Stumped. Searched.

[Shift__BODOM]

well, im having a bit of a perticular problem. i cleaned my throttle body while it was one the car yesterday with that "intake cleaner" stuff from autozone, and after i got it all sparkly clean and replaced my intake (aftermarket, ebay) and put some seafoam into the engine via the brake booster hose [after the check valve].

now, when i started my car up, it started almost immediatly, and i just figured it was cause my tb was clean and there was tb cleaner in the intake, no big deal. then it idles at like 1100. now, just recently, i unkinked the vaccum hose going to the IACV, and noticed smooth idle, both warm and cold. 750 +/-50 warm. now, after reconnecting that vaccum hose, the car's idle bumped up considerably. like 1300 RPM just idling there with the coolant temp sensor showing operating temp. so i gave it a little throttle, thinking that for some reason it would fix it, and it just made it get worse. so i turned off the car and noticed that my intake was not tightened all the way around the TB, and there was space for air to go through. i figured that it was the reason my idle was so high, so i tightened it down. when i started it up again the same things happened. so now i move to my MAF.

i jiggle it around and nothing happens, so i unplug it. the idle dips down to about 1200 and still idles strong. no blips or drops whatsoever. i checked for codes and got a code 12, MAF circuit, so i cleaned the element inside my maf with electrical contact cleaner, and on the rear element, there's some red stuff like deposited on its corners. could this be from my K&N? i know the mustang guys have some bad problems with the oil. is this the same problem that plagues the 240? after i cleaned it, a lot of crap came off, but it still didnt help my idle. i cleaned the maf sensors and also the throttle position sensor plugs, and nothing changed my idle. for some reason tho, it only seems to affect my idle. it still revvs completely through the entire range, and ive still got all my power (it feels like), plus the throttle feels a lot more responsive. also, isn't the check engine light supposed to be coming on for a MAF code? and wtf if its throwing the code but not turning on the check engine light then wtf? also it limits the revvs to 2400 in order to inform driver of the safe mode. my check light is off and i can rev way past 2400.

when i was cleaning the TB, i noticed a LOT of black, oily type crap just coming out from inside. theres also a small hole underneath the throttle plate that leads to a vaccum. this was plugged before the clean, and was unplugged [as far as i could see] after i cleaned it. dont know if that'll help.

*whew* thanks

[NISTECH]

Did you replace the gasket behind the throttle body that you had to go tighten.

To me it still sounds like a vaccum leak and I am thinking it is there.

[Shift__BODOM]

no, i never took off the TB, i cleaned it while it was still in the car. i took off the cold air intake to get to the TB. i sprayed carb cleaner around the vaccum lines and nothing changed. the idle stayed where it is, which leads me to only one source of the problem. the MAF. i mean, it makes sense since my ECU was throwing a code. i checked the voltages a while back. is there any way i could have accidentally shorted the MAF? i dont really think so since it would have screwed up earlier. it's either the MAF, or the MAF and coolant temp sensor working together to raise the idle. i think my coolant temp sensor is faulty (haven't gone out and tested it yet, but you may remember from another topic that my coolant temp gauge inside the car only works part of the time...maybe i should clean the sending unit. it looks corroded, and my old radiator blew, sending coolant everywhere in the engine bay...)

sorry if the first post was a little bit erratic and hard to follow, i shouldnt type drunk...

thanks for help! i'll check voltages tomorrow and see if cleaning that plug for the coolant temp gauge helps my problem with at least the gauge.

[NISTECH]

I was thinking the maf code came up because you had the car running with it unplugged, I choose to ignore it at this point due to that.

What hose are you pulling off the IACV? If pulling that off makes the idel drop to normal I am still thinging its a vaccum leak. A mis adjusted TPS will cause the idle to set higher then normal as well so you may want to take a look at that.

As far as the code for maf goes . Clear it and run the car,see if the code comes back.

[Shift__BODOM]

i unkinked the hose going from the IACV to the intake "tube" since the intake i got was ebay quality, so i had to cut the hoses to fit up right, and one was kinked, so the car didn't idle right until i unkinked the hose. this was about a week ago that i unkinked the hose. no problems until i cleaned my throttle body.

what else could cause a high idle? there is no way that the TPS just happened to come out of spec, i never touched it.

with the IACV screw, do you screw it in to raise the idle and out to lower it? when i tried to adjust the idle via the screw (which was all the way in) the idle only went up. now it idles strong at about 1400 RPM. no loss in performance whatsoever. also, when i adjusted the idle, the silicone coupler attaching the CAI to the TB wasn't tightned all the way, so i think it funked with the idle adjustment.

right now i'm going to go look for vaccum leaks in the PAIR (AIV on these forums) valve lines that i plugged when i removed the PAIR valve. i'm also going to try to adjust the idle at the screw if i find no vaccum leaks. yesterday i misted some carb cleaner at the intake manifold and everywhere i knew that there was a vaccum line, and nothing changed with the idle. i'm also going to run auxillary grounds from the MAF and see if anything changes.

i'll post my results back up in about an hour.

[NISTECH]

wiht he Iacv screw all the way in and the car warmed up the engine should be starving for air and not idleing up. That hose that isnt hook up to anything, pinch it off with some pinch off pliers so no air can enter it. If it is getting any air from the idle circuit it should die. If it doesnt die it is getting air somewhere else.

