Mime-Version: 1.0

[Lawrence Leong <leongccl@domain.elided>]

I've a question for twinspark owners.

Just drove a manual 164TS today.  Observed 2 problems.  One possibly the
MAF sensor, the other sounds like the clutch.

1.   After some sprited (test) driving, I turned into a park with a
     steep slope, approx 30-40degrees incline for about 300metres.  At
     the base, response was still strong (2nd gear), halfway, I eased
     off to let an oncoming car pass.  After that, for about
     20-30metres, the engine felt like it was running on 3 cylinders.
     Very uneven firing, just no power, struggled up slowly gaining
     speed.  Once above 3000 rpm, it suddenly came back to life.  By
     this time I was at the top.  Immediately, on the way down, in 2nd
     gear, the engine kept coughing and shuddering (no gas applied).

     Sounds like the engine was leaning out.  Could it have been the MAF
     sensor?  I didn't get a chance to remove it (no tools, and the
     dealer would not have been too happy) to inspect it.

     There were some other faults, but this was the biggie.

     Any insights?  Is this an easy fix?  Expensive?

2.   The car was initially parked on a slope, nose down.  When the
     dealer tried to reverse, it simply would not enter any gear.
     Shudder at the repeated gear crunching.  Solved it by entering 
     gear when engine off, start with clutch disengaged.  He claimed
     it was due to some air bubbles causing the clutch not to fully 
     disengage.  Sounds bogus to me.  Could it be a faulty clutch
     or master?

     Brakes worked, but engaged only after some travel.  Pedal was also
     soft.  Suspect air in lines and possible master cylinder problem.

	Problem didn't recur.

     Again, any insights?  Possible faults?


Thanks in advance
Lawrence (still searching)


ps. for those in Singapore, the location was halfway up the Kent Ridge
    park slope, after a nice run down the South Buona Vista Road

------------------------------