idling...

[Monopoly]

hey whats the proper Idling speed roughly supposed to be....when i start up my car it idles at about 1100rpm's...but when i drive it for a while it starts to idle at 2500rpm's!!! i dont think thats supposed to happen cause it was fine last summer...anyone got any suggestions???:confused:

[Fast Eddie]

Usually around 800RPM I'd say.

check your idle screw near the throttlebody and back it out a bit to lower the idle.

or for big adjustments, loosen the two bolts holding the throttle cable to the upper manifold and slide it back and forth to loosen/tighten.

[Davin24]

after warming up i idle at 500 on the nose

[Monopoly]

i must of touched the idle screw when i popped off that little ring in the boost scilonoid...thanx people! :bigup:

[Snortin93]

Did you resolve your problem?
Mine idles at 2,000 rpm's once warm, but will ocassionally drop to 750 if I'm idling along with my foot on the gas. I'm still sorting out some issues, but the idle screw doesn't affect the idle at all. I've got a leak where the y-pipe connects to the throttle body, but I'll have that taken care of when I get my DN downpipe installed. Still have to replace the fuel injector seals which are leaking a bit. Then plugs, wires, and then I might be able to get everything running right. (I hope!)

[ShdwMastr]

Idle @ 2000RPM? wow.

My car idles @ 1500RPM, untill warm then idles ~700-800rpm.

[memystealthandi]

Originally posted by Snortin93
Did you resolve your problem?
Mine idles at 2,000 rpm's once warm, but will ocassionally drop to 750 if I'm idling along with my foot on the gas. I'm still sorting out some issues, but the idle screw doesn't affect the idle at all. I've got a leak where the y-pipe connects to the throttle body, but I'll have that taken care of when I get my DN downpipe installed. Still have to replace the fuel injector seals which are leaking a bit. Then plugs, wires, and then I might be able to get everything running right. (I hope!)

I was waiting until you chimed in.
I used to have the same problem, then replaced plugs/wire, fixed boost leak, and the one that made the biggest difference was changing the injector seals. They were craked in several pieces.

My car idles at about 1000 - 1100 on start up, and then quickly goes down to about 700 - 800. Originally I thought the irregular idle I had was in some part due to the light weight flywheel.

[Monopoly]

FUCK!!!! Some meathead did a mickeymouse job on my Throttle screw! theres a bloody zip tie holding it all togther!!! If any1 goes to the meet on April 6th at Yorkdale u gotta see this!:mad:

i dont wanna touch it cause that zip tie might be holding more than just the screw together....

Anways when i got the car checked out for the TC leak, the dealer has this little comments section on your bill in the top corner....mine said "turbo gasket leaking" that might also contribute to the problem but its going in the shop next week i'll get em to take a look at while they fix my TC.

[Fast Eddie]

ANyone have time to explain what a "turbo gasket" is? Would that be where the turbo mounts to the exhaust manifold? if thats leaking, not only are you killing the atmosphere (Im one to talk :rolleyes: ) but you are loosing the exhaust pressure that powers your turbo.

[Snortin93]

Monopoly,
You've got to take a picture of the twist tie and post it. I'm dying to see what they did. I've read that the rubber washer on the throttle screw can disintegrate after years of use. That's another thing that I need to check out....

memystealthandi,
I'm still waiting for my spark plug wires to show up, and then I'll continue following your trail. I can't believe how difficult it's been trying to get the stupid wires. I phoned around, and most places could get me a set of MSD or Metr, but it's still a month wait. :angry:
Your old gasket is still keeping my car going, believe it or not!

[Snortin93]

metr? Say what?!?! :eek:

How about Magnecor.

[Monopoly]

fuck! those other meatheads at the dealer didnt specify exactly which gasket it was...O well i'll leave it for now untill somehting else goes wrong :rolleyes:

anyways i just sent my pics to wal-mart to get developed today and i'll pick them up tommorow...theres a close engine shot which you might be able to see the screw...

what i think what someone did was place a zip tie ON TOP of that rubber washer! Idoits!!!:angry:

[Monopoly]

ARGH!!! now my car idles at 2500 all the time now!!! doesnt matter if its cold or hot!!! wtf is up with that:angry:

fuck looks like i'll have to get them to replace the so called "turbo gasket" after all! Fuck this sucks!

http://www.click-smilies.de/sammlung/sauer/angry-smiley-055.gifhttp://www.click-smilies.de/sammlung/sauer/angry-smiley-001.gif

[Fast Eddie]

Well, your idle is controlled (for the most part) by your throttle screw. You say that that is being held together with a zip tie? I would guess that is where you would want to start the fix, and not this mysterious 'turbo gasket'. If they try to sell you Horn fluid, or a brakelight manifold, punch them in the eye :D

[Snortin93]

I pulled my throttle screw out. The rubber o-ring was in good condition, but the screw is screwed in as far as it will go, and I still get high rev's.
Monopoly, give it a check tho, to be sure that it's ok.
Try spraying some carb cleaner around the fuel injectors, and see if that has any affect on your idle. On mine, the fluid gets sucked in a bit on a couple of them.

[Fast Eddie]

could be wrong here, but in my mind, i see the setup that if you turn the screw in, the idle goes higher? As you tighten the screw, it holds the throttle plate open more, no? Dont you need to back out the screw to bring the idle down?

[Snortin93]

Hmmmm, I'll have to check my manual tonight, but I thought that screwing it in restricted the amount of air/fuel, hence lowering the idle speed.

Tightening the idle screw on the carbs of my MGB definitely increases the idle as you suggest.

Continually learning......

