Well, after pulling off my TB, and IAC housing, i noticed that the IAC i installed was sort of inbetween the openings. Sort of half-open i guess you could say.

Is this normal? Am i supposed to pull on the pintle, or spin it or something to extend the pintle out enough to close it entirely?

Just wondering if this is why my idle is so high, after replacing the IAC with this new unit, ive idled really high.

Also, does anyone know where I can get a IAC wrench? I hate having to pull off the TB just to get at the IAC, and I have heard that there is a special tool for taking them off.

Thanks!

 

Chritos,

Don't just pull on the pintle. The ridges you see on the pintle stem are part of a rack gear that meshes with gears in the IAC motor. There is a spring behind the pintle stem, and you can wobble the pintle back and forth for about two minutes and it will "step" out of the gears in the IAC body (the IAC is a stepper motor, after all). Then you can clean and lightly oil everything (ONE drop of clean engine oil on the rack gear).

Here's my generic, canned description:


Idle Air Control Cleaning

You can remove the IAC and service it. Remove the electrical connector from the IAC. Unscrew the IAC unit from the throttle body.

You can gently rock the pintle back and forth and allow the spring to extend it until it comes apart in your hands. Clean everything with lint-free cloths and a mild solvent. Harsh solvents can affect the insulation of the stepper motor coils. It's generally the dirt and buildup on this worm shaft that causes sluggish IAC operation.

When the worm gear on the pintle shaft is clean and dry, apply one drop of clean light oil to the shaft and work the pintle back into the rack gears of the motor by the same rocking motion. It takes a while to get the pintle back into the worm gears, but you'll get it. It is important to get the pintle fully retracted into the housing so that the pintle is not forced against the gears when reinstalling the IAC unit in the throttle body.

While the IAC is out, clean the air passages in the throttle body. The oriface in the TB where the IAC resides is the seat that the IAC valve closes against, and it can accumulate a lot of carbon, dirt, and debris. The easy way to do this is with carburetor cleaner and a small stiff brush.

When everything is clean and dry, replace the gasket if it is damaged, apply a little anti-seize to the threads, and torque the IAC to the proper specs. (13 ft/lb for '85-'89 , 30 in/lb for 1990-on.) Proceed with setting the TPS and minimum air position.

 

Thank you for the quick responce vader!

Oh hell. I hosed the entire TB/iac housing with engine cleaner, and it was a pain to rinse out of the IAC. Haha great.

Ok, I will have to find a way to get it out again. I used a 1-1/4 socket at a stupid angle to get it out originally, and it didn't really work that great. Do you or anyone know what tool i need, and where I can pick it up? I need my TB on by monday so I can drive to have my new transmission installed.

Thanks!