I love my 1995 Volvo 960 station wagon. Recently I get 8 mpg. Will a new carborator help? Otherwise what should I do to get this old friendly car moving like it used to move?
I don’t think your vehicle has a carburetor. It’s fuel injected. If you’re only getting 8mpg then it’s probably leaking fuel injectors. Your next problem is finding a good independent mechanic to work on the 960 for you.
MM – if the injectors are leaking that badly, should he be able to smell the gasoline (to help confirm the diagnosis)?
Its true that you don’t have a carburetor. Does the car seem to be running ok?
Is it safe to assume that you are noticing this because it recently changed? Do you have a check engine light on? How many miles are on the car and as compared to the service schedule as given in the owner’s manual, say some things about the state of basic maintenance - plugs, wires, filters, etc…
Is the cooling system behaving normally? One reason that gas mileage can go down a lot is a stuck open thermostat and/or bad coolant temp sensor. Dragging brakes are another common reason. After driving you could go around and - carefully - feel at each wheel to see if any are hot. Old spark plugs and wires can matter.
Basically, someone has to go over all of the basic systems.
A mechanic with an emissions tester could test to see if there are excessive unburned hydrocarbons (gasoline in other words) going out the tailpipe. That would provide a clue at least as to what is wrong.
8 mpg? Last summer we drove our 1996 960 sedan pulling a sailboat more than 2,600 miles. We averaged 24.8 mpg at road speeds of 65 to 75+ mph. Day to day around town it gets 16 to 17 mpg.
My independent Volvo mechanic recommend adding a bottle of Techtron to premium fuel every 3-4,000 miles. He uses it to keep injectors and valves clean. Apparently it works.
Good luck.
@bills7123–A really severe drop-off in gas mileage has to be due to much more than clogged fuel injectors.
Yes, keeping the injectors clean is very important, but the OP has told us absolutely nothing regarding the maintenance of this 19 year old car. In fact, we don’t even know how many miles are on the odometer.
There is an oblique reference to a drop-off in performance (“what should I do to get this old friendly car moving like it used to move?”), but the OP does not even elaborate on the performance issues that he/she is experiencing. We know almost nothing about this car other than its model, model year, and gas mileage.
MUCH more information is needed.