Help with Stumbling RPM's??????

[72flameorange]

I have a 97 Mountaineer with 73K on it. Owned it since new and been babyed every mile. For the last 10K I have been experiencing usually on cold start ups when I go and drive it and slow down to come to a stop the RPM's will pretty much fall flat on their face and stay around 100 to 300 RPM's. If I give it some gas it is hesitant, but if I stay on the gas slightly the RPM's will pick back up and idle normally. When giving it gas after this, the RPM's seem a bit sluggish to regain control under acceleration. This same thing can happen 3 to 4 times while driving it and coming to more stops. But sooner or later when it warms up it wont do it. I have been told it is the IAC Valve for sure by a few Ford dealerships, and some folks have said it might be the DPFE sensor, but I wanted to come on here to get some of your folks' ideas before giving them my next pay check. Any help appreciated, thanks, Andrew.

[B33p3r]

It may be the IAC. They are pretty common problems especially as the weather cools. It consists of a small electric motor(just a little bigger than an toy electric race car motor) attached to a plunger. It's located at the end of the air intake duct at the top of the engineunder the engine cover. It's undone with 2 bolts and a 2 wire connector. If you clean the plunger area out it should fix your problem if the IAC is the culprit. I flushed the plunger area with engine oil. Pour it in the top area of the plunger and let it flow through and out the bottom. If the plunger appears stuck shut, you can gently open it with a small screw driver. When flushing, hold the motor end up so oil runs away from motor. Mine has been running just over a year since I cleaned it. I'm planning on flushing it again before the extreme cold sets in. Easy job. 15 minutes
If you choose to replace, they run anywhere from $55.00 - $85.00 so shop around.