I have never cleaned my IACV, and with 160k miles on it I guess it was time.

My wife and I had to run a couple of errands yesterday. Because I live out in the middle of nowhere that involved driving around 180 miles total.

The car started acting up slightly and the idle would drop to less than 500 RPM's and it would feel like the car was going to stall when stopping for a traffic light.

Since I have been around here for a while I immediately thought "IACV needs cleaning"

I searched on this forum for info on how to do it and found a great write-up on the procedure.

I went to pull the 2 bolts off holding it on and the bottom bolt had corroded in the threads. The only thing I had that would work on the bolt is a 3/8 drive socket wrench. Because it is so tight there I could only get about a 1/16th of a turn on the bolt. The stupid bottom bolt too forever to get out.

The proper tool is one of those speed wrenches that have a swivel head on it. I have a set of normal speed wrenches but there was no room for them.

This is only the 2nd time I really needed one but I am going to make a set my next tool purchase. I think I will buy them as my Christmas present

Also the write up said to remove the 2 coolant hoses from the bottom of the IACV, I did not think that was necessary (and after fighting with that lower bolt did not want to do anything else) so i left it attached and just sprayed it out with brake cleaner still attached to the coolant lines.

I put it back together (with some anti-seize on the bolts) and took it for a test drive, problem solved.

So for someone else who is needs to clan the IACV, removing those collant lines is not a necessary step. IMHO

 

FYI - this is what the proper tool looks like for removing the IACV bolts

 

In case anthing changed in idle behavior, you might want to set the base idle & force the ECU to re-learn the idle.

 

Yes Jim, you are right.

My wife had to take it to work with her shortly after I was done.

I plan on doing that after the new spark plugs and wires get here that I just ordered. I have known for a while that my wires should be replaced but kept putting it off.

Looking at them today I could see that they had cracks all over them and are likely the factory wires. I was kinda ashamed of myself for not replacing them sooner but money has been super tight and I just kept putting it off as the car has run so perfect and averages 30 mpg.

 

Jim,

What is the correct idle speed for the car? Mine seem,s to idle around 650 - 700 rpms

97 2.2 non-Vtec

 

That's about right for the working idle. The base idle is pretty low, like 550, when the IACV is unplugged.

Even if your base idle is off the working idle might be OK. But in order to hold that working idle, the IACV is positioned one way or another away from it's favorite operating spot. That (sometimes) leads to surging idle when the IACV is bouncing off the ends of it's travel.

 

Well my wife just came home and said the car ran fine.

I will still adjust the base idle per the write-up you made in the DYI section next week after I get the plugs and wires.

Thanks again for your help!

 

Keep in mind that you unplug the iacv and you make the base idle at 550 or 600 and further remember that the very first white line after 0 is actually 500, not 200. A lot of people make this mistake, including myself originally. So you're going to put it to about 600 which is the very next line. Then turn the car off, plug the iacv back in, pull the radio/backup fuse for about 10 minutes or so and then start it up and let it idle for about 10 minutes without touching the pedal. The best way is actually to let the car cool completely down and let it start from a cold start but it's not completely necessary.

 

best set of wrenches i ever bought, metric and SAE...

 

I have both sets myself..bought them on a deal @ AutoZone..got extra $20.00 off the price for my rewards card..Great deal!

WheelBrokerAng