My 85 gsl-se developped a problem last summer. The car would stall as the idle speed got to low (500-600rpm) i checked for vacuum leaks but did not find any (still could be the problem)

I cheated by playing with the throttle linkage so the idle would be a little faster. It solved the problem as the car stopped stalling. I then took the car autocrossing and after a spirited 60 seconds, the car would not keep running unless I kept pressing on the gas pedal. The problem persited all day but did nit stop me from racing. As soin as the car cooled down, the problem dissapered. So normal street driving is fine but racing is not

Now summer will be here in a fee months in Canada and would like to solve this problem before going time attacking. Any ideas? Thank you

 

thowing this out as speculation... an intake gasket?

 

Search on "LongDuck SE Throttle Surging" and you'll get the full rundown. Short version, your Throttle Body rods are sticking which cause a feedback loop in the air control system. At idle, there's very little air moving through that system and your primary butterflies are closing abruptly, killing the engine.

Increasing idle speed on the -SE is always a good idea, as it will bring more air through the air control valve for a more consistent idle. I have mine set to about 1k RPM at idle right now, mostly due to my RB aluminum flywheel not having a lot of mass - which makes for a bumpy idle. Give that a read and good luck,

 

I lubricated everything. Are the butterflies supposed to be shot when the engine is not running?

 

Looks normal to me - the lower butterflies you can see are actually the Thermowax cold start (choke) mechanism and should be open, as they're vacuum operated. There's another set of butterflies deeper in that control airflow once the car is warmed up sufficiently.

Also, if you didn't remove the TB entirely to lube the TB rods, you didn't fix the problem. Remove the 4x10mm nuts and remove the TB, lube the rods (and clean that damn thing up!), while leaving the TB rotated 90deg each way. In this fashion, the lube can run down the rods into the TB and lube the shafts where it's needed. No amount of lubing from this position is going to fix surging - if that's still your problem.

It's been 5 months since you posted originally...

 

Thanks LongDuck. The work is completed.

Winter in Canada + unheated garage = work in may.

 

Where exactly is the idle speed adjustment on the SE?