>| Leaving for the Gaspe Bay penisula tomorrow and my 85 westy is getting
>| really lousy gas mileage. (10 mpg). It is not smoking at all but the tail
>| pipe is coated (inside) with a black soot. The power is about normal. I
>| put a new O2 sensor on about 5000 miles ago. Where it hooks into the
>| tailpipe it is bent like it got wacked with a rock or something. If I bend
>| it back it will definitely snap off. I put a fuel tretment additive in and
>| the gas mileage shot back up to 22 mpg, but the last tank of gas I put in
>| it got a whopping 11 mpg. I don't really think it is the O2 sensor. Does
>| anyone have any quick suggestions.

	This sounds like the fuel injectors are shot. A fuel injector spraying
a stream instead of a mist will eat fuel, kill your cat, but seem to be running
ok because the O2 sensor will make sure enough fuel is getting dumped into
the cylinders to burn enough fuel to make the car drive ok... You just eat more
gas and car parts doing it ;) At least that was the cause of the same symptons
in my 87 syncro...
	Test the injectors by removing the one bolt that holds the assembly in
the intake manifold. Disconnect one of the electrical plugs and aim the
connected injector into a jar. Unplug the main lead to the distributor (the one
from the coil) and ground it. Then have a friend crank over the engine and
watch the spray - it should be a fine mist in the shape of a cone (definitely
not a stream of gas). Move the electrical harness to the other injector on
the fuel rail and aim it into the jar. Crank over the engine again... What's
it look like? Repeat test for the other side to verify they are all ok, or
all bad... I replaced all four and went from 14 mpg to 19mpg and from 1000
ppm HC to 3 ppm HC.... 

dave