polo sucking too much fuel - piedthepiper
hi
i recently bought a polo coupe 1.0 1990 h plate
i had it serviced n alas soon as i bought it ,and it sucks way to much fuel i got 110 miles outta 15 quid which is what my friend gets from his 2.0 !
the haynes manual says i could have a worn carb?
if so how much am i looking at for a new or second hand one from scrappies?
also i\'ve been told that if the head gasket has oil on it that this can be a bad thing if so how bad cos i got some of that too? lol

if it i bad news please be gentle it my first car too!
thanks guys
polo sucking too much fuel - Richard Hall
Based on the figures you've given, you're getting about 28mpg. Not brilliant, but it depends on the kind of driving you are doing. I have always found the 1043cc Polo motor to give much poorer fuel economy than most other cars that size - my mother's old Polo never did much better than 30 mpg. I suspect it's because this engine is so gutless that you have to work it very hard to make decent progress. However, if you are trying to work out when you have used up your £15 worth of fuel by looking at the fuel gauge, it's difficult to measure precisely - you could easily be 15 miles out either way, giving you anything from 24 mpg (terrible) to 32 mpg (about right). If the car runs and drives OK and passed the MOT emissions test, it's unlikely there is anything wrong with the carburettor. Try measuring the fuel consumption over a longer period - say four or five lots of £15 - and see what you get. At current fuel prices, dividing the miles you have done by 3.85 should near enough give you the right mpg figure.

As for oil leaks - they all do that, and unless it really bothers you, I'd ignore it on a car this age. Just keep checking the oil level regularly, especially before and after a long journey.

Richard Hall
bangernomics.tripod.com
polo sucking too much fuel - piedthepiper
well it has 5 months left on the mot, so im unsure about its emmisions, the reason i bought a 1.0 is so i could drive it about cheaply lol
i had the oil changed on it and now i can hear the tappets all the time people are telling me now that the tappets may be going?
i was told the old looked like grease!
i did manage to get 43 miles to 5 quid, but i keep getting told a 1.0 should do much better on fuel then that
would a 1.3 polo be better? i really want a g40 but no one would isure me on that for a 1st car lol
how can i tell if the carb is going? are there any signs i should be looking out for, there are no leaks on the ground of any kind so i a bit miffed.
i read in one of those buyr uides things that on 1990 models and older that oil n the headgasket is a bad sign
polo sucking too much fuel - Maz
My fuel pipe leaked in the engine. Have you tried looking around in the engine when it's running? Simple to fix and I got 40mpg in my Formel E.
polo sucking too much fuel - piedthepiper
i cant see any leaks when its running and there are no puddles on the ground that i can see
what ways are there to check for fuel leaks?