HOW TO D.I.Y. CLEAN YOUR IDLE AIR CONTROL VALVE !!

[Gl0wR4C3R]

i take it you cut yourself on the tps? lol

[towrecker]

@Gl0wR4C3R the clip on the wire connector , I sure have in the past , it is like a razor blade lol

[towrecker]

@frankieandmusic could be it , or a combination of the mass air , or throttle body being dirty , clean all 3 , and I bet you will be good to go !

[towrecker]

@frankieandmusic I have videos of all three too

[twotonechad]

I cleaned my MAF, IACV, and throttle body, and now my idle seems to be low (been so for about a week since ive cleaned). It idles around 5-600 rpm when in gear and around 900 when in park/neutral. The idle is smooth for the most part, as it stays consistent and doesn't fluctuate. However, today when driving home from work it briefly choked and felt as if it where to almost stall though it didn't. Do you know what could be causing this? Thanks!

[towrecker]

@twotonechad whats the car ? but off the top of my head I can shoot ya some basic causes , one would be extrem wear on the spark plug electrodes, that increases the plug gap , and that makes the spark not as efficient , and can cause a lower idle , two would be a restricted fuel filter , or weak fuel pump , three is one people over look all the time , and might be where I would start , it free , unhook the line from the vacuum brake booster and plug it,could be leaking , don't drive it unhooked

[twotonechad]

@towrecker the car is a 1997 mercury cougar with a 4.6 liter v8 engine, with 152000 miles. I changed the plugs recently however the wires are still the original motorcraft ones from 97, which im going to change tomorrow along with the egr valve. I just changed the fuel filter last week. my stepdad gave me this car and ive been trying to get it up to par and as you can tell ive been throwing money at it. ill check the vacuume tomorrow too, thanks for your reply!

[twotonechad]

@towrecker also i few weeks ago i was getting a code for catalyst operating below threshold (p0430). ive since erased it and it hasn't returned (yet)

[towrecker]

@twotonechad I bet you have a cat thats has broken up inside , and is restricting exhaust flow , they are so bad for that , if you don't have to get inspections where you are , you can 86 that thing , but you have to "trick" the ecm to keep the M.I.L. off , google MIL eliminator or elimination , I know how , but I can't tell ya , it's out there though...you can test that theory by drilling a couple 1/2 inch holes infront if the cat in the pipe , if that don't make it run better , mig them up

[twotonechad]

@towrecker good god, i hope not...i live in california and i got a smog coming up in june, this place has no mercy for bad emissions. you think it could be bad o2 sensors? or would a separate code be thrown for that also? a bad cat = no good i sure hope its not that

[towrecker]

@twotonechad if it is plugged it could cause all the issues ...

[towrecker]

@twotonechad a muffler shop would not charge you maybe say 20 bucks to weld the holes , some will test the converter for free , just go with their game , and let the quote the price and all , tell them you will have to wait till pay day , then order one online :)

[DodgeDweller420]

in*** lol

[DodgeDweller420]

everytime i put my ranger is drive it stalls out.. im gonna try this out and see if it fixes it

[towrecker]

@DodgeDweller420 clean the throttle body , and the mass air , if it has one , it could be a combination of them all , just search my channel for videos on how to clean all those ...

[DodgeDweller420]

@towrecker thank you:) yeah its a 98 ford ranger splash with a 4.0L and ive bin having this problem for a while now.. i put 2 brand new oxygen sensors and new spark plugs in and it still didnt fix it.. so im gonna take your advice and clean the throttle body and mass air 

[SPmQQse]

i  have to assume you dump old used oil directly into the enviroment too....!!

[towrecker]

@SPmQQse hundreds of gallons a year right into my well , we like the taste , don't you ?

[rehtardeudpossum]

Just wondering, have you noticed any power gain after you've cleaned the maf, throttle body, and idle sensor?

[towrecker]

@rehtardeudpossum there is always improvement over the dirty ones !

[MrShiggdiggy]

I have a question maybe its a quick answer maybe not. Would the Idol air control valve or sensor be bad if when I start the car it runs fine, but after about 5 minutes it will jump up to 2k rpm then drops down to around 500 rpm then back up to 2k rpm but it never dies this goes on until i cut the car off. would that be because of a bad sensor or valve. If you can help id appreciate it. This is for a 97 Honda civic.

[towrecker]

@MrShiggdiggy do you have a check engine light on ? thats where to start , and if so what's the code ? yes this could be part of it , but on a honda it may also be the coolant temp sender that supplies the computer with the engines vitals , if it is down and out , the computer is lost and can cause this type of surging too

[MrShiggdiggy]

Well the funny thing is its not kicking out a check engine light, and the other day I let the car idol and nothing happened. It seems the idol fluctuation doesn't happen until after the engine reaches or goes past a certain temperature. I have access to another civic same year that runs fine, I plan on swapping parts from each car to see what fixed the problem. My car has been in a wreck and almost over heated trying to get it to my auto body shop. Any who I thank you for your help!

[towrecker]

@MrShiggdiggy I bet you "steamed" the temp sensor , and fried it , there are two , one controles the gauge / light , the other just feeds the computer a input , try swapping that first , most likely that is the prob with it

[charles81265]

@MrShiggdiggy The most common cause for this fluctuating idle in the civic, is a malfunctioning "Fast Idle Thermo Valve" (the valve on the back of the throttle body that has the coolant lines going to it) 28 Year Master Technician

[MrShiggdiggy]

@charles81265 Thank you for your advice! It really helps me narrow something like this down. Sense I have no clue and trying to keep repairs down to a minimum. Thank all of you for the help!

