Hi All! First off, I'd like to thank everyone on this board for the help I've received on my 99SVT. Now I'd like your opinions...I purchased this car new in January of 00, trading my 99 Cobra (darn kids). Anyway, in July of 00, the idle started going crazy. It idled between 1000-2500, and between shifts would increase from the shift RPM to approximately 3k-4k and stay there for awhile (10-20 seconds), then slowly fall to 2k and stay there permanently (unless I shifted over 4k, then it would stay wherever I shifted). At highway speeds in the summer (with ac on, still don't know why that was a factor), often I didn't even need cruise control to maintain highway speeds. I took the car to the selling dealer about 5 times over the next two years (until the warranty ran out), and each time I received the same old "that's normal for emissions" and "couldn't duplicate" (first couple times until I took the tech for a ride). Well, I finally found this forum and with the knowledge gained here, purchased an IAC valve last week and installed it along with a blower motor resistor, and the idle problem is gone and the blower motor works at all speeds (my vin wasn't in the recall even though it had the same issue). I now have 50k miles on the car and over the last 5k miles or so have developed a LOUD knock in the upper motor that sounds like kids playing marbles in a steel can (not tin, much deeper...lifter?) and it (of course) increases with RPM's and goes away at idle (the new and improved idle anyway). Along with this, I have a lite tick that joins at start up to complete the orchestra (and a CEL to create a nice lite show to round out the ensemble). My question is this...I find it very reasonable to believe that the upper engine issues could very well exist due to running the car at absurd RPM's during shifts (and who knows how rich it was running to try and achieve what it thought was a good RPM) for 50K miles. Since they are the experts, do you folks feel they should have some liability in this? Obviously all the trips to the dealership are documented, but since they could never fix it, and you kind folks could, they may deny the problem ever existed to begin with. I called a different dealer to get a price on a valve adjustment, and their response was "we've never done one before and don't think it needs it, but it would be about $1100". Oozing with confidence for this dealer, I came home to fret some more. My car runs great for the first time since I bought it, but sounds like crap and has a nice light show...I guess the good news is that I don't have to listen to the knocking and ticking at stop lights anymore and I don't have to choose between freezing or sweating either. Any ideas guys? Oh, thanks again for the help (sincerely), I can smoke this motor at a correct idle in comfortable climate at least...
Jeff
