car wont idle when cold

[sirhc0208]

I have a 4 cyl Camry LE that I just did a head gasket job on. I got everything back together... no problem. Now I go to start it and it just dies. To keep the car from dying I have to keep my foot on the gas until it starts to warm up. Once it's warm, the car stays on... no problems other than the idle picking up and dropping softly. Any help is much appreciated!

***Mod edited for easy reading. Original post:

Originally Posted by sirhc0208

i have a 4 cyl camry le just did a head gasket job on it and got everything back together no problems now i go to start it and it just dies down to keep the car from dieng i have to keep it accelerated until it starts to warm up once its warm car stays on no problems besides the idle picking up and dropping softly any help is much appreciated

[Mister_Perkins]

sounds like a vacuum leak somewhere. Get some starting fluid and spray it around the intake manifold and throttle body. If the car idles up its a vacuum leak.

If that checks out, you may want to look into cleaning the IAC. Stalling symptoms are linked with a bad IAC and since the problem is resolved when warm it could be the IAC. Could also be the EGR Valve too

Link for IACV Cleaning:
5sfe IAC Removal (lots of pictures)

[JohnGD]

Also check the engine coolant temperature sensor (2-wire deal), not the 1-wire instrument gauge sender.