I have found a wealth of information in the Haynes manual I bought last night. First, I have found out waht was wrong with the stinkin lights. The flasher module under the center collum is not broke,,,,,,,,its GONE! As in, NOT THERE!!! Yeah,,,,I'd say thats a problem! Whats even worse, none of the parts stores can get it! And my wife, after 1 1/2 hrs of searching on the web, was unable to locate one. I guess this is a dealer only item. I'm shure its real cheap too!( <------says very sarcasticaly ) But for the time being I have it "rigged" so I have brake lights. Second, In reguards to the weard engine Idle, I have tested the IAC sensor, motor, and TPS. All are within spec. Just cleaned them with carb cleaner & will install after 12:00 today. Also, the last thing I heard as I was pulling in the drive last night is a horrible "ratta-tat-tat-tat-tat" pinging/knocking noise. Not shure yet if it is in the valve system, or piston slap, or rod bearing down. Hard to say on these little mouse motors. Even with the manual, I cold not clarify if the 1.8L uses hyd. lifters or not. Do they ever need adjustment? (Or IF they can even be adjusted.) The engine is rebuilt 1000ish miles ago, but that does not mean the mechanic knew what he was dooing.

 

The noise was pre-ignition. I moved the timing over till it quit. Kinda trial & error style. Got it set to just before the pinging starts. And, boy, are these distributors picky or what?!! You move the dist. about .10" and it makes a big change in the timing! Never had one so picky before! Also I noticed a, well,,,noticable drop in power when it is set to where the engine does not ping. I am thinking about seting it back to where it was, and running octane booster to offset the knock. Then I would have those few valuable pony's back. Yesterday an Toyota YARIS dusted me at the read light!!! I LOVE the fuel economy, but thats just SAD!!!!! (And to think, HE is getting 35+mpg too!!!)

 

The 1.8 uses hydraulic lifters, and they're not adjustable.

 

You should get a timing light and set it where its supposed to be, or maybe 2 degrees advanced above stock.