help please - 88 camry idle problem

[mcbradford]

I just bought this 88 camry LE wagon. It has 91K miles on it. I believe all 91K were mainly in-town.

The car would idle way down when in park and especially with the AC on. I read some forums and thought it might be the IACV. I took the throttle body off (cleaned it), and the IACV and cleaned it. I also tested it (opens and closes). The gasket would not fit just right - but I thought what the heck - it might work. Nope - the engine would idle up and down in neutral. I looked at the IACV and noticed that when it reeved up I could see some of the coolant bubble out.

I called the toyota dealer for the gasket (1 week lead time - so I ordered it). In the meantime, I decided to get some gasket material from the parts store. The material states setup in one hour - I decided to let it sit for two days (I was going to be out of town). When I got back same thing! I really think the IACV is not leaking?? The other odd thing is - when I press the throttle (open it up) the motor sounds throaty and does not reeve-up????

I also replace the vacuum hoses to the ERG vacuum modulator and checked all the other hoses for leaks. PLEASE NOTE - I labeled my hoses, but the letters on the throttle body are not matching the letters on the EGR vacuum regulator. I matched them up (should they match up?????).

I hope the gasket will be in tomorrow. I will remove the instant gasket material, and replace with the factory gasket.

If the cars does the same thing???? What should I do????? I am really baffled about this!!!!

Thanks - Mark

[Doctor J]

Most likely you got the coolant sucked into the intake;
Ups and downs on idle indicate intake leak somewhere.

[mcbradford]

If coolant did get sucked in - now what? Will it just work its way out? Also, Does it matter which coolant line goes where. It looks like it is just a open loop? I am 99% certain I have them back where they came from, but just in case? Does the idle up and down indicate there is still a leak?

[mcbradford]

Also - what about the throaty sound when pressing the accelerator?

[Doctor J]

If little coolant will get sucked in, it will just clean the carbon from the pistons (nothing major).
Vacuum leak will cause the open loop condition. You may have to check;
the trouble codes;
the fuel trim;
the feedback control;
the ignition timing;
the intake vacuum.
before proceeding, study the service manual and www.Autoshop101.com, technical articles, engine controls, fuel trim.

[Kep]

Did the throaty / non-rev symptom develop after you worked on it or before? There is an idle up valve that is actuated when the AC is on. If that is failing it would explain a low idle when the AC was on but I don't believe it would contribute to any of you other observations.

Kep

[mcbradford]

After I worked on it.

[disregard]

I am having the same problem Mcbradford is after the engine is warmed up the idle dips up and down. I dont have AC though but the idle will go down to 550 rpms in park and bounce around between 550 and 650. I thought the fuel filter was the culprit so I replaced it, ((IT WAS THE ORIGINAL Toyota/ Denso ONE!!!)) I have more power when i down shift now but the idle still jumps around.


My question is could a low battery cause this idle problem ?
The car never stalls in park by BTW it just dips up and down.

[zppeacock]

Originally Posted by disregard

I am having the same problem Mcbradford is after the engine is warmed up the idle dips up and down. I dont have AC though but the idle will go down to 550 rpms in park and bounce around between 550 and 650. I thought the fuel filter was the culprit so I replaced it, ((IT WAS THE ORIGINAL Toyota/ Denso ONE!!!)) I have more power when i down shift now but the idle still jumps around.


My question is could a low battery cause this idle problem ?
The car never stalls in park by BTW it just dips up and down.

I just replaced my o2 sensor and fuel filer both oem and gained 5 mpg on my 90 camry