where is the idle control valve located and can it be cleane

[Deleted member 8638]

i have a 86 cutlass 3.8...the car started running hot and didnt even want to run, the more gas i gave it the more the engine wanted die. After i removed the cat converter it doesnt overheat and is willing to rev with no problem but still idles rough and stumbles when i give it gas. Now when i start the car up it seems like the choke wont engage and when i go to put it in drive the engine dies unless i give it gas to keep it running and the idle fluctuates up and down......could this be the Idle Control Valve or maybe some other sensor that could have possibly gotten fried from the hot exhaust air being backed up into the engine due to the clogged cat converter??????? Please Help

 

[Bonnewagon]

Re: where is the idle control valve located and can it be cl

Sounds like a cranky carb, which would over time clog a converter.

 

[joe_padavano]

Re: where is the idle control valve located and can it be cl

i have a 86 cutlass 3.8...the car started running hot and didnt even want to run, the more gas i gave it the more the engine wanted die. After i removed the cat converter it doesnt overheat and is willing to rev with no problem but still idles rough and stumbles when i give it gas. Now when i start the car up it seems like the choke wont engage and when i go to put it in drive the engine dies unless i give it gas to keep it running and the idle fluctuates up and down......could this be the Idle Control Valve or maybe some other sensor that could have possibly gotten fried from the hot exhaust air being backed up into the engine due to the clogged cat converter??????? Please Help

A carb'd 3.8 doesn't have an "idle control valve" (though it does have an idle speed control).

It's a carb. It has idle mixture screws. It also has the CCC system that electronically controls the mixture in the carb. Most likely there's something wrong with this and at a minimum the carb needs to be cleaned, rebuilt, and readjusted. Note that the CCC system has a ton of vacuum hoses and a crack or leak in any one of them leads to driveability problems. Whoever is going to fix this needs to READ the chassis service manual, fully understand the CCC system, and follow the adjustment procedures exactly. Given that this system was developed before most mechanics were born, few really know how it works.

 

[Deleted member 8638]

Re: where is the idle control valve located and can it be cl

A carb'd 3.8 doesn't have an "idle control valve" (though it does have an idle speed control). It's a carb. It has idle mixture screws. It also has the CCC system that electronically controls the mixture in the carb. Most likely there's something wrong with this and at a minimum the carb needs to be cleaned, rebuilt, and readjusted. Note that the CCC system has a ton of vacuum hoses and a crack or leak in any one of them leads to driveability problems. Whoever is going to fix this needs to READ the chassis service manual, fully understand the CCC system, and follow the adjustment procedures exactly. Given that this system was developed before most mechanics were born, few really know how it works


Thanks Joe, I guess that explains why I cant find the idle control valve lol......but theres one other thing that happened today. The check engine light came on and the car ran perfect though the idle was still a little on the high side but the damn car did not hesitate or stumble the whole 40 mi drive home today then when I went to leave the house this evening the engine light was off and it ran like sh*t..also I used a jumper wire to see if there was any stored codes from the brain box and of course I couldn't get nothing, so I wanted to ask you before I take it to my mechanic this morning if you think this could be an electrical problem?????