Fuel consumption change

[Cuppa]

Each time we go down to Broome we fill up with fuel - 50c a litre cheaper there than up here. Have been using the Fuelmap app to keep a running record on fuel use & consumption.

Over the past 4 months since propping here we've been travelling solo, no Tvan & with a bit less weight than when in full travel mode. It was pleasing to see our consumption drop from an average of mid 15's per 100 with the Tvan on (which we thought not too bad) down to mid 13's (& even 12.6l per 100km on one occasion). Pretty damn good for a still heavy TD42 80% of which has been on sandy tracks.

So when we got back from Broome last week & filled in the details to Fuelmap, driving no differently to usual, it was a bit of a shock to see our fuel consumption had jumped up to 15.44litres per 100kms ...solo.

The only thing I could think of to check was to see if the air filter might be in need of a clean, & got around to checking it today. Bloody Norah, it was caked in red mud, it's a pleated paper filter & in places there was virtually no gap between the pleats. The 'mud' had an oily feel to it, engine oil mist mixed with the variety of red dirts we have crossed since last July. Dipstick doesn't show any oil lost between changes, but enough mist to bind red dust together. After scraping the worst off the outer parts of the pleats, I knocked the filter on a wooden bench - over & over - & more & more kept coming out. Red dirt & bugs, by the handful! I couldn't believe how much there was. Finally I blew it out from the inside with compressed air until I had it as clean as it was ever going to be.

It'll be a while before I know whether the fuel consumption has reduced again, but I'm hopeful. Says something about the TD42 that it could have an air filter that clogged & increased fuel consumption...... but it hadn't felt any different to drive. Wouldn't have been any the wiser without the Fuelmap app.

And yes I did remove the catch can I bought & fitted a short time before we left home.

[PeeBee]

Cuppa, I am wondering if the dust is simply bound together with the moisture. The dirt can have a very high organic content and be quick sticky anyway - just a guess if you are starting to chase shadows regards oily build up. On the fuel consumption, my chev gets 2 high country trips per filter when its dusty. Any more and its blowing soot everywhere and down on power. Change the filter, right as rain. I reckon you have probably just pushed the limits on the filter servicing and it has been a lot dustier than you thought, maybe. I would say the filter will be ready for a change by what you describe, despite the blow out.

[mudnut]

Time to tape an old damp sock over the snorkel intake.

[Cuppa]

Yep no doubt it's filter change time, but it'll have to wait, not an abundance of filter shops in these parts. Might try an old stocking on the snorkel that I packed somewhere specifically for that purpose. Tomorrow's big job - hunt the stocking - well a man's gotta fill his day somehow!