[s-cars] (no subject)

[Mark Rivera]

Wow.  Thanks so much to everyone who replied to my ?'s, both on and offlist.

I found Rotella dino oil in the parts store, I kinda assumed I wouldn't find
it in WalMart, especially the synthetic, but I'll look again.

The power seat is still acting up, but tonight I held the switch forward,
jerked my seat back and forth, and it started working for a while.  I'll
pull the seat out and see what I can find.

The knocking noise is more hollow sounding than I'm used to hearing out of a
lifter, and it doesn't sound like a rod bearing either.  I'll change the oil
soon and keep checking.

With the boost level so dependent upon the environmentals, not to mention
the overboost feature, it appears like there's no free lunch (HP) worth
pursuing with these cars, especially considering it's relatively cheap to
add power via ECU upgrade (chip).  I've been down that road with the Miata
before biting the bullet and going to full aftermarket ECU.  I'll start
saving pennies...

Again, thanks a ton for all the info.  It's been a while since I enjoyed a
daily driver this much, especially one that weighs nearly 2 tons!!!  My wife
was very sceptical about me buying a 14 year old car, but I let her drive it
tonight, and caught her grinning as she accelerated down the interstate!

Mark

-----Original Message-----
From: Kent McLean [mailto:kentmclean at mindspring.com]
Sent: Friday, September 29, 2006 5:45 PM
To: s-car-list at audifans.com
Cc: mrivera at webcats.net
Subject: Re: [s-cars] (no subject)


mrivera at webcats.net wrote:
> Hello, I've mostly lurked here, but I just became the proud owner of a 93
Pearl White S4

Congratulations.
> 1.  I know the recommended oil is Rotella, but what Mobil 1 grade do folks
use?

I've seen Rotella in Wally World, FWIW.  As for grade,
Scott Mockry's site has some info:
http://www.sjmautotechnik.com/trouble_shooting/eng.html#S6Oil

> 2.  What's up with one of the power seats working for only about 1 second
before it stops

Sounds like something is shorting out, causing the circuit breaker
to trip.  I'd look to see if a wire under the seat is getting pinched
by something.

> 3.  This morning it was 44F outside, and I heard a fairly quiet knocking
coming from the
> front of the engine somewhere.

My first guess would be noisy lifters. Does the sound go away
after a minute or two?  If so, changing the oil and filter
will help.  Replacing the valve lifters will fix the problem
for another 100K miles.

> 4.  I've found conflicting info on the stock boost level and how much the
ECU will allow,

On the 10V 200s, it was 1.4 bar.  I think it's 1.8 bar on the
20V S cars.  I think on the 10Vs, even with a stiffer spring
giving greater boost, the display would max out at 1.4 and
you needed a chip to get it to display the actual value, but
I may be mis-remembering that.

--
Kent McLean
'94 100 S Avant, "Moody"
'89 200 TQ, "Bad Puppy" up in smoke