2000 626 sputters and nearly stalls at idle

[90sabre]

Please help....My aunt has a 2000 Mazda 626 and when in park or idling at a stop light it sputters to the point where it nearly stalls out. She took it to Autozone where they ran some sort of diagnostic on it and told her that the car was "running lean and could be the injectors or vacuum leak"(although there is no obvious leak). Also, she sometimes smells fuel when idling, does this make any sense? I know very little about these cars and would like to try to save her a trip to the dealership. Can anyone tell me what to look for? Any help would be appreciated. Thank You all for your time.

Leo
1990 Buick Lesabre Limited
1998 Chevy Lumina LTZ
aunt in need w/ a 2000 626

[wwpaulww]

How is the car when it's on the road?

[90sabre]

Originally Posted by wwpaulww

How is the car when it's on the road?

It's fine while driving and accelerating, it just seems to do this when idling.
Thanks

[wwpaulww]

First of all, the engine need air and gas to run. If there is a leakage in either air or fuel system, your engine will not get enough air or gas so it might die. A choke might cause the same thing. Your said there is no leakage, so I'd guess that there might be some slightly choke on the air system or fuel system in your case.

When you hit the gas, the machine will force more air and fuel to the engine and everything seems fine, but at idle or stop, the machine didn't force more air or fuel, the choke could cause the lack of air or fuel for engine.

So I'd recommend you to check the air system first, the air filter, the holes and so on, they might be block by some dust just because nobody ever clean it. Then you can check the fuel pressure, the fuel filter and the fuel pump. If you cannot find any problems about them, then it might be a problem of the controling circuit.

Maybe this will help.

Originally Posted by 90sabre

It's fine while driving and accelerating, it just seems to do this when idling.
Thanks

[mazdatech]

They dont reccomend it but sometines it will help. if you look at the thottle body you will probaly find a screw on it this is for intake air control, take a screwdriver and back the screw out a half turn(to the left) see if this helps.....

[90sabre]

just an update....I checked the air intake and air filter and found that some mice had built an enormous shelter in the filter housing box(filling almost half of it)!!! I cleaned it out and replaced the filter, and also "reset" the service engine light by disconnecting the battery. However, the car really does not run any better but the service light remains off. I did look for wires that might have been destroyed by the rodents but all of the wires seem to be intact. I did notice what appears to be a vacuum line coming from a canister near the front of the engine compartment that is not connected to anything at the end going towards the firewall. Any idea where this should go or where to look next?
Thanks again!

Leo
aunt's 626 is breathing again but still spitting and sputtering

[wwpaulww]

You may check the Throttle Plate, which is located at the joint of the air holes to the engine. If your air filter is too dirty for a long time, the plate might also be dirty. Check and clean it, and see if this can improve anything.

[90sabre]

Originally Posted by wwpaulww

You may check the Throttle Plate, which is located at the joint of the air holes to the engine. If your air filter is too dirty for a long time, the plate might also be dirty. Check and clean it, and see if this can improve anything.

Is this plate inside the opening to the throttle body, where the air hose meets the throttle body? Should I just use throttle body cleaner?

Thanks!