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Yep, your MPG is a bit low. There are a zillion things that can cause it. As mentioned, check your odometer, they are notorious for intermittent operation that you may never notice. Also the 1985 cars (Fed & CA) are very different than the older ones - different tranny, torque converter, vacuum system, rear end ratio, etc, etc. But they should still get decent mileage. Check all the basic stuff - tire pressures (32+), brakes dragging, alignment, air filter, fuel filters, IP timing, valve adjustment (every 15kmi), timing chain stretch, engine temp (80-100C), etc, etc. One other thing - if you live in CA you get 10-20% lower MPG than everyone else. You can thank CARB and the EPA for shoving lower-BTU fuel into your tanks. All 4 of my cars get *significantly* better MPG using non-CA fuel! I have years of records on all the cars in CA, and in the 4 months I've been in Idaho the MPG improvement is amazing (ID, NV, WA, and OR fuel all seem equally good so far.)
FWIW, my 1984 gets crummy MPG too, about 20-22 around town, and 22-24 on the freeway (with good fuel - knock 2mpg off that for CA numbers.) I know numerous other people with 123.133's that get 25 city, 30 highway, which is what these cars SHOULD get when in PERFECT condition. I have tried almost everything in an attempt to cure the poor MPG. The only two things left are the master cylinder (I think the brakes are dragging very slightly), and checking the timing chain stretch. All else has pretty much been eliminated. I'd like to fix both before I sell it just to know what it was! I want to sell it and get a nice 190D instead (I'm spoiled by the 124's and want to unload the frumpy ol' 123!)
:p :p p
Regards,
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