ok anyone who has had idle issues please help

[deftsound]

yea its been timed right i think, but im pretty sure what i have is a vacuum leak, what i dont understand is this: Why, if my computer says i have an egr valve malfunction, an ect malfunction, and my engine is running lean, would it still give me these same codes after i replaced my egr valve and ect sensor. The guy i talked to said that if i have a vacuum leak the car isnt running right therefore sending the computer the wrong codes, i dont buy it personally, i think ill just have to take care of this problem myself, im gonna take that intake off and do the job my friend did myself. im starting to get really discouraged here...

 

[deftsound]

hey, just got my car from the shop that didnt fix it. I bought some high temp gasket sealer so me and a friend are gonna take those intake manifolds off and see what we can see. Hopefully it will be something stupid like stripped bolts or something. I guess if worse comes to worse and there is a crack in the manifold we can temporarily fix it with some jb weld until i can get a new set off ebay. Also, would this vacuum leak im having have anything to do with the high temp my car has been running at lately? Also, are there any special tools you gotta have to take the manifolds off? One more thing, the guy that originally replaced my intake gaskets (when i started having problems) broke his foot halfway through the process of replacing them, so i wonder if maybe since his foot was broke he tryed to take shortcuts or didnt do everything quite right??? Thanks

 

[Daggar]

special tools? Not really.

Torque wrech, Sockets and socket wrenches, ratchet extensions, screw drivers for the hose clamps, and I use two deifferent width wood chisels as gasket scrapers. Oh... a tip I got from Michael Yount is to use plenty of brake cleaner and a shop vac to clean everything up real good before the reinstall. Don't forget to get a new t-stat gasket too. Thread lock EVERYTHING!. I broke off one of the lower intake bolts the last time I changed lower manifold and that thread lock allowed me to get the broken bolt out with nothing more than a regular drill ole drill bit (spun it right out). I forget anything anyone?

 

[deftsound]

yea if anyone can give me tips id appreciate, also see the post i did before this about my engine getting hot according to the stock gauge (which is suspect is very innacurate), would a messed up gasket/manifold cause my engine to heat up more then usual?

 

[what_stanger?]

i had a pretty bad idle (surge)

and it was fixed FINALLY with a change of plugs, it had 23s in it, with hardly any gap (nitrous i'm guessin') i put 25s in with the right gap, and it was perfect...

i was pretty surprised...not saying it your problem, but maybe someone else will have my same problem.

 

[jerry beach]

Did this guy put an upper intake gasket on it or both upper and lowers? Why did he do this? Have you put a vac. gauge on it yet to verify there is a leak? If you take it apart yourself, tag all the vacuum lines and the ports they go to with corresponding #'s. Get a manual or find some good instructions on the web and follow them step by step. Tmoss sent me some good instructions with his ported lower. I knew how to do the job already, but still learned a few things from him. And as was stated above, get a torque wrench and you better have the sequence. Good luck to you, dont look at it as a chore its an opportunity to learn.

 

[deftsound]

definately, im looking forward to it, up to now my biggest project was replacing my rack and pinion but this will be a new thing for me. He put new upper gaskets on because there was a small oil leak coming from it. He may have done the lower ones as well but im not sure...

 

[dvs bullet]

I definately think that you have a leak, you should test with a vac gauge first before you tear it down though. I would look for a vac line off or split first thing, i used water in the past. I got a garden hose and went over the intake and vac lines with a little bit of water, you'll hear a slurping noise when you found the prob. good luck

 

[deftsound]

ok guys, today when me and a friend were messing around with it earlier today and he noticed a little smoke coming from behind the manifold, i looked and he was right! i couldnt believe it, so i guess its the gaskets or manifold for sure, i mean why else would it be smoking....

 

[jerry beach]

PCV valve is back there, that could be where the smoke is coming from. Will it idle steady? if so, go get the vacuum gauge and see what it reads. You should read the posts completely. Jrichker gave you alot of good info. Two of us told you that you need a vac. guage reading at the very least before tearing it apart. We are trying to save you alot of work. HTH.

 

[deftsound]

well me and a friend started taking it apart, man the guy that did my gaskets did a terrible job, apparently after he broke his foot he decided to start taking shortcuts, i found several bolts finger loose....the distrubitor cap for one was very loose. Right now we are trying to get those fuel lines that deliver fuel to the injectors off, cant really figure it out but im sure we will. Yea they did a vacuum test at the place i brought it to and they said it said there was no vacuum in the manifold at all. But i really really appreciate all your guys help with everything. I dont know what id do without this site. I think i will get one of those testers.

 

[HISSIN50]

why are you not taking it back to the guy who did this in the first place? it sounds like a mechanic did the work.

there is no bolt that holds the dizzy cap on - do you mean the dizzy hold down was loose? if so, time the motor and go from there. if you are out of time, it will create new problems and exacerbate the existing problems.

im not sure what kind of pump knowledgable Jerry mentioned (cant bring myself to re-read this thread), but a Mitivac type pump is a nice tool (as opposed to a generic vac gauge). you can use the former for brake bleeding and some other stuff.

good luck.

 

[deftsound]

ok guys im stuck, we spent an hour trying to get the damn fuel rail lines off, just woudlnt even budge, we bought one of those quick disconnect things and they didnt even work, the lines will not come off and i dont understand why, if anyone has any tips for taking those off it would be much appreciated...

 

[BlueOvalStangGT]

Ever get this fixed?

 

[deftsound]

yea actually, me and a friend finally broke down and took off the intake manifold, cleaned it and the throttle body and just about eveyrthing else, bought all new gaskets for just about everythign on the way and got a new thermostat. Well when we took off the upper intake we found several bolts that had been half ass tightened, not even torqued down right. So we got everything put back on right and now it seems to be running better. Im still getting bad mileage and it still idles a little wierd every now and then but on the whole it runs much better. I suspect i may have a hairline crack in that intake manifold i didnt see.

 

[deftsound]

oh yea and as far as the fuel rail lines go, what a pita!!! We struggled with them and finally gave up, we were able to just slip the lower manifold underneath them without disconnecting them.