94 Cavalier Idle adjustment

I have a 4 cylinder cavalier and when sitting in drive the car idles alittle rough but when you accerate it seems fine.. How can that be adjusted or is there a sensor that needs to be replaced? we just bought this car and it has sat for about 5 months and we did replace plugs,wires, air filter. the car was used in a very dusty enviroment.. gravel dirt roads.
Thanks for any suggestions

If you haven't found the IAC yet it's on the back of the throttle body, try cleaning it and if it still feels rough in drive then get used to it, they all vibrate a little more than you want. If it's smooth in nuetral or park then the IAC is clean enough. Never hurts to take it out and clean it anyway though.

If you haven't found the IAC yet it's on the back of the throttle body, try cleaning it and if it still feels rough in drive then get used to it, they all vibrate a little more than you want. If it's smooth in nuetral or park then the IAC is clean enough. Never hurts to take it out and clean it anyway though.


well it was a great try... I found the part and cleaned it and the idle was alot better and I was able to drive the car for 30 minutes before it stalled... but at least this time I was able to get it going again after a couple more stalls.. revving the engine for 10 seconds or so...but then I only made it for a coupel fo blocks.. and it died again and I had to push it home.luckily for me I was accross the street at the time

If anyone has other sugesstions I would love to hear them.
Thanks
Dave

you might want to try cleaning your throtle body I have a 97 that sat for awhile and started up real rough and idled choppy, a lot of carbon builds up.Just grab some claner from the parts store and go to town that might not totally fix your problem but Im sure it will help

Rough idle! Don't forget to check for vacuum leaks. A dirty IAC may be only part of your problem. Good Luck.

Rough idle! Don't forget to check for vacuum leaks. A dirty IAC may be only part of your problem. Good Luck.

while looking under the hood I found a vacuum line in the back of the motor that was just hanging there and I traced it to the passenger side front of the engine compartment and it was connected to a can like object.. plugged it in and seemed to run better but I haven't had a chance to drive it.

Yep! Never forget the basics.

Yep! Never forget the basics.

well, I finally got a chance to drive it today and I even got some fuel injector cleaner and put it in and drove around from store to store.. and things seemed so much better, pretty smooth idle in drive and then it jerked when I was slowing down and I put it in Neutral and when I put it in drive again it died and would not run in gear. I pushed it to the side and waited for about 10 minutes and drove it to a place I could go in for awhile and waited for 1/2 hour and got it almost all the way home and then I parked it for an hour and walked home. came back and it started fine and I drove it home.
I didn't see any more lines disconnected under the hood.
does it ahve a TCC solenoid and where might it be? I think someone mentioned that also and I disconnected it on my Elky and it doesn't shutter anymore.
Thanks

You got it. The TCC solenoid is the plug on the tranny under the top radiator hose. It is the only one in the area, unplug and drive-on! You will get a check engine light once the engine warms up and you hold a steady speed above 40mph or so. Good Luck.

You got it. The TCC solenoid is the plug on the tranny under the top radiator hose. It is the only one in the area, unplug and drive-on! You will get a check engine light once the engine warms up and you hold a steady speed above 40mph or so. Good Luck.

Now I just need to buy a replacement solenoid since that seems to have taken care of the problem...
Thanks all

You can drive without it forever without causing harm. The replacement is fairly straight forward if you have some mechanical experience. A Haynes manual will be of great help. You must remove the vaalve body cover on the side of the tranny-and there it is. Good Luck.

Don't forget to erplace the PCV valve and the fuel filter.