High idling

My Taurus (252,000 miles)idles around 1,000 rpm and if I turn then engine off and wait sprox fifteen seconds it will go back to idleing normal, (SOMETIMES)!
Thanks for your help
CR

i have a 1993 taurus wagon that does the same thing a amehanic told me its the throttle sticking

If you have a lot of carbon build-up on the back of the throttle plate and/or in the throttle body, this could be the case. Do you sometimes notice the throttle seems to stick a bit coming off idle?

You can check for the build up by removing the air intake hose from the throttle body, opening the throttle plate fully (Wide Open Throttle - WOT) and inspecting for black stuff. If you find quite a bit of it, I suggest you visit your local auto parts store or department store and pick up some throttle body cleaner. Depending on the model year, you will want to get some that is listed as Ford Coated Throttle Safe or some similar wording. I've been quite please with STP Throttle Body Cleaner, about the most aggressive stuff I've found for the money.

Put your safety glasses on and spray away at the build-up. Be careful not to get the cleaner on the pain, plastic parts, etc. and don't let the straw shoot down the intake.

You may also want to inspect your PCV valve and EGR valve to make sure they are functioning properly and not contributing to the build-up.

If the throttle body looks quite clean, you may have an idle air control servo that is malfunctioning.

Vistin, what year is your Taurus and what engine do you have?

-Rod

I remember when I owned an 87 Taurus LX with 3.0, the throttle linkage, after a couple of years usage, would begin to hang up.. at that time after dissembling the complete linkage, there was some sort of nylon spacer tube, sort of a crossover piece, that was causing the binding along with rust from the bolt that went thru it,, cleaned it up, good for another couple of years,, I own a 93 and 94, neither have had any problems yet, I've never looked closely at the linkage to see if it's new and improved.