'91 Spider Engine Stumble

["Fetsch, Ralph" <RFetsch@domain.elided>]

	Karl Rickert wrote;

	Got a '91 Spider that is running a little rough at start up. It
wants to 
	sputter right after you start it and are giving it a little gas. It
idles 
	smooth and runs fine after warm up. What could the culprit be? The
engine 
	has recently been tuned up (plugs, cap, rotor & wires) and has only
48K 
	miles.

	Also the is about 1/4" to 1/2" of "dead pedal" in the throttle
pedal. You 
	have to oush the pedal 1/4" to 1/2" down before the engine will pick
up 
	revs. Is there an adjustment for the pedal?

	First you need to adjust the throttle cable to the specs listed in
the shop manual. This is done by turning the throttle pedal stop on the
floor under the pedal. 

	Then check for air leaks in the air intake plumbing. You can do this
with a can of brake cleaner, be careful its flammable. Spray it around the
connections and around the seal on the idle control motor that is in the
side of the intake manifold. If there is a leak the engine will either
sputter or speed up. When this happens you've found the air leak.

	The other thing to check is the temperature sending unit that goes
to the ECU, not the one for the gauge, they are both located on the intake
side of the head between cylinders 3 and 4. The one with the square fitting
is the one for the ECU.

	When was the last time you had the valves adjusted? I found that
this can also effect the idle when cold. It seems that when the engine is
warm and the metal all expands the rough idle would go away. I adjusted the
valves and eliminated the rough idle until the air flow unit went bad.

	If this doesn't fix the problem borrow an air flow unit from a
friends 91+ spider and try it out. I did this with my 91 with 165,000+ miles
on it and it corrected the problem.

	Ralph Fetsch
	Houston, Texas

	91 Spider Veloce w/automatic 165,000+ miles
	64 Giulia 1600 Spider now with disc brakes on the front, no more
three shoe.

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