I have been experiencing a rough & low idle in my 79 244 DL for some time now. I really want to fix it. Sometimes the idle will be more normal at around 1000 or 1100 rpms, but more often it will linger around 500. It does not die very often at all, but if it is cold it will. The low idle causes me to rev to about 2000-3000 rpms when I start from a dead stop or it will lag for a while or possibly stall out.

I am thinking it is either the mechanism that controls the idle or my fuel pump, but I don't want to just start switching parts. I did replace the fuel stem to the gas tank due to an accident and it may not have an air tight seal. Every once and a while there will be a very strong gas smell in the car, but this could also be due to a leak in the gas line. All I know is there is no pressure released when I remove the gas cap of an empty tank, so there is a leak in the system somewhere. Could this leak be a part of the problem?

Also one time the fuel pump on the driver side near the rear tire was making a seizing or hiccuping noise and the car was shaking and jumping every where so I punched the gas with no luck and turned it off. I said a prayer, manually pulled on the throttle under the hood and the car ran fine. So maybe it is this fuel pump that is causing the problem. I really don't know.

Another lead could be related to oil residue I found in the air intake tube that goes to the throttle body. Maybe enough gunk finally got inside there to block some sensors or something.

Sorry this is so long, I have been thinking about this for a while now...Any hep would be great....Paul