1988 Toyota Corolla Hatch Back - losing gas

I bought this car brand new back in 1988 and I still love driving it.
I've only driven in around town so it only has 120,000 mile on it, but
it is starting to having a few problems. Just recently, I've noticed
that it is going through gas at an accelerated rate. It usually gets
about 25 miles per gallon, but over the past two weeks it is only
getting 10 miles to the gallon. What might be causing such a sudden
change. I can't tell if there is a leak and know no one is syphoning
gas. I have a great mechanic, but I just don't have a lot time and
money right now to go see him...

<d.tesch@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:1134430266.805966.239960@g49g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...[color=blue]
>I bought this car brand new back in 1988 and I still love driving it.
> I've only driven in around town so it only has 120,000 mile on it, but
> it is starting to having a few problems. Just recently, I've noticed
> that it is going through gas at an accelerated rate. It usually gets
> about 25 miles per gallon, but over the past two weeks it is only
> getting 10 miles to the gallon. What might be causing such a sudden
> change. I can't tell if there is a leak and know no one is syphoning
> gas. I have a great mechanic, but I just don't have a lot time and
> money right now to go see him...
>[/color]

Several things can make the car go through gas.

- A leak somewhere in the fuel system, including the filler neck, tank
itself, fuel lines, or a leaking carb/injector.

- Transmission problem - choosing incorrect gear, torque converter/clutch
slippage

- Carb/fuel injection problem with the engine running rich

- Dragging brakes

- Siphoning - how do you know that nobody is siphoning gas?
--
Ray O
correct the return address punctuation to reply

[email]d.tesch@comcast.net[/email] wrote:[color=blue]
> I bought this car brand new back in 1988 and I still love driving it.
> I've only driven in around town so it only has 120,000 mile on it, but
> it is starting to having a few problems. Just recently, I've noticed
> that it is going through gas at an accelerated rate. It usually gets
> about 25 miles per gallon, but over the past two weeks it is only
> getting 10 miles to the gallon. What might be causing such a sudden
> change. I can't tell if there is a leak and know no one is syphoning
> gas. I have a great mechanic, but I just don't have a lot time and
> money right now to go see him...
>[/color]
Check the filler neck for leaks. My 86 rotten out after only 80k miles.
It began by leaking gas when the tank was full and the car was parked on
an incline with the front higher then the rear. If this is your problem
then duplicating these conditions should easily show a leak.

[email]d.tesch@comcast.net[/email] <d.tesch@comcast.net> wrote:[color=blue]
> I bought this car brand new back in 1988 and I still love driving it.
> I've only driven in around town so it only has 120,000 mile on it, but
> it is starting to having a few problems. Just recently, I've noticed
> that it is going through gas at an accelerated rate. It usually gets
> about 25 miles per gallon, but over the past two weeks it is only
> getting 10 miles to the gallon. What might be causing such a sudden
> change. I can't tell if there is a leak and know no one is syphoning
> gas. I have a great mechanic, but I just don't have a lot time and
> money right now to go see him...[/color]

Did it recently get cold where you live? Does your thermostat warm up
as fast as it used to? Have you ever replaced the thermostat?

<d.tesch@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:1134430266.805966.239960@g49g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...[color=blue]
>I bought this car brand new back in 1988 and I still love driving it.
> I've only driven in around town so it only has 120,000 mile on it, but
> it is starting to having a few problems. Just recently, I've noticed
> that it is going through gas at an accelerated rate. It usually gets
> about 25 miles per gallon, but over the past two weeks it is only
> getting 10 miles to the gallon. What might be causing such a sudden
> change. I can't tell if there is a leak and know no one is syphoning
> gas. I have a great mechanic, but I just don't have a lot time and
> money right now to go see him...
>[/color]

Check your oil level. Couldn't the fuel pump be a source for leaking into
the crank case?

"RG" <rguy@cox.net> wrote in message news:1JUnf.80258$2k5.4393@dukeread09...[color=blue]
>
> <d.tesch@comcast.net> wrote in message
> news:1134430266.805966.239960@g49g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...[color=green]
>>I bought this car brand new back in 1988 and I still love driving it.
>> I've only driven in around town so it only has 120,000 mile on it, but
>> it is starting to having a few problems. Just recently, I've noticed
>> that it is going through gas at an accelerated rate. It usually gets
>> about 25 miles per gallon, but over the past two weeks it is only
>> getting 10 miles to the gallon. What might be causing such a sudden
>> change. I can't tell if there is a leak and know no one is syphoning
>> gas. I have a great mechanic, but I just don't have a lot time and
>> money right now to go see him...
>>[/color]
>
> Check your oil level. Couldn't the fuel pump be a source for leaking into
> the crank case?[/color]
A mechanical fuel pump could potentially leak fuel into the crank case, an
electric fuel pump is not likely to do so.
--
Ray O
correct the return address punctuation to reply

Thanks for all the help everyone. I found out that there was a leak or
tear in the manifold which was causing the gas leak. I had it fixed and
the car is running great and getting great gas mileage.