Cleaning And Reattaching The IACV (Idle Air Control Valve) - Page 3

digitalmethods · 08-31-2006, 12:54 PM

Wish I had the same result. Instead mine is junk. Now I'm getting another unit. I soaked it in gas and was very carefull but it was already dead. I tested the unit and it has a broken circuit. Probably somewhere in the coil or something. So for anyone who tried cleaning it and it didn't work I had 60k and meticulously maintain my vehicle. They die so check the contacts before you even bother cleaning it. You can learn from my time.

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KKoepp31 · 10-02-2006, 12:01 PM

I hate to bump an older thread, but I'm having issues. I'd been suffering from an idle surge and occassional stalling so I decided to clean out the IACV. The gasket of course gave me issues...the car has 85k miles so this doesn't come as a huge surprise. I do have the throttle body coolant bypassed, so I'm not worried about coolant getting into the manifold, but the car is running very rough now and going into limp mode or just stalling out, losing power entirely, etc. Could a screwed gasket really cause this much of an issue or do I have other things to worry about? I have a new gasket on order, along with new plugs and I think I'll change the fuel filter for good measure. I'm worried I may have major ecu issues. I did have the codes scanned at autozone but i had just done an ecu reset to make it there so I'm not sure if that cleared them out because nothing worthwile showed up. Anybody have any input on this?

digitalmethods · 10-02-2006, 12:12 PM

Did you throw another code yet? I would get the CEL codes and search them on here. I took mine out and reinstalled it after cleaning it. It didn't work and I used a new gasket. I wouldn't be too worried. I thought I had some major issues but changing out that valve did the trick. Do you have access to a voltmeter? Check the to terminals on the IAC itself. If you have a electrical loop then it's good. If you have no loop made then the connection is lost inside of the unit making it defective. It's really easy to do if you have the right equipment. Autozone could probably do that for you. Check and see if it's sending out a signal basically. PM me if you are confused.

scooterforever · 10-02-2006, 01:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KKoepp31

I hate to bump an older thread, but I'm having issues. I'd been suffering from an idle surge and occassional stalling so I decided to clean out the IACV. The gasket of course gave me issues...the car has 85k miles so this doesn't come as a huge surprise. I do have the throttle body coolant bypassed, so I'm not worried about coolant getting into the manifold, but the car is running very rough now and going into limp mode or just stalling out, losing power entirely, etc. Could a screwed gasket really cause this much of an issue or do I have other things to worry about? I have a new gasket on order, along with new plugs and I think I'll change the fuel filter for good measure. I'm worried I may have major ecu issues. I did have the codes scanned at autozone but i had just done an ecu reset to make it there so I'm not sure if that cleared them out because nothing worthwile showed up. Anybody have any input on this?

If you bork the gasket, you'll have a boost/vacuum leak. You should have a new gasket on hand before doing the cleaning.

KKoepp31 · 10-02-2006, 01:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by scooterforever

If you bork the gasket, you'll have a boost/vacuum leak. You should have a new gasket on hand before doing the cleaning.

The gauge shows no vacuum leak. I do have a new gasket on order and it should be here in a couple of days. I did let the car idle and then pull the plug off the IACV. The idle definitely did change, but I don't think I left it unhooked long enough to tell how drastic it would have been. I'll have to test the circuitry of the sensor when I get home tonight. My dream of an easy fix is quickly fading with this headache.

digitalmethods · 10-02-2006, 02:27 PM

It's way easier than you think. Don't worry about it. I'm almost postive that your IACV is junk. You already cleaned it and reinstalled it so then that's your next step. Just check the terminals on the IACV. The idle will drop when you unplug it but not by much. The best way to test it is with the voltmeter.

scooterforever · 10-02-2006, 02:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by digitalmethods

It's way easier than you think. Don't worry about it. I'm almost postive that your IACV is junk. You already cleaned it and reinstalled it so then that's your next step. Just check the terminals on the IACV. The idle will drop when you unplug it but not by much. The best way to test it is with the voltmeter.

