Took out my idle air control valve, it was covered in GOBS of black chunky carbon crammed into the spring and the valve was no longer round on the end because of carbon buildup. I had to slowly rock it back and forth to pry the thing out of the TB because the valve was stuck in the bore it's supposed to be moving in and out of. Haynes says 1,1/8" from base to tip of valve, mine was over 1,1/4" so I did as Haynes says and adjusted it to spec. Also cleaned the valve and bore to look like new.
Idle is faintly but noticeably smoother now but still very weak. I feel my throttle response is better from idle as well, at a stop light when I ease my foot into the gas pedal I no longer have this little "dead spot" for the first few centimeters of pedal travel.
Can I pop out the IAC briefly while the car is running? Keep in mind I don't know how else to catch the IAC in action because I don't know what criteria the PCM reacts to in opening or closing the valve. (Change in manifold absolute pressure or throttle position or even mass air flow??) How is neutral position set for IAC?
