funky idle, anyone know?

[Cybin]

So I'm back, checked out the throttle body deal and idle speed control valve story. Heres what I found. Under the throttle body is a valve that is spose to open to control the idle when the throttle body is closed. This valve is also controled by water temp. Okay big deal, Maybe the thing is clogged? So I bought some carb/throttle body cleaner took off the intake and clean the inside of the throttle body. There was a black residue inside and you can also see where the Idle control valve dumps the air into the intake. I sprayed some cleaner down there too. After all this cleaning I noticed some tape,looks like teflon tape, on the outside of the throttle body butterfly thing... (it stops the air getting by) The tape was flaking off so I cleaned it gently and tryed to leave it on. Put the intake back together and started the car...... neat the car now idles at around 1200 rpms..... WHAT THE F#CK. Hit the brakes and hot damn the idle still flutters.. well at least the car won't die now, but having the idle that high sucks, so a rebuilt throttle body and valve should ring in at close to $300. BTW I adjusted the timing and idle screw. Never in my life have I had a car this fussy-slow-unsupported-and generally not living up to it's sports carness. It starts and runs and I'm getting a new car as soon as I graduate from college.<BR>No wonder why mazda got sold to ford.

[axess]

Mazda got sold to Ford right ?????<BR>I think you got your stories wrong, check on the board, there is a full post on this issue. About the car not living up to what it should, maybe you just didn't get lucky, I know my car has been running fine for the 6 months I owned it so far.

[Cybin]

The reason I say Mazda got sold to ford is becouse the stock ownership of each company has not been even. Ford owns around 45% of Mazda corp. while Mazda doesn't own anything near that of Ford. The two companys have been working together since the 1980's maybe even earlier but when a large company such as Ford buys into a smaller company it's being sold. My take on it at least. <P>The engines in the MX3 suck. Period. They don't respond well to aftermarket parts and are of rather poor materials. <P>Think about it. Say mazda didn't put 3 different engines into the MX-3 and instead offered a DOHC 1.8L in turbo and non-turbo. They had the engine ready to go in their 323 GTX and even the engine in the Miata would be a better fit in the car. <P>Having said that I need to say I love the way my MX-3 drives and looks..... and the reliability has been good. I mean hey it's never left me stranded but the car never hums along like it should. Mazda is the VW of japanese cars. Made with lot's of great ideas but little follow through.<P>-Cybin

[pills_PMD]

get a valve job done... that'll fix it. fixed my problem.

[david103]

how much does a valve job run? what sort of shop should i take it to to get that done? and how long does it take approx.?<P>dave

[deejaycrave]

Hey guys, I had this same problem and I replaced and checked everything and had a team of mechanics and we found that it pulled a code 9 on the computer diagnostics and researched this issue and it is a reoccurring problem with a lot..I found that it was my intake manifold temperature sensor ..Just replaced it and now my car runs like new finally which is great because I was getting to the point of blowing it up and calling the insurance company..lol..Hope this helps..Christian

[mmonid]

I just bought a '93 RS with 253000km on it. I am having the exact same problem with the idle. It runs really good at any speed, but as soon as I come to a stop, about 50% of the time it dies. I went to Mazda to get emmissions done and it failed. They changed the ignition wires, distributer cap, and plugs (I forgot to mention that to my knowledge, the car was not stalling before this). After they did the work, it barely passed the test, but the last emmissions test that was done on it (about 8 months ago) was nowhere near the limit. I can live with it because I just tap the gas when slowing down, then the car does not make a fuss. If anybody hears of a cheap fix could you let me know?<P>Thanx