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Does idle RPM really matter??

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T

Tinster

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My engine is back at 1,200 rpm warm idle, after a few
miles on the highway.

I took apart the Ratco cable linkage and put it back together.
I removed and adjusted the carb linkage, put it back.
I checked the new throttle bushings- A-OK
I removed and looked at the plugs- all good
I checked the points gap- A-OK
I reset the timing dead-on at 10 degrees.

At half choke, the car starts easily now.
In the garage, when warm, I idle at 700 to 800 rpm.
I drive the car awile and the warm idle sits at 1200 rpm.

Jeff Palya sent me new carb linkage today, so I'll do nothing
until his new piece arrives.

My question- Does it really matter much if my car idles
at 800 or 1200 rpm? Yes, it runs 20* hotter in stop and go traffic.

thanks,

dale
 
NO...do something about it if it bothers you. Otherwise drive it and stop worrying about silly idle speeds.
 
Sorry Art - I'm still getting accostomed to driving
my Triumph and going more than 7 miles without it
breaking down under me. I still have no real "feel"
for the auto.

dale
 
Dale,

Sray some WD40 on all the moving linkage parts to include your pedal.

See what happens.

Russ
 
It sounds to me like the crappy, bent, stretched, fatigued flexible couplers are acting up again, causing any slight misalignment in the carbs to create a bind and high idle. There is nothing wrong with your new Ratco linkage and no reason to go through all of that stuff again. Just wait for the parts from Palya and replace them, making sure that the throttle shafts are lined up as straight across from one another as possible.

And Dale, the plugs are not going to make it idle higher, so you can leave them in for a while as well.
 
Dale, if you suspect it might be the linkage, take a look at the idle speed screws to see if they are firmly against their stops on both carbs when it's idling fast. Perhaps try to push with your finger on the lever that butts against each idle screw to see if binding in the linkage might be causing it.
If both throttles are closed (against the screws) you might have to consider whether something other than linkage is causing it, like a problem with the bypass valves.

Tom
 
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