Apparently my car 'idles low', and something's rattli

[chellio]

Hey guys,<BR>I've got a couple minor (or are they?) problems with my 1996. When I'm at a stop light or whatnot, my car vibrates a lot. The tachometer shows a little over half way to 1 (can you tell I know nothing about cars?), and the car shakes pretty good. Any suggestions on how to fix this? Also, something's rattling in my steering wheel. It's on the left part (branch thing..?) and it sounds like a little metal piece bangin around. I was wondering if the middle piece of the steering wheel can come off easy, or whether it will be a big deal to check it out. Thanks tons guys,<P>Michelle

[DJGypsy]

try putting in some STP Fuel System Cleaner into your next tank of gas...what grade of fuel are you running? 87 octane? 89? 92?...your spark plugs may need to be replaced, as well as maybe your distributor cap, rotor, and spark plug wires....in simpler terms: get a tune up <p>[ December 05, 2002: Message edited by: DJGypsy ]

[bakedyeti]

I had the same problem with my car. To fix it i just turned up the idle. There is a little screw on top of the idler(is that what its called?) you can turn it one way or the other to raise or lower the idle. If you can't find it, look for a wire that pulls the throttle open when you step on the gas, the should be a little device that holds the throttle open a bit even when your not stepping on the gas and the screw should be right on that. My car is a 93 so i don't know if it will be the same with yours.

[tinkertank]

The ACU ( Air Control Unit ) is on top of your throtle body housing. There is a little screw under a rubber cap there. With all of your accessories off ( lights, stereo, etc. ) and the car running in N.. Turn the screw to move your idle up to a higher setting. Factory is supposed to be 750RPM, but I have mine set to around 900 RPM because my car does the same thing as yours. Sometimes it even stalls when the A/C goes into idle. Good luck!

[philcosta]

i jusr fix my problem i changed the spark plug wires and now it works like a charm

[Shades]

Your car should idle about 750 rpms when you car is warm... obviously when you start you car up it'll be at around 1500 rpms.<p>About the shakes... get it checked out... sound like your car is having a bit of trouble idling even though it's at the right rpms.<p>Get someone to check out your steering wheel... probably a piece of metal just fell off in there.<p>I like it when people ask questions about their car when they don't feel it's driving right... I know so many people if something different is wrong with their car they keep driving it until they get the repair bill... most times it coulda been prevented.

[TedLeeper]

The shaking might be your motor mount's. Also isn't low idle a good thing?

[claude]

I have the same problem but only when I push on the brakes... if I let them loose, everything works fine. Any Idea?