lexus94ls

A question to our 1UZ-FE gurus... Can the Idle Speed Control Valve be cleaned safely without destroying it? I'm asking because mine appears to be sticking a bit after replacing the Throttle Position Sensor a couple of days ago.. I tried cleaning an Idle Speed Control Valve once on a Crown Vic that I had, and it promptly failed the same day.. Is there a technique to clean it that is safe, or do I just have to shell out the big bucks for a new one? Thank you!

Moarpower

If you mean the IACV then yes they certainly can, and doing so may fix issues related to them. However, if the part has failed internally (2 bearings) your issue may persist. There are some good tutorials on her for cleaning and repairing the valve.

lexus94ls

Yes I did mean the Idle Air Control Valve, my bad... I will keep looking through the posts here for the how-to.

Moarpower

It is very easy to remove and clean. Just need to remove a few hoses and the plastic cover. Are you sure you installed the TPS correctly? What are the symptoms

dicer

It is NOT easy to remove. There is a lot of stuff you have to remove to get to it. And fooling with that small hose at the front of it is a pain. Unbolting it is the easy part.
And as far as cleaning I have yet to see one that is so bad it needs a cleaning. The main problem is the bearings going bad and then the motor can not position the valve correctly.

lexus94ls

The TPS was installed according to spec. The car idles at the proper 650RPM most of the time but after it's fully warmed up and been driven a while, it will idle UP to 1000-1200RPM. I don't really think of it as a serious problem, more of a nuisance - but it didn't do this before I replaced the TPS. Now, I DID have to remove the hose to the IACV to replace the TPS, so this may have something to do with it - maybe I inadvertently made the hose leak, drawing in more air? I probably need to find a replacement hose, since it looks like it's been on there since Day One.

Moarpower

Some peoples idea of easy is different to others. I found it quite easy but Im not new to these things. To pull it out, clean it and reinstall it took about an hour.

tonybu32

I have a 94 Ls also. The IACV on the 94 doesn't come apart. There are no phillip screws on it. There's two bolts and then the whole assemble comes off. Just a few hoses to remove

Amish

Not to hijack the thread but is this part installed on a 99 LS400? I could have sworn I read a post here where the person stated no valve installed on the second gen but I see the part listed for sale for my car at the auto stores. Talking about the Idle Air Control Valve .

Rokas

I've wondered this myself but are you guys talking about taking it off and completely cleaning it OR taking the black part off (which, I assume, is the motor) and cleaning any sludge that could be causing blockages, putting extra strain on the motor, causing it to not operate correctly.

I asked about this on here when I had my '95 and nobody knew at the time so I didn't try and eventually I had to junk that car. Total lemon because of crap maintenance its whole life but that's another story. I wish I would've played with it but I didn't know I was gonna junk it. (Got Lexy 2 with the money - much better and sturdier car, thank you God.)

timmy0tool

iTrader: (7)

this is the link that helped me!
http://www.planetsoarer.com/IAC/iac.htm

dicer

Fighting with a nasty short stiff hose with long nipples that its on with 2 spring type hose clamps that need space as well, is not easy. Easy is removing a few fasteners and the part just falls off in your hand that takes 2 to 3 minutes. Its like a car ad on craigslist, easy fix, yeah lots of mechanicing is easy if you wam bam it and use a nice large hammer and pry bar, powered sander for gaskets, and bend and mess stuff up.

Moarpower

Changing a water pump is hard. Changing the fuel pump is a pita. Removing the idle control valve might be a bit fiddly, but that doesn't make it hard.

jaaa

I'd say changing a starter is hard.

dicer

Yeah but there are people here that have never worked on something that is really easy. That would say its easy. I miss the good old days of the 50's and 60's cars, now working on them was easy compared to what there is now. There was almost no electrical connectors to deal with, maybe a 5 minute job to change a generator, if you didn't need to remove an old gasket maybe a 15 minute job for a water pump. 10 minute job for a starter. Yeah no plastic crap to have to move out of the way to get to something.
Remove a valve cover in 5 minutes. Its easier to work on an old Cat D8 on some things than on any new car, or LS400, and no plastic to worry about breaking.