They do go bad from time to time. Sometimes cleaning fixes it... sometimes they just go bad.

KKoepp31 · 10-02-2006, 03:18 PM

I can't imagine it is something cheap to replace. Anyone have a spare they could send me to test out?

scooterforever · 10-02-2006, 03:26 PM

PM me your address, if you cover shipping I'll drop one to you. It's for sale for $70, but haven't sold it yet. I actually have 2 on hand, one is JDM and one is USDM, but they look the same. If it solves your problem u can by it, otherwise just return it to me.

rally me · 10-02-2006, 08:51 PM

just cleand mine (IACV) this weekend and installed a new gasket from the dealership. at first it was the same old shiot but she fixed herself on her own after a 30 minute drive. +1 i too think your IACV is junk. at least you can $ave some ca$h my doing the install yourself. good luck.

rally me · 10-02-2006, 08:56 PM

oh yeah... scooterforever. nice write up and pics. thanks. this helped out a bunch. i soaked the IACV in superunleaded overnight let dry and installed with a new gasket.

thejean · 11-25-2006, 03:30 PM

Any ideas what my issue may be? I tried setting my idle rpm to 2000 rpm. I went back to stock and now I get the P0171 code (lean condition) and the car wants to idle at 500 rpm... seems to want to stall but manages to pick itself back up before it does. My lambda's during idle are between 1.3 and 1.6! So, yeah, I'd say I'm running lean (new front O2 sensor installed as well). When in the throttle, all is fine and lambdas peg where they should. Strange. I was thinking about cleaning the IACV and replacing the gasket. If the gasket is busted from me trying to mess with my idle, could this be causing my lean idle issues? By the way, my idle issues are still present when running stock idle settings. Thanks, J.C.

superhawk44 · 11-25-2006, 04:25 PM

Is this part the same on an 00 2.5na?

Crump · 12-06-2006, 08:38 PM

great write up. I am going to clean it tomorrow and give it a shot

Crazy650 · 12-12-2006, 01:07 AM

going to try this tommorrow

Crazy650 · 12-14-2006, 01:28 AM

seams it went away not sure?

dryvyr · 12-25-2006, 01:28 PM

I just joined nasioc and was investigating my iac problem.
Everything checks out fine and moves feely so I expect the IAC electonics itself is bad. Before I spend the $300+ dollars to find out its not the problem does anyone know how to test the module itself? Barring that does anyon have a used one to sell?

scooterforever · 12-27-2006, 10:42 AM

Well... I think my IACV is dirty again... coming up on the 2 year anniversary from the last cleaning.... The car idles funny some of the time, and last week even stalled out on me. I picked up a replacement gasket yesterday.

Dryvyr -- I am not sure how to check the electronics. There might be details in the DOHC Engine manuals for the 2002's... but I don't know. Have you tried cleaning it yet? Often cleaning helps/fixes the problem, but sometimes the IACV just goes. Try car-part.com for a used replacement, you might get lucky there.

scooterforever · 12-28-2006, 09:12 PM

Today I cleaned my IACV for the second time in as many years. I removed it, blasted it with throttle body cleaner, then let it soak, upside down, in throttle body cleaner. I seated the gasket over 8 miles of vacuum driving, and voila, I now have a rock solid idle.

What makes this job super easy the second time... is the hex bolts I replaced the old, soft metal screws with. Easy removal, no stripping.

mike_b49431 · 12-30-2006, 12:43 PM

I have an 05 RS with 25,000 miles on it. Would you guys recommend going this now as a preventative maintance step? Basically could it be dirty enough to warrant a cleaning

dryvyr · 12-30-2006, 12:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by scooterforever

Well... I think my IACV is dirty again... coming up on the 2 year anniversary from the last cleaning.... The car idles funny some of the time, and last week even stalled out on me. I picked up a replacement gasket yesterday.

