Since I inherited my father’s 95 (47,000 original miles) I have put about 700 miles on her and am just starting to get to know the car. I replaced the plugs, wires, ALL the fluids, filters, new shocks and tires; purring like a kitten and running like a top (insert any analogy you like here, she is running great!). Two things I noticed that may be related and I would like any and every owners opinion.

1. To bring the car home to California from Arizona I (of course) had to drive it through the desert, in July. Although not incredibly hot it was ... well, hot. I kept the car a steady 60 to 65 miles an hour, not trying to break any speed records and really watching the gauges to make sure temps were within acceptable ranges and everything was operating smoothly, and it definitely was. BUT, I got an average MPG of 25.2 for that trip. With new plugs, fuel filter, the dead of summer etc. I expected a little better, maybe even close to 30. The car had literally been driven around 100 miles a year for the last four years, (long story but my father started falling ill) so it is just getting re-broken in I guess you would call it. I am only on the second tank of gas since all the work. Am I expecting too much? Will it take a while for the computer to optimize all the parts of the engine and reach a peak efficiency? Or would you consider this normal? The reason I bring it up is I made that same trip with my brand new 92 many years ago, and remember getting very close to 30MPG. I was kind of expecting similar numbers.

2. I had her out yesterday for a Sunday drive, put about 60 mostly highway miles on the odometer. Being a hot day, I had the AC on (just like I did driving home through the desert) and noticed that when the compressor kicked on, it seemed to really bog-down the engine. I absolutely noticed a pretty big difference and did a little experimenting with turning the AC on and off while accelerating and the engine seemed to leap in to power mode when the compressor was not on, and be strained when it was operating. Of course, running an extra accessory is going to put an added load on an engine, but does anyone else notice a big difference with engine power when the compressor is operating versus when it’s not? It puts out cool air, (I recharged the system) but am wondering, is this a sign the bearings or something else may be failing and I should replace the AC compressor all-together?

Thanks,