Idle air control valve question

[Devils Advocate]

My 96 civic was idling irratically when it got warm.

I took the IACV off and just gave it a quick lube. It was working fine for a little while. I then park the car for a few days...and it came back.

My question is, I believe I need to soak this for a couple of hours. What solution would be the best to soak this to keep it lubricated?

thanks

 

[Michael Pardee]

My 96 civic was idling irratically when it got warm.

I took the IACV off and just gave it a quick lube. It was working fine for a little while. I then park the car for a few days...and it came back.

My question is, I believe I need to soak this for a couple of hours. What solution would be the best to soak this to keep it lubricated?

thanks

The question on everybody's mind is: how is your coolant level? If the level is low it drives the IAC crazy.

Mike

 

[Elle]

The question on everybody's mind is: how is your coolant level? If the level is low it drives the IAC crazy.

Just backing up Mike's comments. The IACV has coolant
passages in it. It's true that a low coolant level and/or air in the cooling system results in improper cooling of the IACV and is often behind an erratic idle. The first step should be to top the cooling system off and do a thorough air purge, all per the manual's directions.

IACV's have also been reported to fail here. Replacment may be something to consider. You can price the part at www.slhonda.com , parts section.

The online manual accessible via the link below has cooling system maintenance instructions and a matrix yada for troubleshooting idle problems.

See http://www.honda.co.uk/car/owner/workshop.html

 

[Devils Advocate]

thanks for the advice
The coolant level has not dropped a spoonfull.
The IACV is 349 canadian in my area. I'm gonna soak it first. Now if I only has my question answered.

 

[Michael Pardee]

thanks for the advice
The coolant level has not dropped a spoonfull.
The IACV is 349 canadian in my area. I'm gonna soak it first. Now if I only has my question answered.

The part that is likely to be binding is probably a plastic sleeve, so silicone is your best bet. For anything but metal silicone is a safer choice than oil, which can attack plastics and rubber. The risk is that the lubricant may get into the commutator of the motor and cause it not to work at all. (That happened to my Volvo when oil from the intake got past the O-ring.) Rather than soak the whole thing, I suggest you look it over and find the areas that are potentially dragging, then target those. It's easy to make the problem worse.

Mike