Gas and Tire Pressure

Another fill-up using 91 octane at a Sinclair station:

March 13:
261.8 miles / 14.032 gallons = 18.66 mpg

I don't know what to think about this stat. On one hand, it's pretty good mileage for winter. But on the other hand, it's been a mild winter, and it's 91 octane! 91 octane was $3.909 a gallon. If I don't start seeing 22+ mpg with 91 octane, I'm going back to 87 octane at a Cenex station.

One possible reason for the lower-than-expected mileage would be the tire pressure on the new tires I recently purchased. I like to have my tires at 40-44 psi (max load on tire sidewall is 44 psi). The mechanic or technician might have set the tires at 35 psi, which is what the tire pressure placard on the driver's door recommends.

(5 minute break)

I just went outside and checked the tire pressure, and the tires were indeed set at 35 psi. Boy, the one time I go to a different mechanic...

Yes, the ride is a little smoother at 35 psi, but I'd rather have higher MPG and longer tire life (more even tire wear at 40-44 psi).

Caravan odometer = 178,422 miles

Boring Winter

Sorry for the lack of updates. I have been trying to limit my driving to save money. Nothing has gone awry or afoul or askew lately, so that's a plus.

Caravan odometer = 178,280 miles

Wintervention

The caravan should now be ready for winter. I bought 4 Firestone Touring P205/70R15 S95 tires (with mount, balance, and alignment), and installed a new 18" rear wiper.

I filled the gas tank with 91 octane (no ethanol) again.

January 23:
137.3 miles / 7.919 gallons = 17.3 mpg (Note: It has been a lot colder since my last fill-up.)

Caravan odometer = 178,160 miles

The Van is Back.

In my last post, blogger "have a nice day" pretty much described the repair work my mechanic performed better than I could have described, so read his comment.

Other information:

1. The oil pressure sender was replaced because it was leaking oil.

2. I have switched from Valvoline synthetic blend 5w-30 to Valvoline synthetic 5w-30. I have had problems finding the synthetic blend recently, so I thought now would be a good time to make the switch to full synthetic.

3. Lastly, I filled up with 91 octane (no ethanol) after getting the caravan back from the shop. I won't be doing this very often, but I thought it would be interesting to see any differences in performance compared to the 89 octane (10% ethanol) and 87 octane (no ethanol).

The following fill-up was achieved with 87 octane (no ethanol):

December 27:
277.9 miles / 13.935 gallons = 19.94 mpg

Bad News Update

According to my mechanic, the caravan has a blown head gasket. I looked around for pricing on replacing the motor, but it would be cheaper to do the repair work instead of buying a new engine block. Since the valve covers tend to go bad on the 3.0L caravans, I will be replacing those as well. Fortunately, I won't need to buy new cylinder heads; just get them milled.

Please excuse any possible terminology errors, for I am not car savvy enough to have in-depth engine discussions.

Bad News

Monday, November 21:

For the previous fortnight I was not getting warm air out of the vents. I presumed this to be a petty issue, since it wasn't cold enough outside to frost the windshield, and I'm capable of dressing properly for cold weather. I made an appointment with my mechanic, Vern, for the following week.

I didn't think it was a thermostat problem, since the temperature gauge was reading in the normal range, and it wouldn't be a radiator problem, because that was flushed recently. I figured it to be more annoying than problematic.

I was proven wrong! While driving on the highway at roughly 12:25 am (Tuesday, the 22nd), my caravan overheated and stalled at 50 mph. I was able to put the transmission in neutral and coast to a side street before having to call a tow truck.

I will have the diagnosis within the next few days.

Caravan odometer = 178,003 miles

Sea Foam and Gas

I added a pint of Sea Foam to the gas tank before filling up with 87 octane (no ethanol).

October 13:
300.7 miles / 14.322 gallons = 20.99 mpg

Caravan odometer = 177,832 miles