Dryvyr -- I am not sure how to check the electronics. There might be details in the DOHC Engine manuals for the 2002's... but I don't know. Have you tried cleaning it yet? Often cleaning helps/fixes the problem, but sometimes the IACV just goes. Try car-part.com for a used replacement, you might get lucky there.

Scoot
I have tried cleaning and i could find no electronic check out in the manuals
Thanks for the tip on car-parts.com Ill try it.

scooterforever · 12-31-2006, 02:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dryvyr

Thanks for the tip on car-parts.com Ill try it.

I just checked out car-part, they don't have idle controller listed, but they do have tons of throttle bodies for sale. I would source an entire throttle body if you can get one for under $100 -- that way you get the IACV (~$300 new), the stock MAP sensor (~$200 new), and have an extra throttle body if you want to port the TB intake.

dryvyr · 01-01-2007, 10:40 AM

I was just there and came to the same conclusion.
Thanks for the help.

totalburnout · 01-18-2007, 06:29 PM

Now the question becomes, what to do if there is white smoke.

I cleaned everything, put a new gasket in, sealed it back up and started the car and I have white smoke coming out of the exhaust.

Its freezing cold out, so I let the car get up to normal operating temperature and smoke is still coming out of the exhaust. I'm not quite sure if its normal or not and can't tell if its white smoke from antifreeze or the cold - but I figured after normal operating temperature the car shouldn't be blowing smoke anymore.

The car doesn't have TGV's in it, so thats a differing factor from a stock car on cold start ups, but I let the thing run for 15minutes.

Not sure what to do now.

scooterforever · 01-18-2007, 07:41 PM

Hmm, white smoke feels like antifreeze to me. Did you seat the gasket by driving under vacuum (no boost at all) for 10 miles? The gasket could have gotten borked. There's also a chance the 'smoke' is condensation (normal) given the cold.

01-01-2007, 10:40 AM	#73
dryvyr Scooby Newbie Member#: 99805 Join Date: Nov 2005 Chapter/Region: MWSOC Location: Wi Vehicle: 2002 WRX black	good tip I was just there and came to the same conclusion. Thanks for the help.

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08-31-2006, 12:54 PM	#51
digitalmethods Scooby Specialist Member#: 33734 Join Date: Mar 2003 Chapter/Region: NESIC Location: Worcester, MA Vehicle: 2002 used to be cool 02' Snow donkey FTL	Wish I had the same result. Instead mine is junk. Now I'm getting another unit. I soaked it in gas and was very carefull but it was already dead. I tested the unit and it has a broken circuit. Probably somewhere in the coil or something. So for anyone who tried cleaning it and it didn't work I had 60k and meticulously maintain my vehicle. They die so check the contacts before you even bother cleaning it. You can learn from my time. * Registered users of the site do not see these ads.

10-02-2006, 12:01 PM	#52
KKoepp31 Scooby Specialist Member#: 13544 Join Date: Dec 2001 Chapter/Region: MWSOC Location: Saginaw, Michigan Vehicle: 2011 ML550	I hate to bump an older thread, but I'm having issues. I'd been suffering from an idle surge and occassional stalling so I decided to clean out the IACV. The gasket of course gave me issues...the car has 85k miles so this doesn't come as a huge surprise. I do have the throttle body coolant bypassed, so I'm not worried about coolant getting into the manifold, but the car is running very rough now and going into limp mode or just stalling out, losing power entirely, etc. Could a screwed gasket really cause this much of an issue or do I have other things to worry about? I have a new gasket on order, along with new plugs and I think I'll change the fuel filter for good measure. I'm worried I may have major ecu issues. I did have the codes scanned at autozone but i had just done an ecu reset to make it there so I'm not sure if that cleared them out because nothing worthwile showed up. Anybody have any input on this?

