Ok so i know im going to ask the biggest noob questions but bare with me as im new to this stuff and quickly trying to learn ! thanks

Just for some starter info im driving An 02 Ba XR6

Not to long ago i changed my O2 sensor and when i took it out it was black and bent and damaged like crazy so i replaced that. It helped my fuel economy a fair bit after that

than a dodgy mechanic told me to replace my TB because of a few issues! .. that didnt solve anything but my fuel was SOOO much better ! i started getting like 450 kms per tank apposed to 250.!

after that came a replacement on a coil pack (this solved my issues)

i Than decided to add a FPV F6 air box and K&N air filter but my fuel started dropping like crazy again !

so now im thinking ill do a service and hopefully see some improvement !

ok so now for the noob questions to roll in !

1. Do i need to change and replace my coil packs and do different Brands If any make a difference ? if so what will be the difference in them ?

2.Same goes to spark plugs (i know i need to change these and why though )

3.Should i replace my fuel and oil filter and again does brand change anything ? and what difference would i notice

4.Exactly what oil should i be using ? i was told that since my car had 300000 + Ks that i should be using a thicker oil ? is this true ? if not what oil do i need to put in as iv got no idea with that ?

5.in a service do i need to change my break and power steering fluid also ? or leave them ?

6.Since ill have everything off how would i go about cleaning my Throttle body as apparently this could help

Thanks Heaps for taking the time and helping out ! any advice at all would be AWESOME ! and if anyone has any relevant info or any tips feel free to add anything and please feel free to help in any way

Ps Im pretty handy and good with fixing and replacing things ! iv got a general idea on how to do everything but just want some clarification.

1. Do i need to change and replace my coil packs and do different Brands If any make a difference ? if so what will be the difference in them ?

NO NOT UNLESS YOUR COILS ARE OVER 100.000KM OLD

2.Same goes to spark plugs (i know i need to change these and why though )

SPARK PLUGS SHOULD BE IRIDIUMS AND AGAIN LAST UP TO 80,000KM BEFORE CHANGING

3.Should i replace my fuel and oil filter and again does brand change anything ? and what difference would i notice

WHEN WERE THEY CHANGED LAST?? IF RECENTLY THEN NO..
DIFFERENT BRANDS WONT GIVE ANY PERFORMANCE GAINS BUT SOME BRANDS FILTER BETTER THAN OTHERS..

4.Exactly what oil should i be using ? i was told that since my car had 300000 + Ks that i should be using a thicker oil ? is this true ? if not what oil do i need to put in as iv got no idea with that ?

NO, IF YOUR ENGINE IS REASONABLY QUIET , HAS GOOD OIL PRESSURE AND DONT BURN OIL JUST KEEP USING THE FACTORY RECCOMENDED GRADE..
THICKER OIL THAN NECESSARY CAN ACTUALLY CAUSE DRAG AND USE MORE FUEL

5.in a service do i need to change my break and power steering fluid also ? or leave them ?

AGAIN IT DEPENDS ON WHEN THEY WERE CHANGED LAST..
BRAKE FLUID SHOULD BE FLUSHED EVERY 2 YEARS, SAME WITH POWER STEERING FLUID..

6.Since ill have everything off how would i go about cleaning my Throttle body as apparently this could help

BUY SOME THROTTLE BODY CLEANER, AND JUST SPRAY IT IN IT UNTILL CLEAN..
A DIRTY THROTTLE BODY CAN GIVE POOR IDLING AND THROTTLE RESPONCE..

When changing the brake fluid, you should check the caliper slides for free movement, and relube.
At 300,000 + km.....depending on oil consumption/engine wear, you may need to go to a 15W50 grade engine oil.
Factory spec was 10W30.

