MonkeyMagic

just posting this because it may save someone their beer money. in the very least it's a quick run-down of iacv removal/installation.

99 acura tl, i let it sit about a year or two in storage while i wasn't using it. so i pull it out one day and after grabbing a new battery and some fresh gas it's like brand new! except dirty, smells like a library, and the engine seems to have parkinsons.

so the thing revs from maybe 1200 to near 3000rpms.. up and down, up and down. quick quick of vacuum lines reveals no vacuum leaks. (mice, dry rot, etc do strange things to cars let sit) and i did NOT have a check engine light. with a little further poking my superior intellect led me to rule the iacv was not working. so i priced one and you can pick them up for 90 bucks. not bad, but not what i want to spend.

by now i am getting an intermittent cel for iacv. not always but every few games of driveway tetris i get the yellow light.. sometimes even the tcs light.

REMOVAL:
i pull out the airbox and pinch off the iacv's coolant lines, then remove the iacv. (it's attached to the bottom of the throttle body) it comes out with two phillips head screws which are convienently placed where you can't see them and no screw driver can get to them. at this point if you either don't know what/where i'm talking about, think you have no choice but to remove the intake plenum, or don't know what a phillips screwdriver is, stop reading and take it to a qualified proffesional. anyway i used a combination wrench to turn the tip of a phillips driver bit to remove the screws. use caution as these screws strip easily and if you use the wrong size phillips or don't use your finger to apply enough upward pressure to keep the bit firmly seated in the screw it will strip while you attempt to loosen them. and if this happens you will in the least have to pull the throttle body.. which means buying a gasket, which means you'll have less beer to drink that evening, which sucks. OH, don't loose the little rubber gasket either. and note which way it goes on the iacv.


SURGERY:
so at this point you've got the thing out and in your hands. good for you. you'll notice that it is made of a cast aluminum body which houses a small stainless steel vane and a black plastic cap which is held on with two tamper torx bits. see if the vane moves. BE GENTLE scarring, marring or otherwise damaging this piece especially the smooth surface that slides across the edge of the cast aluminum bridge will render the whole thing pretty much useless. if it is stuck solid as mine was or doesn't move freely as to open and shut off the far left vane from the center one.. it needs some lovin.

remove the screws from the plastic piece and slide it off. don't have the correct bits? hope you have a saw or a dremel, slice a gash in the END (not through) the screw heads and now your torx screws are flat head screws. everyone has a flat head, if for nothing more than to do whatever mechanically challenged people do with tools. but now you should have two pieces like so:

plastic:


aluminum + vane:


note that the end of the vane that was inside the plastic is magnetic and subjective to chipping and the little metal tab is easily bent. don't f it up now, you've come to far.

so i used a bit of gun cleaner because it's just the perfect corrosion destroyer and lubricant for this type of thing, but pb blaster, brake fluid, nuts off, liquid wrench, etc will work. spray the vane. let it soak, if you are bored use brake cleaner to clean any black gunk which may or may not be in there, and hit with the penetrive solvent again. with a little effort the vane should break free from its surroundings and move open close. spray it again and keep working it. you want near 0 resistance as that vane spins in it's housing. especially whithin the 90 or so degrees where the vane is closed or up and open respective to the passage between the center and outer ports of the housing.

assuming you've got it working again, assemble the thing. take note that the little metal tab on the magnet goes up (there is a small rescession it fits in inside the plastic motor housing) toward the side of the cast housing that faces the throttle and the plastic cap should have its plug outwards.

so i'm assuming it's assembled. good, now if you've got some rtv sillicon, use a little dab to hold the gasket in it's little place in the iacv. no rtv? use some grease, no grease? well put it where it goes and don't let it slip out of place or you'll be replacing it to fix the vacuum leak you've created by pinching and likely destroying the gasket.

hold the iacv where it goes and replace the screws that hold it to the throttle. again, don't strip. they just get snugged down. not torquing lug nuts.

so plug it in, reconnect the coolant lines, and replace the airbox. disconnect the battery to reset the computer (assuming you have your radio code or don't mind resetting your aftermarket stereo's presets). start it up.

enjoy a less embarassing idle, and a beer.

9integra3

I had the same problem with the idle on a 2000 tl it had been sitting for 4 months all I did was drive it around the block twice it never happened again

civbomb96

I have a 96 civic cx d16y7, it was an automatic, so i swaped it over to 5 speed d16y8 tranny, i had an idling problem (idling up and down) and changed the manifold gasket along with the idle control valve (at first the hole in tb was sucking air, now isnt) car seems to be ok, when i start it its idling alittle weird like the engine has a little jerk like its misfiring till it warms up, but after seems fine, i was reading online and it says the manifolds are different, can someone give me some information so i can fix this problem, also where can i order the top tranny mount and bracket, i have one riged up right now????

Vipka9

sorry this is a TL lol not a civic you might be looking in the wrong section?