Today's findings (erratic idle and running rich)

[Jami318is]

Well I changed the plugs and reset the computer. At first start it idled fairly well but low then soon began the rise and fall. (Only a little bit). It ran better and then began to fall and rise so drastically that it would try to stall and foul up and it did stall once.

then for the next few trips around the block it would run a little rough then pretty good and so on and then would not idle to save your life. Then by the time I got it back in the driveway it idled decent but does not like to take the throttle very fast. Every once in a while between shifts especially 1st and 2nd I will get a pop in the exhaust and I figure because of running rich.

Did not smell rich running fuel after it warmed up some what and oh it did not seem to have all her power still.

PLUGS.....#1 and #2 were black carbon covered with a slight bit of brown....#3 and #4 were wet with gas and no big carbon build up but the electrodes were black.

Sure hope I can get to the bottom of all this.
Thank You every one for pointing me in the right direction and for be so nice to me and being patient enough when dealing with this Crazy girl! :p
Have a wonderful day!
Jami

[KenC]

Have you done a compression test recently?

[Jami318is]

Have you done a compression test recently?

No can't say that I have!

[Vladi]

Has the car always been acting like this?

[Jami318is]

Has the car always been acting like this?

Kind of but not to this extreme. The day I bought it I found it reeked of fuel when cold started and once it warmed it went away! Leaky O-rings were the culprit....

Fixed all that and it was ok then it began to have this rough idle when cold...Played around and found a crack in one hose and it was the small one from the fuel pressure regulator to the throttle body...fixed it.....

It has always has a little idle fluctuating from time to time but never amounted to anything.. Then several times it idled around 22,000 to 25,00 and nothing would correct this other then shutting it off and letting it sit for at least 15 minutes then it was fine...

Now the other day it did this and the very next day it would not idle for crap and kept flooding it self out. It would drop from like 700 down to almost nothing and jump up and keep doing this...

Oh and about a month before it began to have the big idle jumps it began to run rich. I went from 28 pluss mpg to less then 10...

I hope this helps....and I hope you were not looking for just a yes or no! lol
Have a great week!
Jami....P.S I have Bubble Gum!!!

[Vladi]

Well first thing you can do is change the idle valve with a known good one or at least test with another one. Mine worked well all the way through summer and when winter came it went south. Another buddy had a sticking idle valve that when you started the car it would idle at ~2000rpm and if you smacked it then it would go a bit lower like ~1000rpm.
As for the rich running...let's take it one problem at a time.
It's curious that it only floods #3 and #4...
Thanks for the gum.

[Jami318is]

Well first thing you can do is change the idle valve with a known good one or at least test with another one. Mine worked well all the way through summer and when winter came it went south. Another buddy had a sticking idle valve that when you started the car it would idle at ~2000rpm and if you smacked it then it would go a bit lower like ~1000rpm.
As for the rich running...let's take it one problem at a time.
It's curious that it only floods #3 and #4...
Thanks for the gum.

Sounds like a good plan to me. I will try to see what I can do tonight. My days are  backasswards starting at 1 or 2 pm and ending around 6 to 9 am!

Hey are there 2 icv? One for cold start and one for normal? Just wondering because once it warms up really good it is a completely different situation for the most part!

Thought about swapping out coils like 1 and 3 and see if it made any difference and am wondering about injectors.

Thank YOU!
Jami
Oh and no problem on the gum! :p

[Jami318is]

Well I changed the plugs and re-set the computer and tightened up the alternator belt and at first not much difference. Today I noticed she was still running rich on the start up but not as much fuel smell now.....Perhaps new plugs burning more off.

She has a lot of her lost power back! It is wild too because it is taking less effort to get up to speed and in fact she gets up over the speed limit way to easy once again.

Not sure about gas consumption will know better in a couple of days. Not sure if I regained ALL the lost power but it is close.

Now I still have an idle issue. It runs ok fresh off when cold for a short period...Maybe 5 minutes then it begins fluctuate and the engine sound changes too. Once today after driving maybe a mile at the gas station it began the DRASTIC rise and fall. From idle to almost nothing and then back up and so forth but did not try to stall. Give her enough gas to hold her at the proper idle ans she idles pretty smooth. I did this while I went from r to 1st and then jockied the car around to get the other side to the air pump and it was fine!

Oh and NO check engine light comming on now too. ! Strange because before i reset the computer it was beginning to come on and off a lot.

I have been told to check "a cold idle valve or something......Tell me about this please. I asked months ago about this and was told there was no such thing.....Is there and if so where? My chiltons seems to have walked away or something.

I think we are getting closer or at least back to the original set of problems and a good running car!
Thank You for all your help and please do not stop now.....
Have a wonderful day! I sure am! ...Well other then running up over a curb (hard) to avoid getting hit....Next time I WON'T MOVE! Then the jerks after about hitting me began to tail gate me....I kind of forgot things for a little while and this was the very first time I went under the speed limit down this road for 2 miles....

rofl....the 4 people in the car that almost hit me realised real quick I was not HAPPY with what just happened...In fact I was quite MAD at this point...They stayed way behind then would try to speed up and switch lanes and pass me..... Dunno what happened to me but that never happened...for 2 miles I kept them doing less then 25 in a 45 zone.....My baby let her ornery side out...LOl Then I hit the parking lot at work and give her the gas and forgot she was running more up to speed and the rear end about kicked out and I put her back in line and hit second and she did it to me again! Damn I love this car! NO I was not popping the clutch! It was simply wet and slippery out!  Oh well I got lots of smiles tonight as I parked her!
Thank You again!
Jami

[Vladi]

Sounds like a good plan to me. I will try to see what I can do tonight. My days are  backasswards starting at 1 or 2 pm and ending around 6 to 9 am!

Hey are there 2 icv? One for cold start and one for normal? Just wondering because once it warms up really good it is a completely different situation for the most part!

Thought about swapping out coils like 1 and 3 and see if it made any difference and am wondering about injectors.

Thank YOU!
Jami
Oh and no problem on the gum! :p

No, there aren't two icv's, just the one on the right side of the intake. Only the earlier M20's had a "cold start valve".
I don't think the injectors could be your problem, if they would be the faulty ones your car would be running lean at most.
You could check something else while you're in there...measure the ground cable between the engine block and the chassis. You can do that using a multimeter set on Ohms. Start the car, put one tip somewhere on the engine the metal is clear (not cosmolined) and the other on a good ground of the chassis. If it's fine, it should read 0. If it reads anything else, you have to change the cable.
I'd say these are the simplest checks to do before starting to change coils and deeper troubleshooting.

rofl....the 4 people in the car that almost hit me realised real quick I was not HAPPY with what just happened...In fact I was quite MAD at this point...They stayed way behind then would try to speed up and switch lanes and pass me..... Dunno what happened to me but that never happened...for 2 miles I kept them doing less then 25 in a 45 zone.....My baby let her ornery side out...LOl Then I hit the parking lot at work and give her the gas and forgot she was running more up to speed and the rear end about kicked out and I put her back in line and hit second and she did it to me again! Damn I love this car! NO I was not popping the clutch! It was simply wet and slippery out!  Oh well I got lots of smiles tonight as I parked her!

Alls well that ends well.