RE: low idle/stall when first starting

["Smeins, Larry" <lsmeins@service.ball.com>]

Preston,
I had a similar problem with my 87 this past fall.  Gave the dealer two
tries and several hundred bucks.  They cranked up the fuel mixture and
cleaned the contacts on a temp sensor.  Helped but didn't fix.  They
said it could cost big bucks and no guarantee on fixing it on my high
mileage engine (200k miles).  I originally told them I thought it was a
vacuum leak I couldn't find.  I found the vacuum leak a few weeks ago.
It was in the big hose from the cam cover to the fuel distributor.
Replaced that hose and everything is working as it should.  Those vacuum
leaks can be a bear to find, even when you know where to look. 

Larry 

>Date: Thu, 23 Apr 1998 13:29:08 -0400 (EDT)
>From: Preston Brown <pbrown@econ.yale.edu>
>Subject: low idle/stall when first starting

>Hello everyone:

>I've been having ongoing trouble with my 86 5000CST for the last couple
of
>months.  It is NOT related to the idle stabilizer valve, which is only
>about 6 months old and has just been cleaned.  My oxygen sensor was
just
>replaced as well.

>When the car is first started, the idle is really low, and it will
often
>stall.  You have to stay on the gas.  After about 10 minutes of
driving,
>it will idle and not stall, but the idle is still "borderline" I.e. I
can
>see it bouncing down almost to the point where I think it might stall
>every couple of seconds.

>Anyone have any suggestions on where I can go to troubleshoot this?
The
>mechanics I have seen are more or less stumped, but they may just suck
>(time to find a new mechanic?)  One suggested, actually INSURED me that
it
>was the idle stabilizer control RELAY, which is under the dash.  I took
it
>out, opened it up; nothing is burned or bad looking in there, I don't
see
>how it could be bad, and I don't know how he could decide is was
either.
>A new one is $135 bucks or so; I'm not buying one unless I KNOW it is
the
>problem.

>Help!

- ---
 >-Preston Brown
  >preston.brown@yale.edu