10-02-2006, 12:12 PM	#53
digitalmethods Scooby Specialist Member#: 33734 Join Date: Mar 2003 Chapter/Region: NESIC Location: Worcester, MA Vehicle: 2002 used to be cool 02' Snow donkey FTL	Did you throw another code yet? I would get the CEL codes and search them on here. I took mine out and reinstalled it after cleaning it. It didn't work and I used a new gasket. I wouldn't be too worried. I thought I had some major issues but changing out that valve did the trick. Do you have access to a voltmeter? Check the to terminals on the IAC itself. If you have a electrical loop then it's good. If you have no loop made then the connection is lost inside of the unit making it defective. It's really easy to do if you have the right equipment. Autozone could probably do that for you. Check and see if it's sending out a signal basically. PM me if you are confused.

10-02-2006, 02:27 PM	#56
digitalmethods Scooby Specialist Member#: 33734 Join Date: Mar 2003 Chapter/Region: NESIC Location: Worcester, MA Vehicle: 2002 used to be cool 02' Snow donkey FTL	It's way easier than you think. Don't worry about it. I'm almost postive that your IACV is junk. You already cleaned it and reinstalled it so then that's your next step. Just check the terminals on the IACV. The idle will drop when you unplug it but not by much. The best way to test it is with the voltmeter.

10-02-2006, 03:18 PM	#58
KKoepp31 Scooby Specialist Member#: 13544 Join Date: Dec 2001 Chapter/Region: MWSOC Location: Saginaw, Michigan Vehicle: 2011 ML550	I can't imagine it is something cheap to replace. Anyone have a spare they could send me to test out?

10-02-2006, 03:26 PM	#59
scooterforever Scooby Specialist Member#: 55011 Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: New England Vehicle: 1999 Legacy Outback	PM me your address, if you cover shipping I'll drop one to you. It's for sale for $70, but haven't sold it yet. I actually have 2 on hand, one is JDM and one is USDM, but they look the same. If it solves your problem u can by it, otherwise just return it to me.

10-02-2006, 08:51 PM	#60
rally me Scooby Newbie Member#: 100127 Join Date: Nov 2005 Chapter/Region: South East Location: orlando florida Vehicle: 02 WRX wagon WRB	just cleand mine (IACV) this weekend and installed a new gasket from the dealership. at first it was the same old shiot but she fixed herself on her own after a 30 minute drive. +1 i too think your IACV is junk. at least you can $ave some ca$h my doing the install yourself. good luck.

10-02-2006, 08:56 PM	#61
rally me Scooby Newbie Member#: 100127 Join Date: Nov 2005 Chapter/Region: South East Location: orlando florida Vehicle: 02 WRX wagon WRB	oh yeah... scooterforever. nice write up and pics. thanks. this helped out a bunch. i soaked the IACV in superunleaded overnight let dry and installed with a new gasket.

11-25-2006, 03:30 PM	#62
thejean Scooby Specialist Member#: 17763 Join Date: Apr 2002 Chapter/Region: W. Canada Location: Calgary, AB	Any ideas what my issue may be? I tried setting my idle rpm to 2000 rpm. I went back to stock and now I get the P0171 code (lean condition) and the car wants to idle at 500 rpm... seems to want to stall but manages to pick itself back up before it does. My lambda's during idle are between 1.3 and 1.6! So, yeah, I'd say I'm running lean (new front O2 sensor installed as well). When in the throttle, all is fine and lambdas peg where they should. Strange. I was thinking about cleaning the IACV and replacing the gasket. If the gasket is busted from me trying to mess with my idle, could this be causing my lean idle issues? By the way, my idle issues are still present when running stock idle settings. Thanks, J.C.

11-25-2006, 04:25 PM	#63
superhawk44 Scooby Specialist Member#: 20264 Join Date: Jun 2002 Chapter/Region: NESIC Location: not homeless Vehicle: 05 LGT arrestmered 07 Aprilia Tuono	Is this part the same on an 00 2.5na?

