idle air control valve

[skulptr]

ok so according to my haynes manual, i can take just the valve itself off to check for sticking and siezure. looking at pictures online or the assembly, i'm not too sure about taking it off of its assembly, due to possibly screwing it up. can anybody provide any insight on this? it seems i can only buy the assembly as a whole, and not just the valve itself.

 

 

the valve in this picture is the gold piece on the left with the brown plug. it only has 2 philips screws holding it in.

 

 

and this is the engine side of it. that spring right there makes me iffy to disassemble it

Edited December 22, 2010 by skulptr

[krmiller07]

What year and model engine is this for ?

[skulptr]

97 vg33

[skulptr]

ok so i just got another from the JY, and tips on getting the one off the rig.... the one i got came off a motor on a crate, so it was alot easier that way.

[ahardb0dy]

that valve part looks almost identical to an early GM part, you could probably just remove the gold piece and clean the end of it where it seals.

[JamesRich]

that valve part looks almost identical to an early GM part, you could probably just remove the gold piece and clean the end of it where it seals.

You beat me to it! On the older GMs just the gold part screwed into the side of the throttle body. The spring on it won't (shouldn't) come off if you remove the little motor. The spring pushes on a pointed plunger that seals a port that lets more or less air in. This is not a solenoid that move either in or out but a motor that can move and stop as needed to adjust the air flow. This is what controls your idle speed instead of moving the actual throttle plate.

You should be able to plug it into your truck to test the junk yard one. I think they are supposed to close when the key is off, and when the engine is cold you should see it move when someone turns the key on for you. If its moving, clean the plunger and port area good and you should be good to go.

James

[silverton]

That spring has nothing to do with what you'd remove with those two philip screws.

[sewebster]

The picture shows an AAC valve. What does AAC stand for? I thought there was another valve for idle control?

[krmiller07]

The picture shows an AAC valve. What does AAC stand for? I thought there was another valve for idle control?

Air Adjustment Control !

[skulptr]

well i'm started in on the bear of a job getting to the knock sensor, and i'm gonna try to tackle the idle control

while i'm down there. with the intake off i'm hoping its easier to reach. its a PITA to even see it with the intake on

 

 

and i thought AAC was actuated air control valve

Edited December 24, 2010 by skulptr

[JamesRich]

well i'm started in on the bear of a job getting to the knock sensor, and i'm gonna try to tackle the idle control

while i'm down there. with the intake off i'm hoping its easier to reach. its a PITA to even see it with the intake on

 

 

and i thought AAC was actuated air control valve

When you change your knock sensor put some silicone grease under it to prevent corrosion. Anything meant to protect electrical connections. When I changed the one on my wife's quest the old sensor tested the same impedance as the new one. The new sensor got rid of the code though so I don't know if the sensor was bad or it was just a bad connection. I don't even know if it needs to ground to the block but why take the chance.

James

[skulptr]

ok so i got the knock sensor changed (wish i would never have to do that again), and the knock sensor code remains. the o2 sensor code is gone though, and its shifting smoother.

 

i also changed out the idle air control system, and its still messed up. the idle is finaly good though, about 700 in gear. the old one i pulled off, the idle set screw was fully open! its no wonder i couldnt move it anymore. now, at random, when i park, the idle will go up to 1400 (hot). i think i have the vaccuum lines below the intake tube reversed somehow. one of those little ones does connect to the idle air control. i hope someone can post a picture of them so i can make sure i'm right. i will post a picture this afternoon of the ones i am referring too.

 

so now that this is all done, i went from having 3 error codes, to having 5.

 

the knock sensor, idle air control malfunction, idle air control failure, random misfire, and something else to do with misfire.

 

i know the misfire one is from the coolant that got into the #5 cylinder when i pulled the lower intake manifold off. i dried up what i could with a rag, but i could only reach oh so far into the head. it ran rough for a minute, while pushing the water out, now she's running strong, and smoother. but it seems like she's absolutely guzzling gas now. i used an 8th tank driving only 40 miles. i will fill it up again this afternoon to see just how much gas i used.

 

i unplugged the battery for the night last night to clear the ecu again, and see what happens with that. since autozone can't legally erase the ecu codes, and no other stores in town have an obdII reader for use in the parking lot.

 

 

the job took me about 9 hours in total, and i'm going to be extremely upset if i have to do it again. i do not like taking the intake off, since there is absolutely no easy way to get to the cooling lines on the back of the plenum

[Alkorahil]

I hate to ask, but you did plug the knock sensor and AAC back in to the respective harnesses right?

Edited December 29, 2010 by Alkorahil

[skulptr]

yes i did. i rechecked the ecu, all codes are gone except P0505 IAC valve.

 

 

now to fix the emissions status. have cat, o2, and egr flashing. i believe washington state only allows 2 emission system to have a non-readiness status.