Procedure to clean Idle Air Control Valve

REDDYZ · 18-08-2009, 08:23 PM

Cougars make moosing or moaning sound when you take foot off accelerator or while idling. This is caused by carbon build up in idle air control valve. For those who has thisk issue, here the procedure to clean it. I did this last sunday and it works.

Cheers

Yogi

thearrow · 31-08-2009, 01:13 PM

Yogi I think I am having a problem with mine at the moment. My ATX is running by itself. When it is stationary it idles OK but when driving it seems to run/idle high and runs along the road by itself at around 1800-2000rpm. When I brake it pulls quite hard until it drops down into first gear. I am suspicous that it is this valve causing the problem.

I don't want to replace it as the Rockauto price is U$103.00 plus shipping.

When I clean it out is it OK to use WD40???

REDDYZ · 06-09-2009, 03:13 AM

It sounds more like a faulty TPS sensor, I would do diagnostics with a scan tool. I dont think this valve could be the culprit. Still its a good idea to clean it. I wouldnt use WD40 as its more like lubricant or penetrene used on rusty components. WD-40 can actually make it worse coz the oil in it catches more carbon and buildsup more carbon in the valve. I recommend a good carbi cleaner or throttle body cleaner as they are very powerful and effective. I cleaned this valve using a carbi/throttle body cleaner spray and no issues so far. Try disconnect and reconnecting the battery and see if it fixes the idling the problem. It might sound silly but what happens by doing that is the engine management will be reset and after reconnecting the battery start it let it idle for sometime and drive like a good driver, means dont push it hard as the ECU relearns and adapts engine mangaement system. Dont be surprised if it drives abnormal for a while, its normal to do that. This will also reset all sensors and most of the electronic components. I had problems with dead locking, passenger side remote locking and after disconnecting and reconnecting the battery these were fixed. Tried couple of times and it worked. Try these and let me know what happens.

cheers

Yogi

thearrow · 07-09-2009, 09:53 AM

I cleaned it out on the weekend and it has made a big difference and fixed the problem with the over reving. Had to use WD40 as that was all I had but will keep an eye on it. My mechanic had it scanned at the last service but came up with no codes. I was and still am having trouble with the check engine light coming on. Will have to do a bit more research on this issue my mechanic is of the opinion it is a faulty coolant level sensor.

Will find a solution.

REDDYZ · 10-09-2009, 08:20 PM

good to hear that the problem is fixed. I heard few stories about the sensor and it could be a faulty coolant sensor. Pull the electrical plug off the sensor and see what it does. Do you have any idea what kind of scan tool your mechanic has? We have LAUNCH and SNAPON in our workshop. Snapon is the best but tricky. There are hell lot of options when you go under US vehicles and select cougar. You can select Australian, European, American cougar. American version gives you lot of options. You can scan and test each and every circuit of the car. You can even program keys. It took me more than 2 hours to explore all the options. Automatic transmission ones will have even more options. So, you can ask your mechanic to try this. I can try for a second hand coolant sensor if you want. Let me know. Am posting a new thread for cougar parts soon. Check it out.

cheers

Yogi.

Dshibi · 11-09-2009, 07:30 AM

I had the 'over-revving' issue a few months ago but cleaning the air filter helped with that. Always on braking the engine would rev higher and even in a manual, gave me no confidence in compression. Fixed for now.

Have avoided the moosing problem so far.

Dan

thearrow · 18-09-2009, 09:12 AM

I have continued to have problems with this although cleaning out the IACV has helped I am still getting "over-revving". I got onto NECO and have discovered this is a common problem and discovered you can have the same issue with the throttle body caused by carbon build up on the butterfly valve. So that will be the next thing to be done.

I am also getting the check engine light (the orange one on the dash) and this is triggered by a low coolant level in the coolant resevoir. Checked all this and have narrowed it down to a faulty sensor which apparently is also very common on Cougars.
They are U$100.00 to buy on line so I will have to try and fix it myself.

thearrow · 23-09-2009, 01:54 PM

As usual something complex turned into something simple and all the cause of my over revving was a loose vacuum hose that had detached itself.

Running "sweet" now !!!

Dshibi · 23-09-2009, 07:30 PM

Good to know it was a simple fix Dave!

I'm wondering if any of the dust from today got into the engine bay. I haven't popped the bonnet to take a look.

Dan

REDDYZ · 08-04-2010, 12:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by yoga_hoops

Cougars make moosing or moaning sound when you take foot off accelerator or while idling. This is caused by carbon build up in idle air control valve. For those who has thisk issue, here the procedure to clean it. I did this last sunday and it works.

Cheers

Yogi

I deleted the pictures because I uploaded them from my limited account space. You can find the procedure here.

http://s927.photobucket.com/albums/a...ga_hoops/IACV/

cheers

Yogi

REDDYZ · 21-08-2010, 07:35 PM

I have been driving with moosing sound since few months now. I was too lazy to pull out iacv valve and clean it. Because, its 3rd time in 20,000km. Every morning until the engine warms up the valve will be sticky and does moosing noise while idling and also whenever I engage clutch to change gears. I have been ignoring as it does that only when cold started and its only the annoying sound. But its not just that. The valve actually remains stuck open under acceleration allowing the air get through the valve. Today I got a chance to take it out, cleaned and the sound is gone. The valve is not sticky anymore. Not just that engine is breathing so good now, it changed a lot, the shifts are very sharp, i mean with sticky valve whenever I press clutch it takes a fraction for the revs to come down. Now its just spot on. I see a noticeable difference in pickup too. But this is ridiculous to clean this valve every now and then. Does anyone know permanent fix for IACV valve? I am pretty sure there is one. I read it somewhere and now cant find it. A little modification in the valve eliminates this problem. I wonder, is it just my kitty doing that or its a common problem with others too. It bothers more on manual cars. Let me know if anyone know a permanent fix other than buying a new valve.

REDDYZ · 29-08-2010, 12:01 AM

With IACV valve cleaned, there is a whopping increase in fuel economy on freeway. I drove to Canberra and this is what happened. When I started from Melbourne it was 8.9L/100km. I dont know How much fuel was in the tank may be 90%. I was carrying lot of heavy luggage in the boot and back seats. Rear end was kind of dipped, thats how heavy it was. It was a non-stop drive until Gundagai (around 480km from Melb) where I stopped for refuel. I filled full tank, reset all readings and set off to Canberra which is 160km from Gundagai. When I reached Canberra fuel consumption reads 7.9L/100km and 630km to empty. This is the best mileage my Kitty ever did. Mind you I recently replaced leads and sparkplugs were 10,000km old.