[James Scott]

1. My prescription ran out, so I borrowed pills from a couple of friends. I'm doing better, now that I'm on the Prozac/Zoloft cocktail!

2. I'm not a mechanic. Let alone a highly experienced one like several of you. The last one I took the SVX to, charged me $1150. in labor for 6 to 7 hours work! He also told me the shuddering was the trans, that I should replace it for $6100.! It is not the trans and my pocketbook is not that deep! My previous mechanics I trusted are "gone", for one reason or another (divorce, no new #, etc.). I have tried recently to take the SVX to a good mechanic, trust me! Until that is necessary and/or possible, YOUR HELP HAS BEEN INVALUABLE! Please be patient with me. I have done EVERYTHING you've suggested except deferring to a mechanic (remember, I"M LOOKING!)!

3. The rough idle is not only intermittent, but very short lived. This makes it extremely difficult for a mechanic to diagnose as you've suggested, Beav. I've only been able to fiddle with the injectors (scewdriver listening for clicking) and their connectors (popping off connectors one at a time to check change in performance) just a few times (over the past 2 months!) - AND THAT'S BECAUSE I DRIVE TO WORK ON "COUNTRY" ROADS WHERE I COULD STOP (DURING SHUDDERING OR ROUGH IDLE PERIODS) TO PERFORM THESE QUICK CHECKS (2 TO 3 MINUTES ROUGH IDLE WHEN STOPPED MAX!)

4. The car stopped shuddering about three weeks ago - then the rough idle at startup (after long stop periods - in A.M. and after work) became more regular, but less severe (?)

5. I finally removed the Tornado "gizmo" from the air inlet (just past the air flow sensor) about 10 days ago. I know I'm setting myself up to look even worse to you than I already do, but . . . . . . I bought this "Tornado" (fan blades simply twirl the air supposedly to affect a better gas/air mixture >> hence [supposedly] better gas mileage and slightly better horsepower) in a weak moment (late night TV), stuck it in, and of course no real change except it gave a better sound (more of a growl on acceleration than the original whine). So, I kept it for that reason alone. I didn't remove it (partly because no one suggested I remove it, after I mentioned it about 2 months ago on this site) because I couldn't imagine it causing (these) this problem(s). [It was in place a few months before this (these) problem(s) started]

6. I've recently cleaned/checked/tightened several engine grounds and the body ground at the battery.

7. I've been driving this SVX for brief periods on "country" roads on the way to work at 90 to 120 mph lately (about 2 to 3 weeks). It seems to be running great and smooth (just starts to "growl" at about 110 - may be my failing rear bearings?)! Could this somehow be good therapy for my SVX (engine/management)?

8. BTW, IT DOESN'T RUN ROUGH OR SHUDDER ANYMORE! (TGTBT)

THANKS AGAIN for taking your time with me!