12-06-2006, 08:38 PM	#64
Crump Scooby Specialist Member#: 72305 Join Date: Oct 2004 Chapter/Region: Tri-State Location: Orange County, New York Vehicle: 2006 Sti Sgm 15 FXT CBSP	great write up. I am going to clean it tomorrow and give it a shot

12-12-2006, 01:07 AM	#65
Crazy650 Scooby Specialist Member#: 109498 Join Date: Mar 2006 Chapter/Region: South East Location: Florida, boynton beach Vehicle: 05 Wrx turned STI WRB	going to try this tommorrow

12-14-2006, 01:28 AM	#66
Crazy650 Scooby Specialist Member#: 109498 Join Date: Mar 2006 Chapter/Region: South East Location: Florida, boynton beach Vehicle: 05 Wrx turned STI WRB	seams it went away not sure?

12-25-2006, 01:28 PM	#67
dryvyr Scooby Newbie Member#: 99805 Join Date: Nov 2005 Chapter/Region: MWSOC Location: Wi Vehicle: 2002 WRX black	I just joined nasioc and was investigating my iac problem. Everything checks out fine and moves feely so I expect the IAC electonics itself is bad. Before I spend the $300+ dollars to find out its not the problem does anyone know how to test the module itself? Barring that does anyon have a used one to sell?

12-27-2006, 10:42 AM	#68
scooterforever Scooby Specialist Member#: 55011 Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: New England Vehicle: 1999 Legacy Outback	Well... I think my IACV is dirty again... coming up on the 2 year anniversary from the last cleaning.... The car idles funny some of the time, and last week even stalled out on me. I picked up a replacement gasket yesterday. Dryvyr -- I am not sure how to check the electronics. There might be details in the DOHC Engine manuals for the 2002's... but I don't know. Have you tried cleaning it yet? Often cleaning helps/fixes the problem, but sometimes the IACV just goes. Try car-part.com for a used replacement, you might get lucky there.

12-28-2006, 09:12 PM	#69
scooterforever Scooby Specialist Member#: 55011 Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: New England Vehicle: 1999 Legacy Outback	Today I cleaned my IACV for the second time in as many years. I removed it, blasted it with throttle body cleaner, then let it soak, upside down, in throttle body cleaner. I seated the gasket over 8 miles of vacuum driving, and voila, I now have a rock solid idle. What makes this job super easy the second time... is the hex bolts I replaced the old, soft metal screws with. Easy removal, no stripping.

12-30-2006, 12:43 PM	#70
mike_b49431 Scooby Newbie Member#: 101240 Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Silverthorne, CO Vehicle: 2005 Impreza RS Crystal Grey	I have an 05 RS with 25,000 miles on it. Would you guys recommend going this now as a preventative maintance step? Basically could it be dirty enough to warrant a cleaning

01-18-2007, 06:29 PM	#74
totalburnout Scooby Specialist Member#: 72861 Join Date: Oct 2004 Chapter/Region: Tri-State Location: North Jersey	Now the question becomes, what to do if there is white smoke. I cleaned everything, put a new gasket in, sealed it back up and started the car and I have white smoke coming out of the exhaust. Its freezing cold out, so I let the car get up to normal operating temperature and smoke is still coming out of the exhaust. I'm not quite sure if its normal or not and can't tell if its white smoke from antifreeze or the cold - but I figured after normal operating temperature the car shouldn't be blowing smoke anymore. The car doesn't have TGV's in it, so thats a differing factor from a stock car on cold start ups, but I let the thing run for 15minutes. Not sure what to do now.

01-18-2007, 07:41 PM	#75
scooterforever Scooby Specialist Member#: 55011 Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: New England Vehicle: 1999 Legacy Outback	Hmm, white smoke feels like antifreeze to me. Did you seat the gasket by driving under vacuum (no boost at all) for 10 miles? The gasket could have gotten borked. There's also a chance the 'smoke' is condensation (normal) given the cold.