AS some of you know I have been struggling to solve a persistent problem with my 1991 745 Turbo. It idles low (around 600 - 650 rpms) and the oil light flickers when it is fully warmed up.

In my Volvo tech book (green, from Volvotechinfo.com) on the LH Jetronic 2.4 system/EZK 116 (I think that is the number, maybe 115), it says in the beginning that valves being out of adjustment (valve lash not the right spec, between .35 and .40 mm) can cause sluggish and uneven running, and is most obvious at idle. That is what my idle does - it is not wildly uneven but it isn't steady-on the way my '86 744 is - on that car the needle just doesn't move, where on the '91 it wiggles all over the place (within a fairly narrow range), like the IAC is trying to normalize the idle speed.

Could it be that adjusting my valves could take care of this?

BTW, this car had a new head gasket, valve job, and head rebuild in May. The mechanic who did it (who knows what he is doing) said the valves ought to be adjusted after a few thousand miles, which it has been. I am going to do this right after New Year's Day. The mechanic also said that the machine shop he gets his work done by tends to adjust the valves fairly loose (which I would think meant larger cam-tappet gaps?).

Do I have reason to hope that this adjustment might solve my problem? My theory about the flickering oil light is that it is because of the low idle; when I open the throttle just a little so it idles at 750 the light always goes off.

I know some of you are probably getting tired of hearing me whine about this. I am a little obsessive when it comes to my cars and like to get them "just so."

So, thanks everyone.
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Darius in Albany NY '86 744 GLE (174K); '91 745 Turbo (164K)