Thanks Troy Your a LEGEND ! i owe you one

and the last service was over 2 years ago :S (i didnt really pay much attention to the car till recently ! and now iv spent over 2 grand paying for that mistake in the last few weeks )

ok thanks heaps it means alot !



so im lost troy advised me to stay to factory specs and your saying i should go thicker ?

at the moment the engine runs ruther well pretty quite (besides the fans) and i think its on a 15W50 not 10W30. so should i just leave it as is or go back to factory and give it a go ?

thanks Alot for the reply

How often do you check your fluid levels? If you change to 10w-30 and you notice it is eating oil, you will definitely need to go back to 15w-40 or 50 grade. Also get a torch and take off your oil cap and see if your rocker gear and the underside of the cap is gunked up with carbon and crud. If it is run an engine oil flush product for 20 mins or so through the motor on your next few oil+filter changes. The deposits are a sign of overworked and under changed oil.

Hey buckets umm i check it every so often, i used to check it like 2 times a week for a while and nothing ever seemed to be missing or leaking or anything so i gave up on it ! , and yeah ill check that in the morning thanks do i just get the flusher product from a autobarn or super cheap im assuming ? ??

thanks for the reply mate

Hey so by changing my fuel filter and servicing my car should i notice better fuel econ at all ? or not really ?

the main reason im doing all this is because i feel like my fuel econ is going to hell over the last few weeks and i dont know why ?

when did you change your 02 sensor last???

I will add there with the fuel filter it depends on the fuel you get from the station and how low you allow your tank to get. If the OP has got s**t fuel or the station has ran the tanks low then it may need to be replaced or if he has allowed the cars fuel pump to suck the s**t from the bottom of the tank then maybe yes too. I had a filter clog up after only 1,000km after getting fuel from a Safeway petrol station in Rye many years ago.

just to add, incase you dont realise, the fuel pump always draws fuel from the bottom of the tank so any crap like dirt rust or even water will get sucked in no matter how much fuel is in the tank..

Yes but having more fuel in the tank will dilute the contaminants as such and allow more area to slosh around compared to low fuel levels giving a smaller area for the slush to go

i changed my o2 sensor about 4 months ago, than changed my throttle body aswell both of those got me about 400 ks per tank now im back down to scraping the 300 mark (if im lucky). i also checked it yesterday when changing everything and it was fine didnt have much carbon on it .




yeah i changed them yesterday ! before that it had been about 2 years ! but only about 10000 ks if that , i only fill up from the woolies station with Vortex 98 ! never put annything less than that no matter how much it costs ><


so when i changed my fuel filter i blew through it to see if it was clogged or not, i didnt really have to blow hard for air to go through it so i dont think it was clogged but the fuel looked REALLY dirty coming out of it ! (im not sure if its the color of the fuel or the fact the filter was really dirty but im preatty sure it was a dark brown ! so i think that was over due for a clean

btw i use nulon 10 40 as the guy in auto barn advised me that it would be smarter to have it thin as winter isnt to long away (some reason i regret this) but i wanted to try thinner oil and see what difference i notice hopefully it goes well ! i also got a drift fuel and oil filter for the car as apparently it one of the best brands for fuel and oil filters (apparently better than K&N)

i guess the next question is how hard do you drive it???

400km a tank is fairly normal for city stop start driving,

if you drive a bit harder or cary more passengers of even drive it on really short drives, like local shop and back without any hwy runs, your fuel usige will rise..

i dont push hard at all ! the occasional push off at the lights till about 60 but nothing over the top
(i wanna become a cop so i cant afford to have anything on my record so i dont risk it) iv never floored the car >< (shameful i know )

but i was getting 400 doing the same kind of drives im doing now, just to tafe and sometimes out with mates nothing to far and rarely any trips to short.

umm one final thing if you dont mind !

was using 10 40 nulon oil a bad decision ? i drove it today for about 10 mins and it warmed up to about half way apposed to quarter before. is this a bad thing ? im gonna be sure to keep my eyes on it to see if it gets near 3 quarters.

but will having 10 40 in my car damage anything ?

thanks again Troyman ! your a constant help i cant thank you enough

The oil that Ford uses and recommends for the BA/BF is 5W-30W. I doubt you would do any damage with 10W- 40W.