HELP! My '87 Mustang is idling high...

[Quijibow_69]

My '87 Mustang is idling really high right now. It actually just started tonight. I only owned the car for about 3 weeks now and this is the first night I got to really drive it (more than an hour of so). I was cruzing around with friends of mine. When I came to a stop tonight and pressed the clutch in, it idled at about 2000 RMPs. Then, when I went to park at my house, it idled at about 1500 RPMs. What could this be? Idler control? As far as mods, I have none except MAC Catback right now.

 

[That50]

Same here, just mines an auto...

 

[89white50]

mine idles right under a grand, which is fine with me cuz it sounds like it wants to die if it idles lower. im pretty sure its the tps, but im just going to wait when i do the whole top end in a few months

 

[AUBURN1111]

could be your idle air control valve located on the side of the throttle body, sometimes they stick.

 

[Insane3D]

A high idle can be caused by a lot of things. One of the main causes is a vacumn leak, so check all your vacumn lines. If they are original, those hard plastic lines that look like straws might have cracked/broken over the past 18 years. Also, check on your IAC, MAF wires, and the 10 pin connections (salt and pepper shakers) near the firewall behind the intake.

Here is a good link for tracking down a pesky idle issue...

http://www.muscularmustangs.com/iac.html

One thing though, on the part where you clean your MAF wires, I would suggest using simple rubbing alcohol and q-tip rather than carb and choke cleaner...it's a bit too harsh for those wires IMO.

Good luck!

 

[HISSIN50]

One thing though, on the part where you clean your MAF wires, I would suggest using simple rubbing alcohol and q-tip rather than carb and choke cleaner...it's a bit too harsh for those wires IMO.

good info.

also, if one has electrical contact cleaner around, that should work pretty well.

 

[RED92VERT]

It sounds to me like you have a small vacume leak. I had one that caused my idle to jump and it took me a few weeks to finally find a cracked hose.

 

[Insane3D]

good info.

also, if one has electrical contact cleaner around, that should work pretty well.

Yeah, that's also good. I actually used something called "Air Intake Cleaner" from Prestone that's labeled as being safe for sensors on fuel injected cars, and also won't harm the teflon coatings on the inside of some throttle bodies.

I almost forgot, here's a link for cleaning the 10 pin connections. There was actually a TSB on this issue for pre '90 cars IIRC. Ford put in a extension harness because the pin connections in those connectors didn't make a good connection from the factory...

http://www.fordmuscle.com/archives/2002/01/tenpin/index.shtml

Good luck!

 

[HISSIN50]

Yeah, that's also good. I actually used something called "Air Intake Cleaner" from Prestone that's labeled as being safe for sensors on fuel injected cars, and also won't harm the teflon coatings on the inside of some throttle bodies.

I almost forgot, here's a link for cleaning the 10 pin connections. There was actually a TSB on this issue for pre '90 cars IIRC. Ford put in a extension harness because the pin connections in those connectors didn't make a good connection from the factory...

http://www.fordmuscle.com/archives/2002/01/tenpin/index.shtml

Good luck!

right on. the TBC should not have toluene, which takes off the teflon coating. i just look for something that does not leave residue. and after reading what some folks use, i think many, many products work alright. LOL.

and also right on with the ten pins.

 

[squeeeg]

You need to scan for codes, see if your computer is telling you anything. Also you can try resetting the idle http://www.muscularmustangs.com/idlereset.html