Posted by Joe Divito on August 28, 1998 at 18:41:09:
In Reply to: 1975 Maverick posted by Kathleen Sawicki on August 20, 1998 at 20:29:32:
: I was wondering if anyone out there could help me out. m I just bought my 17 year old daughter a '75 four door Maverick. It's a beauty and is in excellent condition. I had the mechanics replace all belts and hoses, check everything over and we're in good shape. The problem is that the car is a 6 cyclinder and we are getting terrible gas mileage ! I'm wondering if the gas gauge is broken or something else is definitely wrong ! When the car was close to empty, it took only 11 gallons of gas. That's the most we've put in it. I will bring the car back to the used car lot because we do have a 3 month/3,000 mile warranty. Can anyone give me some advice ? Or just tell me how many miles to the gallon I should be getting ? I'd really appreciate it !
: Sincerely,
: Kathleen
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My experience is 18-22 MPG. My highest was 26. I'd suggest that you fill the tank, then drive a set number of miles (say 50-100) then refill the tank. That should give you an idea of the actual MPG, and help indicate if the gauge is reading accurately or not. From your description, it does sound like you're gauge is showing the tank to be empty, but you haven't had to put much gas in it. That does sound like it's the gauge that's wrong. If you're interested, let me know and I'll look up the tank capacities in my Chilton's book for a '75. That would also help--if the gauge shows the tank is almost empty, but you only put ten gallons in a tank rated for 19 (for example), you would have further evidence that something is wrong in the gauge or sender unit.
My $0.02 worth,
Joe