"Stewart Hargrave" wrote in message
...
From a point at sea, to the circles of your mind, this is hugh:


Could it be ...



Oh joy, oh glory, oh bliss...

Finally nailed it. Finally and permanently (notice my air of
confidence).

It was, in fact, due to a split inlet manifold gasket.

This was a surprise because I replaced that gasket when I took the
head off earlier this year.

I had checked for induction leaks right from the start of the problem
appearing, and then again more thoroughly when Tim suggested an inlet
leak. Today I checked a third time.

So I'm feeling a little foolish that I missed it before.

On the plus side, the car now idles better than it ever has before.

So thanks to everyone who has tolerated my incompetence and helped
with suggestions.

Glad you got it sorted. I've seen many times a sucked in, or blown out, or
broken manifold gasket on one cylinder cause a "loping" effect at idle,
which disappears as soon as you raise rpm just above idle.

The last call on a car which lopes at idle and you are 349% sure there isnt
a vacuum leak or any other problems is a bent conrod from water injestion in
the past. Most often with diesels though, as their starters are powerful
enough to bend the rods when the engine is hyraulic-ed.

Tim..


---
Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.
Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
Version: 6.0.528 / Virus Database: 324 - Release Date: 16/10/2003