Throttle kept sticking on the way to work tonight. I tried pulling the pedal out with my toe, but it didnt fix it. Where do I start?
Get under the hood and, with the engine off, cycle the throttle linkage by hand and look for where it's hanging up.
Like what? Your throttle is mechanical. Check the suggestions above. Disconnect the cable from the linkage and see if the bind is in the TB, cable assy, pedal assy, or throttle linkage.
Cool, I wasnt sure. I was thinking about the TPS or something of the sort, but I didnt know if it was relevant.
Dont think its the linkage. Rpm's get hung up after I let off the throttle. I checked it under the hood at the throttle body, with no slack on cable and the throttle completely closed. It comes back down after a few seconds.
Ah, more clarity. Probably an IAC (Idle Air Control) valve problem. Have you recently done anything to the throttle body or linkage? Such as cleaning? (BTW, I'm not suggesting you clean the TB -- in fact, I recommend against this. Just asking if you did...) By the way, I saw in another thread that you reported having a code P1504 (IAC malfunction). First, it would have been helpful to know that here but second, did you ever fix whatever was causing that code?
I did have the cai off of the TB with the car running, which threw the code is what I am assuming. Other than that, no. And the code is gone as well.
Here is the latest. The rpm's get stuck when I am driving, and they wont come down until the car comes to a stop. They hang around 1500 rpm and pulsate +/- rpm. Whether I am pushing in the clutch to shift, or coasting to a stop the result is the same. Once the car stops rpm's come down to a healthy 750. I plan on doing the copper pipe cap mod today, but I am worried it wont be that easy.
Cliffy's pipe cap yielded good results with a short drive. Shifting went well without high rpm's. Still hangs up between 1100-1300 during coasting, but searching other threads it was stated 1000 is normal to keep fluids up. I did not experience any popping in the exhaust though, I was rather disappointed. I did pull the IAC off to check the gasket, and there isnt one. PO made a half headed attempt with a tube of gasket maker, and its all but gone. I will fix this tomorrow, after I see how the drive to work is tonight.
UPDATE- New IAC installed and reset idle. Same results, still hangs up at 1500 while coasting. Now what?
Is the EEC in your car chipped? If so, what brand? --also-- When you initially start the car, does the idle stay high after startup for a minute or longer before it comes down to normal idle? Oh... and is this symptom a new one or has it done this for a while?
You say it "hangs" at 1500 while "coasting" and that the "rpm's get stuck when I am driving, and they wont come down until the car comes to a stop." Honestly, this sounds normal to me. I've read that this is a typical Ford idle calibration strategy and that it's done to help keep a bit of heat in the O2 sensors to improve their responsiveness. They may also do it to ensure that the hydroboosted steering and brakes have an additional safety factor of boost to provide good power assist with the vehicle moving. As long as the engine speed returns to normal when the car comes to a stop there's probably nothing wrong.
On cold start up, it idles high for 20 seconds or so and comes down to about 800. Shifting seems to be doing better, but When I coast it sticks at 1500. When I back into my spot at work, I tap the gas and it shoots up to 1500 again until I park. Just doesnt seem right.
