Owner told me that it has slight idle problem.


"The issue was that it wanted to idle at 1600, so I had reset the minimum air and unplugged the IAC so I could drive the car. With the IAC unplugged, it does idle ok, but does create flat spots in the throttle."

What do you guys think?

 

If the rest of the car is in good shape, and you can pick it up cheaply enough, you can't go wrong. You can always sort out the issues.

 

Is it throwing any codes?

I was thinking '89 was MAF's last year. Might try cleaning that use MAF cleaner from auto store. I had similiar issues with my 3800 series V6 it would want to idle at 2k-3.5k though. Swapping MAF fixed it.

 

Sweet. Thanks. I asked for the VIN so I could Carfax it and make sure the 73k miles were true, but he gave me everything but the last six digits. I don't know if I can do it with just that.

 

Sounds like he is trying to hide something to me... Although I could be wrong, I have proven that in the past.

 

Yeah really...I wonder why else someone wouldn't want to give the VIN. Seems like a nice enough guy though, so I am going to check it out today. I can get the VIN when I get there. I'll CARFAX it tonight. I want to make sure this thing is 100% before I spend the money.

 

He wants $3,800. It's in real good shape, 73k on it. Thing is - I don't want to buy another potentially expensive problem child.

I guess the guy before him was throwing parts at it to fix the idle issue: Injectors, TPS, saw that the MAF was bosch with the screens removed, possible new dist. and a couple other small things.

Said the IAC counts are above 100 so he just disconnected it and now it's driveable. (doesn't idle at 1600 anymore) TPS is at .54. Tried like hell to find vacuum leaks; nothing. Said he sprayed the throttle plates and underneath the throttle body with cleaner when he replaced the IAC but it still won't idle 100% right.

OH - also said that when he sprayed the MAF with cleaner that it would run alright until you turn it off. Then the problem is back next startup.

 

To me, that sounds like he is asking enough $$ for it. After all, it is just a car that isn't running right. If it was running like its supposed to, then yeah, $3800 all day.
Also sounds like you may have found the culprit "When he sprayed the MAF with cleaner it would run alright".

 

Yeah. I think $3,800 is a little overpriced for something that doesn't run 100%.

 

I'm not going to tell you what to do with your money. You could put it in a paper sack and throw it over a cliff for all I care, after all, it is your money.
In my humble opinion though, I think you should talk him down some. Otherwise, it sounds like the car is in pretty good shape, and I don't think you should have too many issues getting it running right.

 

Alright I tried copying and pasting the CARFAX report, not real easy to read. This isn't great but readable. Is it me or has this car seen 9342840932809 different owners?

Let me know if the download doesn't work. It's just the report saved to a word document.

 

No one? I guess I'll see if he'll let me test drive it Wed. then.

 

Well I would have looked at it, but I don't have microsoft word... I know, I'm stuck in the stone ages...

 

Ok this is my car. I'm not hiding anything The reason I didn't want to give him all the vin is there are too many scams on craigslist. After I met Abe I did allow him to have the Vin to CARFAX it. Again I have nothing too hide.

 

He seems to have left out I drive this car everyday 42 miles one direction to work. The car is very clean and dependable. I searched all through the cars for sale here on this site to compare my car to, then took in consideration the condition, milage and the issues my car has. And he has quoted me wrong on the MAF yes I did clean it. I never said it made a difference. What I did say is when I reset the minium air the car would run and idle fine until I shut it off. When I would come back to started it again it would idle high.

 

Just going off of what I was told.

 

Was just really upset when I found this post,then to see I was getting beat up. I'm 42 years old and I'm not out to screw anybody. This kid is barely out of school. I had also posted looking for help on trying to fix it as I'm not a TPI guy or fuel injection for that matter. If I had the time and the eatra money I would just keep it and I also feel bad for as I rack the mile's up pretty quick. So I thought just sell it and buy a cheap daiy driver. But this is becoming more hassle then it is worth.

 

My apologies, I misunderstood.

Don't get me wrong guys, this is definitely a nice, clean 3rd Gen that I recommend to anyone who is looking. I'm just looking for some opinions.

 

I don't care how old you are. You need to get over it, nobody was "beating you up". The car has some issues and this kid was trying to figure out how bad they were going to be before he purchased it.
That being said, I am glad that we have some more information on what is really going on with it, as now maybe we can get it sorted out.

 

why are these cars selling for so much, unless its super rare a GTA that doesn't run right should not be going for this much, regardless of miles. it's not the seller its just the way everything is right now. i remember buying a 350 GTA for 1200 bucks, with a new engine (car had paperwork to prove it) and that was only 4 or 5 years ago

 

IAC counts should only read 100 when the engine is not running, once started though they should read between 15-25 at idle. If your IAC counts are skewed, then replace your Coolant Temperature Sensor as that is how the ECM determines idle RPM. As for the price, the price is fair for such an easy fix. Good luck....

 

The Temp Senor you speak of, is it the one on the front of the intake ? If so it has been repaced by me along with a full tune up - T stat and IAC. The PO replaced fuel injectors - dist - ECM - TPS. I did pull the ECM and it is a reman unit and does have it's stock PROM. The PO told me it needed a MAF but I have not seen any codes for that. I've had it on two different snap on scanners, no codes showing and I set the TPS using the scanner.

 

Scan and check the temperature reading going to the ECM, as although the CTS may be new, the sensor can still be skewing data and reading very low at all times. Did you mess with the fast idle screw at all? Make sure the throttle body blade is fully closed when you set your TPS voltage. If you really think that it might be the MAF, although its showing no codes, simply disconnect the MAF and see if the idle returns to where it should be....

 

Wouldn't surprise me if it was the coolant temp. sensor. I asked yesterday after I drove it if the fan switch has been messed with because the fans were on when the motor was only about 200*. I'm not sure if the fans should be on at key-on at that temp, but mine don't unless its about 234*.

 

Used the DataMaster program and the temp is reading 183 , there is a 195 t stat installed. Haven't had time to try unpluging the MAF today will try later.