Hi Volks,

Just got back from a 5 day trip and the strange idles is back! To recap, I
recently bought this '86 Weekender (auto tranny) for my wife an among many
other ailments (mainly fi and the dreaded ECU) the idle with rise to around
3000 in park and neutral. After replacing the 02 sensor with a generic
Bosch 3 wire, the problem was reduced to sporadic and then disappeared
after I replaced the thermo which was stuck on open, making to bus run
*very* cool. (BTW, did a complete flush/replace while I was at it). Anyway,
the sporadic high and surging idle is back after our long 5 day trip. There
really is no pattern to speak of, it has done this in all weather and at
all other variables without any predictability. Any suggestions on where to
begin again?

Also, the power steering is killer! Anyone who thinks other wise should try
driving across Illinois in the Spring!

I also realized that many of my drivability complaints with my '83 were due
to bad tires. I went with the Michelin 195's as I waited until it was too
late to order the Yoko's. Regardless, they made a *HUGE* difference. These
winds would have made my '83 with old Sears tires totally undrivable,
really.

Lastly, I love the automatic tranny in city driving, but I sure miss the
manual on the highway. Definitely not as responsive at higher speeds.
However, the '86 2.1L auto did cruise all day at 75 or so with no
difference in MPG at all from the '83 1.9L manual. Go figure.

All in all, I like the '86 much more...

tony