14/14/14mpg and a missing egr tube...

[Doorplease]

So when I bought my montero one of the first things I noticed was that someone had cut up the egr tube and sealed the holes With little pieces of metal. First off this annoyed me immensely to see conidering the previous owner sold himself as a certified technician. But I feel this has also contributed to deteriorating mpg over time, down from a whopping 16. Now over the last year I have noticed quirks of the truck such as overheating problems caused by the hose in the coolant reserve falling in but since then the truck has never stayed at the normal operating temperature line, always a hair over. (initially in never rose above).
Now I know that the valve (seats/seals/that common 3.0 issue) need to be redone and I have a slight exhaust leak I need to take care of right at then exhaust manifold. But could there be anything else that I'm missing to cause my mileage to increase just a bit? This is killing me and from an underpowered v6 it's just insult to injury. Also I driving like a grandmother or Ferrari it hasn't seamed to make a diffence.

 

[Doorplease]

Sorry for the spelling errors this was typed on my iPad

 

[off-roader]

Yeah I have the same spelling issues due to my ipad.
What year/model do you have? Maybe add that info to your signature?

 

[Doorplease]

My bad . I didnt add any of that because I could have sworn I had it in my signature
89 lwb montero 3.0 w/ 181,000

 

[off-roader]

I'd start with a fresh tune up and fix the EGR system.. certified mechanic? Where at, Walmart? LOL...

If the coolant reservoir is loosing coolant then it's either going out via a blown head gasket or out one of the many rubber hoses in the cooling system including the ones going into your heater core.

If it's a blown head gasket (probably the most severe possibility) then I'd double check your oil and coolant for cross contamination. There are analysis kits you can buy at decent auto parts stores that will tell you if you have an issue.

Plus there's also a metal tube that goes from your water pump in front all the way back in the V of the engine. If he didnt replace the O-ring that seals the tube to the water pump then it will likely leak out there as well.

But all this aside assuming it's not a major loss in coolant fluid it probably won't affect your mileage.

I'm sure there are other things to consider/look at and I'd wait for others to chime in.

 

[Doorplease]

ehh what can i say i fell in love with the truck i was blinded XD

would fixing the egr improve mileage? I've heard different opinions about deleting the egr and increasing mileage? I do plan on fixing it being an environmentalist, but I am curious.

 

[madmax718]

EGR is primarily an emissions thing, but it could theoretically boost a fraction of mileage due to pushing unburnt fuel/heating up the air for combustion. It is not supposed to function at normal operating temps.

 

[off-roader]

No worries. Definitely not faulting you. When I bought my first Monty (90 Montero LS) I was looking for a gen I trooper and saw the Montero on the lot. Test Drove and then bought it in short order.

 

[LaOutbackTrail]

My 95 with 3.5 had an egr solenoid go out which resulted in a check engine light and reduced fuel economy. Got a couple of the solenoids for nothing at the junk yard. Different truck than you though.