[NEVERENDS90]

whats the other little hose go to?

[towrecker]

@NEVERENDS90 I assume you have asked the same ? on two videos , I answered the other one ...

[eaglase]

Would the vaccum leak be the cause of intial high idle...my 2000 Ford Expedition starts up, runs to 2200 or so..then slowly comes down and idles normal...... it has been aggrevating..

[towrecker]

@eaglase there is a high idle built into the computer on late model cars , it is there to get the oil pressure up , and the engine lubed up , an initial high idle that comes down after a short bit is 100% normal , a high idle that does not come down is a sign of a vacuum leak ! 

[cchris214]

Good advice!

[MrWp97]

thanks buddy

[towrecker]

@MrWp97 that's what friends are for , right ? lol

[chanselebeck]

Great video, going to clean out the IACV and MAF on my Ford Ranger, hopefully this helps my high-idle problem! 

[towrecker]

@chanselebeck high idle is most likely a vacuum leak , unhook , and plug off the line to the brake booster first as a test , they are lots of times bad , and will cause high idle , but they still work at the same time ...

[chanselebeck]

@towrecker Well cleaning the IACV worked like a charm, my MAF was very clean still. Thanks for the upload again!

[towrecker]

@chanselebeck good deal , glad that got ya taken care of , and glad to see someone finds my videos useful lol :)

[ComputerTechTV]

Great vid need to clean mine along with the MAF sensor.

[towrecker]

@ComputerTechTV it's an easy one beer job lol , so get cleaning lol

[Sinjin90]

@tow. A bass ski boat around 2000lbs, think it will be ok?

[towrecker]

@Sinjin90 that should be fine , only thing that might prove an issue is tongue weight , but they make the leveling bars if ya have to get them ...I was expecting something like a 20 some foot camper as a response lol

[Sinjin90]

Nice vid tow, just drilling my holes for my tow hitch on my p 71, then the lighting module for the trailer lights

[towrecker]

@Sinjin90 what are you going to tow ? lol

[onlypresto]

i just bought a merc for my grand pa, ima do this since i got to do a tune up anyways, car is an 02 and been sittin since 04 and has 13,000 miles, i gotit for 100 bucks, old guy didnt want to spend the moneyand time on it and just wanted it off his property

[towrecker]

@onlypresto heck it could not have needed much , what 4 tires , a new fuel pump , tune-up maybe , and an oil change ...he was crazy to sale it for 100 , but your gain lol

[onlypresto]

@towrecker no it didnt need much at all, i just decided to go through it just to be sure, he cant drive it any ways and has known me since i was little and cut me a deal cause he likes the fact i work and take care of my own family at my age cause most guys my age are out partying and stuff

[towrecker]

@onlypresto that makes sense , and I commend you for not being one of those young low life bums that this world has way to many of , that really means something these days !!

[onlypresto]

@towrecker thanks, i just want to do right by my son, he turns 5 in about a week and starts school in two and i couldnt stand to see him go without any thing, and alot of those guys are bums, im 22 and most my freinds are out drinking every night and strugglin in the morning at work with a hangover and look at me all stupid like they didnt know alchol does that

[towrecker]

@onlypresto oh I see , you will look like a bum , drive an old ratty truck ,work like a dog, and spoil that boy like crazy , I like your thought process , and so wish others would learn from you (above just for reference, not fact) ...as for being 22 you remind me of when I was younger , I bought a new impala ss at 16 , they laughed at me at the dealer till I pulled out cash , they quit laughing , auto repair has always been my thing , started at 12 , and saved every dime till hello impala lol

[onlypresto]

@towrecker exaclty, i want my son to have a better life than i did, i've had chores since ive been old enough for school cause their was alot of us kids and im the oldest so ive had to deal with alot and i just want my kid to have a easier life, and yea i would drive the ratty truck and work like a dog to spoil him, he's my pride and joy so i got to take care of him, i been working on everything and anything since i was bout 10 or 11 and my grandpa stared give me things to do when i botherd him

[hopper1]

The thing I tell people when they want to know the location of the IAC motor, it's always going to be somewhere on the engine side of the throttle plates (if it has a throttle body). The IAC motor is nothing more than a computer controlled vacuum leak.

[towrecker]

@hopper1 very true that's exactly what it is , just never thought of calling it "a computer controlled vacuum leak" that's shade tree terminology at it's finest , any redneck can understand it that way lol

[More350Power]

I think its time to go take his spark plugs out, sometime after midnight, LOL. Or a 3 am 302 startup might make him happy lol.

[towrecker]

@More350Power powerstroke at 2 am sunday morn , he about shit his pants too !

[More350Power]

@towrecker awww and you didnt get it on vid????  LMAO

[towrecker]

@More350Power nope , I was just messing with it , and did not expect it to start , been almost a year since it has ran , and it started , and he flipped out lol

[More350Power]

@towrecker Can ya make a startup vid of it ole buddy ole pal??? lol

[bulldog0046]

How about you throw a party, everybody bring at least a twelve pack, and a gallon of round-up. That neighbor of your will not be interrupting your video's for a while if that happens. No grass, no noise..

[towrecker]

@bulldog0046 lol , but I think I would rather kill my grass , and just set back drink beer and watch him mow his yard , and laugh at him ;)

[bulldog0046]

@towrecker that works to, I watch all the people in my neighborhood watering their yard, I just wonder why. More time for me I say, less time mowing the yard.

[towrecker]

@bulldog0046 yup , mine is toast now , it's dead , I scalped it , now it's a nice brown ;) and not getting any taller ha ha ha