[Monopoly]

Eddit u gunna be at yorkdale this sun??? u gotta take a look at this....it seems that zip tie is there for a reason holding that rubber ring in place and the idle screw is screwed in all the way!!! I'm really glad i saved all of my money for repairs! Carb fluid??? whats the product name???

[Snortin93]

OK, I've finally gotten my car sorted out!!! :bigup:

Tightening the throttle screw i.e. screwing it in, lowers the idle. It goes against conventional wisdom, but it works just as the workshop manuals indicates. If your rubber is shot, go to Home Depot and they should have one that will fit. Should cost less than a buck.

I just had a can of Gunk carb-cleaner laying around in my garage that I used. Anything will work, even WD-40.

My real problem was the fuel injector seals were toast. Replacing those when the plenum was off to replace the sparks plugs and wires made all the difference in the world. Idling at 750 rpm is heaven!!!! :D

I'd like to take credit for doing all the work, but that'd be a lie. I'm just happy that the engine is no longer hunting and racing every time I come to a stop. Baby, she purrs now!

Monopoly, we should probably start a new thread on previous owner's biggest/worst fixes. Your twist tie effort will definitely be at the top of the list.

[memystealthandi]

Originally posted by Snortin93
OK, I've finally gotten my car sorted out!!! :bigup:

My real problem was the fuel injector seals were toast. Replacing those when the plenum was off to replace the sparks plugs and wires made all the difference in the world. Idling at 750 rpm is heaven!!!! :D


I knew it!! I knew the injector seals were where the real problem was at. Glad to hear everything is working out well.

[Monopoly]

Yeah i showed my great Zip-Tie idle screw to others at the April 13th meet at Yorkdale..quite hillarious

You know what? i idle at 1000 to 1500 now...i think it was because i was running the gas that i had in it since November!!! The minute i filled it up with Fresh gass it went away! And i will try spraying my Injector seals with WD-40!

[Diablo]

Glad that got sorted out...Until your car started having screwy idle at BOTH cold and warm temps, I was thinking bad O2 sensor...but as O2 sensors are impotent at startup, that got ruled out in your later posts.
Congrats on solving your prob.....and thanks for providing us with some more of a knowledge base for future issues similar in nature.

[Monopoly]

yeah TELL me about it!
i had no idea gas went bad after sitting in your tank for 5 months!
O well maybe next spring i'll drain most of the fuel out and use it in my lawnmower!:p

[Snortin93]

If you put some Sta-bil gas stabilizer or similar stuff in your tank when you fill it up for the last time in the fall, it should be good for 6 months. I've been doing it to my MGB every fall for 15 years, and have never had a problem with bad gas in the spring. I never even thought about gas being the problem....

[abax44]

I never put anything in my gas when I put the car away for the winter and I've never had a problem come spring time.

ps- 750 is where the car should idle at. :thumbup:

[Monopoly]

lol im happy with it idling at 1000 but i will try my best to get it down to 750!

[FishV6]

You might want to clean your IAC (Idle Air Control) motor. It could be gunked up real bad and need a bit of cleaning. I was having the same problem I cleaned mine right now. Still have to put it back right now to see the difference. This screw that is hold by a zip tie does alot altough you will have to look into that :) I don't know what it could be holding altough ! It's really funny altough because I have my throttle body besides me right now and I don't know why would someone put a zip tie in there !?

[Monopoly]

IAC??? where abouts is that located in the engine bay??? i should definately check that! thanx!!:thumbup:

[FishV6]

The IAC is actually just a bit under your intake piple attached to your throttle body. If you remove your intake pipe you will see it. What I recommend you to do if you want to clean it is to remove your whole throttle body. And then you will be able to remove your IAC easy and give your TB and everything a good cleaning. Use throttle body cleaner at your canadian tire store (not carb cleaner). And some lithium grease and your on your way again.

Some pictures of the thing :

[FishV6]

another

[FishV6]

another one

[Snortin93]

Use throttle body cleaner at your canadian tire store (not carb cleaner).

I didn't even know there was such a thing as throttle body cleaner. Good to know. Thanks for the info FishV6!

[Monopoly]

wow those are some nice pics!:thumbup:
thanks Fish ill check that when i get home from work today.
so im guessing you unscrew it and clean the inside with throttle body cleaner and then put it back on with some lithium grease! sweeeeet!

[Malice]

Originally posted by Snortin93
I didn't even know there was such a thing as throttle body cleaner. Good to know. Thanks for the info FishV6!

Carb cleaner doesn't mix well with electronic equipment. T/B cleaner isn't as harsh, so not to damage your wiring harnesses or somewhat exposed (or just the plastic of the) wires.

Carb Cleaner can really do some damage by utterly destroying wiring harnesses. Some may get away with it, but I wouldn't suggest it.

[FishV6]

Yeah exactly what he said, it's easier on aluminium parts and supposed to give some kind of protection.

For the cleaning part you don't clean the inside of the IAC by spraying into it. You can clean the outside altough this way. What you do once you got the whole TB out wich is only 5 nuts to get out and there will be 2 nasty small coolant hoses attached at the bottom of it just get good pliers and you can do it :) After that take that IAC out but spray some of that wd-40 on the two nuts before and let it penetrate because one of mine splitted in two and I needed to fix that afterwards. Once it's all out go at it with the TB cleaner and clean that whole area that it was in (really dirty useally) and clean the exterior of the IAC good with that stuff. After there is three phillips screws that cover off. The interior won't be as nasty but give it a little lube (not much) with the lithium grease. And after everything is done lube the exterior part of the IAC and put it back. Make sure grease gets in the little arm correctly :) Readjust your idle air screw and verify what is that getto zip tie by doing it.

I would do it for you now but I can't :) ;)

[Monopoly]

holy fuck that things buried!!! :whoa: