My 85 has low idle and dies every stop

freshjw · 02-23-2007, 02:31 PM

Background: Just bought this a month ago, and it drove fine but didnt drive it too much cause of the snow. Started driving it a lot this week, got a stereo put in, im thinking that its good to go. Then my idle starts acting wierd. It doesnt jump around too much, it just is realy low after it warms up and now for the past 3 days it dies everytime I slow down. After 24 hrs of straight research on the net, I started looking around the engine and noticed the porevious owner had cut the plug on the Throttle sensor thing, but again, it drove fine when i first had it. Ill be cruising at 2000 rpm and when I slow down it will go to about 1200 and then fall all the way to 0. I dont think theres any vacuum leaks, I had an ex mechanic friend look real quick and he said he would adjust the idle (where it takes an allen wrench thats in the middle of a nut) is this the correct step to take? I love this car, and for now its my only one but i dont want to throw a bunch of money into it, etc. Thanks in advance for any help which will be appreciated greatly. Jason

hotwheels · 04-01-2007, 12:48 AM

i own an 85 and had the same problem for a while.

A possibility is that you might have an exhaust leak, and a big one. With a downpipe as short as the one on mr2s, all the backpressure thats there to begin with is badly needed to keep the car running. If yours is manual like mine then when you let go of the gas, there's still fuel in the rails, and the computer, sensing too much fuel, leans out the mixture. This is an everyday thing for manuels, but with an exhaust leak, theres not enough pressure to keep the cars rpms high enough to keep running.

plug up any leaks.

Mister2.2 · 04-01-2007, 01:57 AM

I had the same problem on my old 86 and it was because of a exhaust leak like 'hotwheels' mentioned. Once I fixed the major leak the car ran perfectly fine afterwards.

novatc · 04-01-2007, 03:03 AM

had the same problem on my 86. after it warmed up, the idle would drop down when I put it in neutral to coast. there should be an adjustment screw next the the throttle, mine was a flathead, turn it while the car is running, you should be able to dial it in at a 1000rpms to be safe. also, make sure your fans are working, toyota's fanrelays a bad for not connecting, all three of mine(2 radiator,1 engine bay) are either jumped or switch controled. DO NOT let these engines overheat, or its byebye head gasket.

listdadt · 04-23-2007, 08:53 AM

I am currently having the exact same problem and am in the process of figuring it out. I do have an exhaust leak, so I'm going to investigate that as well as playing with the idle screw. I checked the TPS already to make sure that it's within spec and everything is cool there. Originally I thought it wasn't sending the idle signal, but everything appears to be in correct working order.

freshjw · 04-23-2007, 11:47 AM

Check out the "S" tube thing that comes out of your air cleaner, mine had a crack in it that was hard to find there in the grooves.

mopwer · 04-23-2007, 01:13 PM

This is what I was going to suggest.

Quote:

Originally Posted by freshjw

Check out the "S" tube thing that comes out of your air cleaner, mine had a crack in it that was hard to find there in the grooves.

Makelo · 04-27-2007, 05:56 PM

02-23-2007, 02:31 PM	#1 (permalink)
freshjw No Skills Join Date: Feb 2007 Posts: 10 Thanks: 1 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts iTrader Rating: (0/0% )	My 85 has low idle and dies every stop Background: Just bought this a month ago, and it drove fine but didnt drive it too much cause of the snow. Started driving it a lot this week, got a stereo put in, im thinking that its good to go. Then my idle starts acting wierd. It doesnt jump around too much, it just is realy low after it warms up and now for the past 3 days it dies everytime I slow down. After 24 hrs of straight research on the net, I started looking around the engine and noticed the porevious owner had cut the plug on the Throttle sensor thing, but again, it drove fine when i first had it. Ill be cruising at 2000 rpm and when I slow down it will go to about 1200 and then fall all the way to 0. I dont think theres any vacuum leaks, I had an ex mechanic friend look real quick and he said he would adjust the idle (where it takes an allen wrench thats in the middle of a nut) is this the correct step to take? I love this car, and for now its my only one but i dont want to throw a bunch of money into it, etc. Thanks in advance for any help which will be appreciated greatly. Jason

04-01-2007, 01:57 AM	#3 (permalink)
Mister2.2 Cheese it! Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 6,561 Thanks: 121 Thanked 115 Times in 99 Posts Blog Entries: 1 My Google Map iTrader Rating: (3/100% )	I had the same problem on my old 86 and it was because of a exhaust leak like 'hotwheels' mentioned. Once I fixed the major leak the car ran perfectly fine afterwards. __________________ --Josh MR2Trader.com Free to Buy and Sell your MR2 Parts!

04-01-2007, 03:03 AM	#4 (permalink)
novatc No Skills Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 46 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts iTrader Rating: (0/0% )	idle adjustment had the same problem on my 86. after it warmed up, the idle would drop down when I put it in neutral to coast. there should be an adjustment screw next the the throttle, mine was a flathead, turn it while the car is running, you should be able to dial it in at a 1000rpms to be safe. also, make sure your fans are working, toyota's fanrelays a bad for not connecting, all three of mine(2 radiator,1 engine bay) are either jumped or switch controled. DO NOT let these engines overheat, or its byebye head gasket.

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04-01-2007, 12:48 AM	#2 (permalink)
hotwheels elvis Join Date: Mar 2007 Posts: 33 Thanks: 3 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts iTrader Rating: (0/0% )	i own an 85 and had the same problem for a while. A possibility is that you might have an exhaust leak, and a big one. With a downpipe as short as the one on mr2s, all the backpressure thats there to begin with is badly needed to keep the car running. If yours is manual like mine then when you let go of the gas, there's still fuel in the rails, and the computer, sensing too much fuel, leans out the mixture. This is an everyday thing for manuels, but with an exhaust leak, theres not enough pressure to keep the cars rpms high enough to keep running. plug up any leaks.

04-23-2007, 08:53 AM	#5 (permalink)
listdadt Parts Guy! Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: merrimack, nh Posts: 44 Thanks: 0 Thanked 2 Times in 2 Posts iTrader Rating: (0/0% )	I am currently having the exact same problem and am in the process of figuring it out. I do have an exhaust leak, so I'm going to investigate that as well as playing with the idle screw. I checked the TPS already to make sure that it's within spec and everything is cool there. Originally I thought it wasn't sending the idle signal, but everything appears to be in correct working order.

04-23-2007, 11:47 AM	#6 (permalink)
freshjw No Skills Join Date: Feb 2007 Posts: 10 Thanks: 1 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts iTrader Rating: (0/0% )	Check out the "S" tube thing that comes out of your air cleaner, mine had a crack in it that was hard to find there in the grooves.

04-27-2007, 05:56 PM	#8 (permalink)
Makelo 89 SC Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 27 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts iTrader Rating: (0/0% )	TPS