From: darling@simlab.arc.nasa.gov on behalf of Dave Darling [darling@simlab.arc.nasa.gov] Sent: Monday, May 03, 1999 9:41 AM To: Cory M. Tobin Cc: 914 Subject: Re: [914] Mild surge at idle when warm, other stuff At 5:58 PM -0700 4/30/99, Cory M. Tobin wrote: > Anyways, I notice that when the car is warm that it'll surge >slightly by about 1-200 rpm, not biggie, but I was wondering what >could be causing that. Probably a slightly-lean mixture at idle. If your car has a knob on the ECU (all 2.0s, 1.7s after mid-71) then turn it clockwise a couple of "clicks". That *should* help the idle just a bit. Other fixes involve putting a bit of resistance between the head temp sensor and the wiring harness, or unplugging the intake air temp sensor. >... I went to check my oil level once the engine seemed >warmed up (no gauge yet, doh!), a 911 friend of mine told me that I >should check the oil with the engine on and warm. While this is correct for 911s, the 914 engine handles its oil in a different fashion. Check your oil in your 914 on a level surface, with the engine warm, but NOT running. In fact, you may want to let it sit for 2-3 minutes to let the oil return to the pan. A not-too- unreasonable substitute is to check the oil when the engine is cold. If you have a level parking place, at least. The 911 has a "dry-sump" oil system, where the oil is pumped out of the motor and into the oil tank. The oil level is read in the oil tank, not in the motor itself. When the engine is off, some of the oil tends to find its way back into the motor, giving you a false reading. The 914 has a more conventional "wet-sump" oil system, where the oil returns to the bottom of the motor--the sump. The oil level is read in the sump. If you read the oil level when the motor is running, some of the oil will be up doing its job in the engine. Plus, there is a moderate amount of oil being thrown around the case by all the moving bits. (Remove the oil filler cap--some oil spray may very well come out of it! Or at least vapor.) So all of that can get on the dipstick and also cause an incorrect reading. --DD Dave Darling 74 914 2.0 (decapitated) darling@simlab.arc.nasa.gov "OFF WITH ITS HEADS!"