Escort Stalls

My daughters 95 Escort LX stalls at lights or stop signs. Starts right up and runs good while driving. Starts right up after it stalls. No service engine lights come on either. One thing I noticed and I don't know the proper terminology, but the cable...I assume the throttle cable.. appears stretched. When the car idles, it eventually stalls, almost like the idle is too low. When I pull slightly on this cable..tighten it, it seems better. Can this be adjusted, or am I looking at a different problem? Maybe plugs and wires? The car has over 50k miles on it.

I've had a similar problem but never noticed the throttle cable being streched. I had an oil change done by a goon with an air filter replacement. The air filter on escorts are a pain to put in right, they didn't have it properly tightened. Check the air filter before taking it in.

Mine always idled for a bit but would die at stop lights.

Thanks. I'll try that. I'm also going to replace the PCV Valve and hose.

My daughters 95 Escort LX stalls at lights or stop signs. Starts right up and runs good while driving. Starts right up after it stalls. No service engine lights come on either. One thing I noticed and I don't know the proper terminology, but the cable...I assume the throttle cable.. appears stretched. When the car idles, it eventually stalls, almost like the idle is too low. When I pull slightly on this cable..tighten it, it seems better. Can this be adjusted, or am I looking at a different problem? Maybe plugs and wires? The car has over 50k miles on it.

IDLE CONTROL VALVE.I JUST HAD THE SAME PROBLEM. 1 MINUTE FIX IF YOU CAN FIND A CHEAP USED ONE.

Also, check the hose at the opposite end that the PCV valve is connected to. This is prone to melting and closing down at the point where is makes a 90 degree turn, and will also cause the engine to stall at lights. I've had to replace this hose twice for this same problem. Good louck!

This happened to me today. Does the ICV have to be removed to be cleaned? And does anyone have any tips on cleaning or removing it.

It's easy to take off. There are 2 screws with 8mm heads on top of it. The IAC is on top of the throttle body. It looks like a small electric motor with 2 wires running into it.

You can clean it with some spray carb or throttle body cleaner. Then lube it with some light oil like 3 in 1 oil. Or you can clean it and lube it at the same time with spraying some WD-40 on it.

Have you checked for vacuum leaks?
Replaced the PCV valve?

It was a vacuum hose. Thought about it when it happened but somehow the thought of the transmission dieing took over since something on the transmission side of the engine was making a noise for a month now.