CIS-E-------Also '90 coupe q

["Theodore Harlan" <trharlan@hotmail.com>]

Hi all.
First, I would like to thank everyone who advised me on my girlfriend's 
purchase of a '90 coupe quattro (or is it quattro coupe?).  She ended up 
paying $10k for a nearly flawless car with 50k miles-- a steal as far as 
I can discern. That car is FUN. I really love it (a sprinter that loves 
curves)-- a sharp contrast to my 5k, no t, no q automatic (a car that 
loves the wide-open interstate). 

Speaking of which, I visited my friendly mechanic who set mixture and 
duty cycle on the 5k. My OXS is new, and plugs and wires are still 
pretty recent. Before I took it in it had a problem with coasting idle 
wandering between 1400 and 1425 rpm (according to car's tach). I 
remedied this the 1st time by cleaning the ISV. Also, before I took it 
in, it knocked terribly between 2500-3100 RPM (despite NEW and costly 
lifters). Lastly, it would shake fiercely at idle both warm and cold ... 
And I can't forget that my new catalytic converter was hollowed out by 
unburned fuel.


After my Mechanic Du Jour set duty and mix, the once alleviated 
wandering Idle returned. The idle smoothed some, but remains a little 
rough, and the window of knock is much smaller, like 2800-3000 RPM. I 
remain unsatisfied (that on and off again engine feel at coast is 
maddening!). The archives seem to recommend cleaning the ISV yet again 
(and doing the plug/unplug test), and checking my idle switch since they 
almost always go south. The cat remains unreplaced until I can 
succesfully repair/clean/adjust/troubleshoot my injection system. I hope 
the lack of backpressure has no responsibility for this mess. 

This all sounds good, but I would like some more opinions.

What's right with my car:
1. Regardless of temp, always starts immediately.
2. 28 or 29 MPG (honest, I did the math!) at 70-75 MPH
3. Performance, while not stunning, is not too shabby, especially at 
WOT.
4. No dieseling, overheating, or anything really bad like that...
5. Throttle response good.

And I forgot to mention that my idle sometimes wanders wildly (600-1400) 
for about 5-10 seconds after a cold start. It then goes away.

So what do I do???

I am still unsubbed (and unemployed), so respond directly, please.

--Ted Harlan



PS-- Anybody see the rally on ESPN2 the other night? The Audis are so 
solid! And that WMB M3 is a (ahem) wind-up toy.

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