Good battery, still low idle
Thanks for responding.
The battery is good. I recently replaced a weak battery with the current one. I had the new one and the charging system checked just in case. The alt is putting out 109amps when in gear, with the above accessories on. It is just stock output, would a higher output battery help?
The main trouble really seems to be idle drop/speed. When placed in gear, the rpms drop and don't recover. In fact, the idle will continue to drop slightly with if stuck in traffic or in line at the ATM.
I recently changed the air filter and the plugs...no effect on this condition.
Here is the whole story. I purchased the vehicle 3 mos ago with 66,000 miles. I bought it from a Nissan Dealer. They took it on a trade, it had a "motor issue". Bad turbo, bango filter failure, big surprise. Prior to my purchase, the Nissan dealer replaced the turbo. I bought the car, it had a warenty on the work, it ran great(at test drive). It did idle low at test drive, I pointed it out and the, salesman said they noticed it too, they would send it to thier Subi affiate because they could do anything with it.
I drove the car for about 500 miles and BINGO...failure. All said and done, I got a new turbo, short block, heads, some new valves, springs, etc all courtesy of Subi. All of this above work was done at a Subi dealer.
The dealer that did the above motor work told me the idle/vibration were "normal".
Since, the car has run beautifully outside of this idle issue. I find myself bumping it into neutral because it is so annoying.
I did notice a CV vibration at speed. I had another dealer diagnose that a poor quality CV shaft was installed on the passenger side. They recommended a reman axle through them and they also verifed the driver side (replaced at 60,000 along with lower control arm bushings) was A Subi part. I replaced the passenger side as per their recommendation. No change to the above symptoms.
This dealer also felt the idle/vibration were normal. All I know, if this were a 5MT I would not be having any issue. Because in N or P it is fine. I can even heal-toe the throtle when stopped and pretty much correct it.
I have basically ruled out bad axles but who knows. Is there a real test for play or movement etc. I haven't gone crazy over motor mounts, suspension bushing yet. It's cold here, besides I don't see any other symtoms in these areas.
I haven't owned a Subaru since my 1995 Legacy. Great Car. And I owned many of the Loyal cousins. Even and '87 XT Sedan w/ the AIR pillows and H/L range. That was a tough POS.
Since, have been building and driving solid axle, 4wd offroad vehicles. I moved from the mountains to Denver, and the lifted Cherokee (which was the small rig) is just not city practical.
Hence, the XT. Fast, Fun, great build platform. However, I want to solve this idle issue before I start spending cash on a build. Like I said, I have building much different rigs.
Anymore input would be great