Sorry for the late reply Gamefreakgc, I'm recovering from 2 elbow surgeries so I haven't been able to wrench on stuff… Long story and not enough beer in my fridge to type it all up. Hahah!

So yeah, no sir, I haven't had a chance to mess with the TPS.

My buddy did a vacuum leak check and couldn't find any vacuum leaks. Thought I'd mention that so it's eliminated as a possibility.

I bought a new Champion Cooling Systems - 3 Core Radiator and I'm going to have it installed pretty soon so I also bought a used TB. My buddy gave that a pretty good cleaning; all of the passages, etc… Since we need to drain the coolant to swap the radiators, I figured that it would be a good time to swap TB's to eliminate that as a possibility and check the hose that feeds the IAC for obstructions while it's getting put back together. I'll have him dial in the TPS then. I'm trying to find a TPS DIY with pics because I'm afraid to have something adjusted incorrectly. My buddy is going to do it for me as soon as I find a detailed step by step guide.

 

Just checked the TPS… No continuity between IDL - E2? I know this seems like a bonehead question but… Could that be the cause of the stalling after a hot start and stalling during bumper to bumper stop and go traffic?

 

Chances are the ECU is thinking that your car is never at idle, because your TPS is adjusted too far in one direction. Zero continuity shouldn't happen until .80mm throttle rotation for that engine.

Did you take the TPS off of the TB before cleaning it? It is possible for cleaning fluid to seep into the TPS housing. I was worried this happened to me (cleaned TB without removing TPS the first time) but in the end my TPS checked out fine

Good luck! It's tricky and very sensitive but you will get it!

 

Finally Fixed!!! The coolant hose connected to the IAC was partially clogged with gunk?! It wasn't the TPS after all. Woohoo! No more surging idle issues or low idling during hot starts.

 

I think I may this condition. How did you clean that up? Or did you replace the whole TB?

Cheers, and thank you for posting the solution to your problem!

 

I removed that short coolant line that connects the IAC to the top end of the manifold. I sanded down the tip of a coat hangar to prevent it from damaging the inside of the coolant line and basically began pushing crud out of the coolant line while running water through it. If you're a shooter, you can use barrel cleaning patches or pieces of a rag to give the final cleanup inside of the line. I was amazed with the amount of crud in there! I'm sure that it hadn't been inspected/cleaned out since my truck's birth. All of that crud prevented the IAC from working as it should be working under normal load. I thankfully no longer have throttle surging nor do I have overheating problems! Whooohooo!!!

Yes I cleaned the TB when I thought it was the only cause but that was the attempt before this successful fix.

Make sure you plug the outlet/connection to the manifold once you pull that short coolant line. It will jizz some coolant and you don't want anything to accidentally get in there either.

G'luck! Let us know if this fixes your stead.

 

Thanks for the additional info.

Out of curiosity do you think fixing this got you more performance out of the engine? I know how annoying rough idles can be but in my case I was hoping my idle issues are somewhat also linked to some power issues I -think I- am having..

edit: while I'm at it, would you remember the size of the fitting/nipple on the TB? I tried taking those off before and they were so hard to take off I figure I might break them. I could buy the OEM replacement but $15-$20 for 6" of hose, no thanks

Cheers

 

TrailTrek2Fish, nice to hear you found and fixed your problems. Its always nice when you can find and fix something by just spending a little of your own time but not your own money!

 

Sorry for the late reply ya'll. I've been in and out of town and busy tooling around doing house projects. LOL!

Zytra, I'm sure the fix added a bit of performance but I haven't really noticed it. I'm just glad that I'm not getting the surging idle and overheating issues anymore. Whew! LOL! As for the hose size, I used the same one so I didn't bother measuring it; sorry for not having an answer.

Ezera, thanks for the vote of confidence. I fully concur, LOL! My buddy's GF just sadly shelled out hundreds of dollars for simple work on her Honda Civic. I wish she would've told me, I would've just asked for a lunch and dinner for trade to have fixed her vehicle. She'd buy the parts of course. I give my buddy crap all the time for not knowing basic vehicle maintenance. LOL!

Thankfully, I've saved thousands of dollars over the years by doing my own wrenching. Thanks for teaching me the basics pop! *high 5 slap*

Happy Holidays everybody!!!