Re: 88' getting very bad gas mileage

["M. W." <mattwagner@softhome.net>]

I've tried sniffing around the car and I havn't noticed any odor of fuel. It
seems to run about the same as it always has. It's had the idle problem
since I bought it and the mileage was decent before. The only differences in
how I drive it now compared to before is that I have the heater running at
full blast to defog the windshield. A coworker did mention that he thought
my heater sounded abnormally loud and that it almost sounded like an a/c
compressor???

>      I can't imagine that a dying alternator would kill your mileage like
that,
> but it certainly could be the cause of your gauge being bit on the wonky
side.
>      Have you checked to make sure the gas tank isn't leaking?  I ask
because
> there was a recall on Sciroccos for gas tanks that could develop seam
leaks.  I
> took mine in to get it done, no charge for the replacement (as an
interesting
> note, they also busted the brake lines removing the tank, so they replaced
those
> free as well) about 1 year ago.  A leaky tank would probably look a lot
like
> you were burning more gas than you should, and if you never park indoors,
it
> would be pretty easy to miss.  Especially because it could very possibly
only
> leak until the residual fuel pressure was released (that's what mine was
> doing).  By the time you came back to it after parking it, all the leaked
fuel
> is evaporated leaving no evidence of the problem.
>      Just a thought.  There are probably as many ways for your mileage to
go to
> hell as there are people to tell you about them.  How's it running?  Does
it
> seem to lack power?  Any noticeable changes in the idle?  Any of those
things
> would point to engine problems that could cause lousy gas consumption.
>      Good luck.
>
> Cheers,
> Colin



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