-freewheeling for a reason, innocent young boy!"

Maybe some more explanations: our city is 6300 inhabitants, has plenty of dirt and gravel roads all around. I live up a hill that used to have a straight, dirt road, 350 feet long, 18-19% inclination driveway. It has now been reduce to 12% with laceshoe type of road (means it goes on the right side of the hill, than on the left, then the right, and so on), and it is wonderful how 4WD makes this driveway an easy road. Of course there is pavement in town, but most of the displacements I did where between work and home. Anyway I said most of it was on 4H, not all of it. And I'm not stupid enough to think a 1990 van would have the kind of 'evoluted' differential you find for instance in a 2010 AWD Subaru... the reason I like older car is for their simplied mechanical and electrical design.

@fexlboi: I don't have a GPS at hand, but I assure you odometer seems to work fine. The speed it reads corresponds to the speed of our Crappy Dodge Caravan, and it is quite evident that I did'nt do much more distance than what it reads, while only going from point A to B 2 times a day since I filled it up first time +this trip on the ski hill (50km, more or less)The previous owner didn't change the timing belt at all, even upon arrival. Aren't there 2 radiators in front of the engine? Do you suggest to change both?

Again, thanks for everyone inputs.

Davy

LOL, ;) fair enough, but I was making a point, the L300 has NO central diff, I don't mean a simple central diff, I mean _none_, it has a center transfer box, which has no differential qualities at all, therefore on solid surfaces with no give it should be in 2wd, otherwise you will cause wind up in the transmission, which you can usually feel even if you then take it out of 4wd. Apart from doing the transmission no good it also scrubs the tyres a lot as they fight between the road and tension the axles are under. Now for you it might be ok if you have a paved section and then gravel, after all it will wind up on the paved and then release on the gravel. But you should be aware of how the central transfer box works and how to play nicely with it.

[fexlboi]

The previous owner didn't change the timing belt at all, even upon arrival. Aren't there 2 radiators in front of the engine? Do you suggest to change both?

It seems like he didn't care much about preventive maintenance. I would highly recommend doing the full package including replacing the main radiator. There is just one.
This should have been done after the van touched Candian soil: https://www.socialtext.net/delica/index ... red_delica

[yojimbo]

The most forward radiator is IIRC for the AC.

[pascal]

Unbolt/remove the front driveshaft as a test to see if the transfercase is engaging 4x4 on its own (which it shouldn't be).

Make sure that you have an oil pan nearby. When you take front drive shaft off, the transfer case empties. No joke. I just did it and had to call a friend to get him to bring me some Gear Box oil ASAP so I can get the van out of there.

[lost2]

Thanks anyone for your inputs. It helps to know I have some brave fanatics to rely on if I have unidentified problems with the van. Knowing that, I think I'll do most of the maintenance work myself.

Next monday, I shoud be doing my first mechanic repairs in a friend's 'heated' garage. On the list: left and right calipers, discs and pads/upper left ball joint/rear brake shoes, and if I have extra time, valve cover gaskets et grummets.

The week after: timing and balance belts and tensioners/water pump. I know some say I should change the radiator while I'm in there, but I want to inspect it before ordering a new one. I get the point of maintenance (means doing BEFORE it breaks!) but my ecological philosophy prevents me from replacing things that are still in good condition.

All parts arrived already, except for the front discs: they are shipped from New Brunswick. Hopefully I'll get these before monday...

I'll let everybody know if parts ordered fits or not. And maybe post some pictures of the van.

See ya,

Davy