164 rumbles, etc

["Doug Gould" <dgould@domain.elided>]

My understanding is that the bottom end on the V6 engine is very strong. The
mechanic that works on mine says he has done engine rebuilds on engines that
still have a good bottom end at 200,000 km. I wonder if the rumble might be
one of the ancillaries - power steering pump, aircon compressor, water pump,
etc.

My second 164 has a slightly different sound to the previous one that could
almost be labelled a rumbling. My current belief is that it is something
different about the intake noise.

Regarding pinging - when my last 164 pinged it was a signal that it was time
to give the car a run. In Australia premium unleaded is 95 RON but in Europe
it is 98 RON. My experience is that the car is a bit marginal on 95 RON fuel
and won't tolerate any carbon build up.

Doug Gould
90 164L

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