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Subject:84 Westy stumbles off idle
From:Geo
Date:Wed, 5 May 2010 09:57:32 -0400

84 Westy, 1.9L, Manual --

With the engine at operating temperature, when taking off from a stop... all
is well if I gently depress the pedal, i.e. the engine revs nicely -- but if
I trounce the pedal too abruptly the engine stumbles.

I can recreate the problem in the driveway just pressing the pedal at
different rates, thus it seems independent of the demand on the engine when
the clutch is released.

Everything else seems fine -- great mileage, smooth idle, runs fine once
under way, etc.

I'm pretty sure I have those throttle micro-switches correctly adjusted
though I even tried some incorrect settings to see if that mattered -- it
didn't.

I do not have a spare idle stabilizer (that green dingus over on the left)
and have not tried the trick of disconnecting the stabilzer and connecting
the plugs together -- if that makes a difference what would it tell me?

I can work around the problem by being careful to only press the acclerator
gently and have revs moving up before releasing the clutch (requires use of
the handbrake if stopped on a slope) but the other driver here tends to put
the hammer down and dump the clutch -- leaving the engine gasping.

Any suggestions welcome as I really don't want to give my lovely wife
driving lessons (a bit late in life for that) since her method, though not
ideal, should work.

TIA for any help.

Geo