Subject: [s-cars] Help!

[Mike Platt]

I had a similiar problem with my avant. My idle was
rough, hunting, and  bouncing all over the place. A
lister saved me by telling me it was probably the idle
stabilizer valve. They get gunked up after a while.
(120k on mine)I took it off the car (five minutes or
less). It is the small silver can about 5" long and 2"
diameter right next to the throttle body. I got some
carb cleaner and sprayed it in there workin the action
with a small screwdriver until all of the carbon
deposits were cleaned out. Dryed it out with a little
compressed air, reinstalled it, problem gone.

Mike P
95.5 S6 avant

Driving home last night, I noticed my 95.5s6 began to
idle
strangely...almost a rumble. I was stuck in some stop
and go
traffic...when
I shifted into 2nd and gave it some gas, there was
very little power.
No
strange noises...RPM's seemed to be normal, but it
felt as if my
accleration
was at 50% normal...back down to a roll and the car
seemed to vibrate
and
shake a bit. After my initial panic, shopped at
Chevron for a fresh
fill-up
of 92 and went a few miles home to check the vitals,
leaks, etc. I was
down
about 3/4 qt of oil (due for my oil change in 500
miles). It's been a
super
hot summer in Seattle and I have had to do some
commuting lately, so I
understand this could have had some affect on oil
consumption. I keep
my
engine clean, so now new signs of leaks or anything.
No warning lights
on
the dash. Oil pressure fine. After adding the oil,
started her up and
the
engine sounded fine...then gave it a little gas, and
back to that same
shaky, rumbling idle. No apparent noises or nocking,
pinging, etc. But
I was
too afraid to drive her around the block.

My trused mechanic will be back onl Monday am, but I
am a bit desperate
to
get some feedback beforehand. Cub (of the highly
recommended Redmond
Werkshop) if you pick this up please give me a call.
Otherwise, can
anyone
out there help me troubleshoot? I cant sleep until I
figure what is
causing
this. As always, I have my fingers crossed that it's
nothing major.

Thanks for your help.

Jeff
95.5 S6
206-779-6234



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