Another rack damper adjustment success story
 

I decided to do some tinkering on the wagon while I waited for my brother to show up for some Labor Day grilling.:D

I adjusted the rack damper bolt which had been turned ALL the way in. The sweet spot ended up being almost 3 full turns from all the way in. I still have the original silver bolt. I removed it completely to check it out and it has plenty of life left in it. After this adjustment, the Red Dragon has almost zero smoke and much more pep.

I also adjusted the idle speed screw to increase the idle about 150 RPMs to around 750 so it doesn't shake when idling at traffic stops.

I'm very pleased with the results of about 30-40 minutes of tinkering.

I can't believe I put this off as long as I did. It has a beautifully smooth clatter now and I won't have to hold my foot on the accelerator anymore.:cool::D

Glad to hear you got it adjusted.

Awesome! I'm looking forward to hearing about all kinds of little adjustments and improvements at your gtg.

I still have never found that magic rack dampner sweet spot. I think both wagons are in the best possible place, but it wasn't that dramatic of a change.....:(

All the way in, removed entirely or any in between. None made a difference in my engine's idle quality.

I'm not complaining though, it still idles much better than many others I've seen. :D

Sounds like I should do some tinkering on my '84.

I wasn't expecting such a dramatic result. After I removed the rack damper bolt I screwed the lock nut all the way against the adjustment nut and put it pack in the IP. That was the hardest part of the whole job since I already had the engine up to running temp. That oil filter housing gets HOT! ... plus I could only blindly use the tips of two fingers to try and maneuver it back in and get it to catch on the first few threads.:rolleyes:

As I screwed the bolt back in half a turn at a time, since I needed to flip the wrench over to be able to grab the bolt at every half turn, the idle suddenly went from sputtering to smooth. I could loosen the bolt a quarter turn and it would sputter again, and then tighten it a quarter turn and it would get smooth. If I tightened the bolt too far, the car would smoke.

I played with that a few times, then locked down the nut.:D I tested it in drive and park, and it was perfect.

The idle adjustment screw was frozen so a little squirt with Aerokroil and it turned with ease. I did the idle adjustment with the car in drive and the E-brake cranked down with ramps in front of the car.:D