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3800 wont idle?

runn141

runn141

New member
i have 97 gran prix with a 3800 v6 series 2, every now and then it wont idle. i noticed it has blown oil out of the valve covers onto the intake and when it is acting up i can take the oil filler cap off and it will clear up and idle smooth. so i figure it is a clogged pcv valve, but there is none on the valve covers and i cant see where one is anywhere else. could it be something else? and where would i look for it?
 


the pcv valve is in the plastic intake manifold. There is a map sensor on top of it, you can find it opposite to the throttle body with a sensor on top. To remove it simply twist the cover off of it. You gotta be careful not to break the sensor on top of the cover to the valve. There are alot of things why you car may not idle. Do you have a check engine light on?
 
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i have found it and removed it and it looks awful dirty to me, im gonna change it and see what happens. the motor would take spells every now and then and not idle like the fuel filter was clogged, but i have put a new one on already. and when i removed the oil filler cap it smoothed right up, so it has to be a crank case pressure issue. this car has 133,000 miles on it so i think the pcv valve is the original one on it. yes, the check engine light has been on for long time, maybe because i removed the catalytic converter.
 
Sabrewings said:
I'd venture you have a dirty idle air controller, in addition to a possibly clogged PCV valve.
Click to expand...

i have took the MAF sensor and cleaned the element with starting fluid, and helped alot. but that was another issue, it wouldnt stay running and when it did it wouldnt take fuel. so what i did fixed that.
 


beast3300 said:
the pcv valve is in the plastic intake manifold. There is a map sensor on top of it, you can find it opposite to the throttle body with a sensor on top. To remove it simply twist the cover off of it. You gotta be careful not to break the sensor on top of the cover to the valve. There are alot of things why you car may not idle. Do you have a check engine light on?
Click to expand...

the map sensor that is on top of it, does it have anything to do with pcv itself? im thinking it may be the problem also.
 
Sabrewings said:
Towards the top of the throttle body. Looks like this:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v317/sabrewings/random stuff/idleaircontroller3800.jpg

Of course, the pintle portion is inside the throttle body until you remove it. It'll probably be pretty dirty. Mine was dirty by 50k miles.
Click to expand...

can i just clean this with starting fluid or something else? i put a new PCV valve in and it still idled rough a couple of times.
i noticed there was another sensor below it, what is it for?
 


Just be careful. Those are harsh cleaners not meant for electronic parts. That's why I recommend intake cleaner which is safe for electronics.
 
Sabrewings said:
Just be careful. Those are harsh cleaners not meant for electronic parts. That's why I recommend intake cleaner which is safe for electronics.
Click to expand...

would electrical contact cleaner be alright then? reason i say this is i already have these cleaners and not the intake cleaner. im trying to save a trip to the parts store.
 


i ended up putting a new air idle sensor in. the rpm still fluctuates at times and the engine dies. it runs ok at times until about 4500 rpm and a miss starts. after that it wont stay running. any ideas to what it is now before i go pay a fortune.
 
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