[Shift__BODOM]

ok, there isn't a hose that is not hooked up to something, unless you are talking about the 2 small vaccum hoses that used to be connected to the PAIR valve and the PAIRC solenoid valve. i checked both of those, crimping them down with pliers, kinking them, even tried opening them back up. no change in the idle.

now, i do believe that it is a vaccum leak. in the back of the motor, right behind the head, there is a rats nest of vaccum lines (not telling you anything new...lol). in the midst of those vaccum lines, on the drivers side of the head, there is a small metallic panel-type thing where a few vaccum lines plug into, and it's loose...its almost like its supposed to be bolted up, and it isnt, and all the vaccum lines attached to it are all torn and messed up. could this be the root of my problem? what the hell is this maze of lines? i've tried looking throughout the FSM, but i found nothing.

also, is there any way to effectively get rid of any unnecessary vaccum lines? what can i get rid of and still expect to pass inspection in houston? i'll search also, but a quick run through of the components to disconnect/disable would be nice.

thanks a lot man! cheers

[Shift__BODOM]

AH HA! i found the drawing i was looking for! EF & EC-8, thats the page it's on. the thing that's loose is the solenoid valve bracket. this bracket holds the EGR and canister control solenoid valve, S.C.V. (swirl control valve?) control solenoid valve, and its attached via a vaccum line to the swirl control valve. would any of those components cause a high idle like i'm experiencing? what other components can cause a high idle? the only other things i see entering the intake after the TB is the canister purge line. if this vaccum hose is disconnected or broken (letting air in), would it explain my occasional gasoline smell entering the driving compartment (i love these technical terms lol), and more importantly, my high idle?

i know that the EGR also places air into the intake after the TB, but i eliminated that as a culprit because for one, it puts exhaust in, not fresh air. second, when i depress the diaphragm on the bottom, the idle drops and the car sputters, which is what's supposed to happen when i do that. the only other reason it would be a suspect would be if it was leaking in air where it connects to the intake, since it had no gasket, and i didn't put one on. but then again, i cleaned it like in january so it would have had plenty of time to ****up since then...

sorry this is a bit of a lot, i havent had time for anything. i couldnt even do those tests, but i'm going to forego the MAF tests since i dont think the MAF is causing this. my engine did exactly the opposite of what it's doing now when i first installed my intake (idled low and died at stops) cause of a vaccum leak to the IACV.

oh, another thing, when coming to stops, the idle might sometimes drop to 1000 RPM, then raise slowly back to 1300-1400 RPM. another weird thing, is that when it's raising its idle up a little, it sounds like a WRX with exhaust...ya know, real crappy..almost bubbly. please tell me you can relate...

like i said before, the performance is still strong as all hell, and i can hear a lot more air being sucked through my filter...i dont know if it's because of a clean and smooth throttle body (as opposed to rough, and covered in oil), or my vaccum leak.

thanks a ****load man, it means a lot.
Modified by Shift__BODOM at 2:29 AM 6/25/2005

[NISTECH]

Follow that diagram and replace any of the vaccum lines that are damaged at the back of the head. A couple of them can draw air in the system as they are supply lines to the solonoids. The Egr and egr base plates need to have gaskets between them to prevent drawing air in. Just because it didnt leak back then does not mean its not the problem. I know its a pain but install some gaskets there as this is where I feel the strongest about your problem. If this is leaking it would be sizable enough to cause such a jump in the idle.

The EVAP purge line is another potential problem it is plumbed in before the throttle plate and allows fresh air into the intake tube if it is pulling air it is unmetered air. You should cap that hose off at least as a test to see its effect on the idle. Again though you egr gasket not being there is still my primary suspicion.

[Shift__BODOM]

just went out and looked at the EGR. there IS a gasket there, i just guess i didn't pay attention to it. while i was trying to find the vaccum leak, my friend knocked my wiring harness around by the fuel injectors (front of engine) and i heard this weird buzzing sound coming from the underhood fusebox on the passenger side. it turns out that the wires he was messing with ended up touching the metal of the head and fried some circuit, and now the car wont start. when i looked in my fuse box, i found a blown 25A fuse. when i looked on the fuse box cover, it said RET MTR. what the hell is this? i pulled a spark plug and put it on the wire to see if it had spark, and i didn't see a spark.

ok, what the hell is going on
Modified by Shift__BODOM at 9:10 PM 6/25/2005

[Shift__BODOM]

hmm, well my gas tank was empty, so i went out and got a gallon of gas and put it in. i tried cranking it a few times, but it wouldn't start, so i started looking at fuses. i figured that if the fusible link for the engine control (whatever that is?) would also somehow be connected to the engine control fuse [10a], but when i pulled the fuse, it fell out of my hand before i was able to see if it was fried or not, and it ended up falling into the recesses underneath my battery tray. needless to say, i replaced this fuse and it started right up. i dont know if the fuse fixed my starting problem, or if i just had to crank it a little more to get fuel through the lines incase the fuel pump sucked some air or something..either way, let's get back to my high idle...

[NISTECH]

RET MTR I believe is your retract motor for your head lamps. Check the rest of the fuses, Repair what ever wires are touching metal. Relace any blown fuses and try to restart it.

[Shift__BODOM]

i fixed the damaged wires and got it started again, no problem. i think the fuse being partially melted is the reason why my headlights sometimes go down, up, then down again when i turn my lights off sometimes.

ok, the idle is still high, and i'm going to check out that line that runs off the evap canister and goes into the manifold, and also replace those smaller vaccum lines on that bracket.