Weird Idle when first start

[tmwr2006]

I have a 95 GA 2.3 quad 4. within 2 minutes of starting my car, it starts idling really weird, high and low, high and low, and if you try driving it almost stalls out, then jumps back to normal and you take off. I dont know what is causing this erratic idle but any help is greatly appreciated! thanks

[Knifeblade]

Could be any # of things. Fuel starve, IAC, TPS, sheesh the list goes on.

Try this easy idea first, though~~~~~~~~~

Get some spray carb cleaner, and hose down the outside and inside of the throttle body intake. Be careful not to spray any of the electrics around the body. Ensure all the mechanical pawls and linkages work freely. Expect a hard start at startup, until the cleaner clears the combustion strokes and the air/fuel mix gets back in the pistons.

Also, dump a GOOD injector cleaner into your gas tank, try the super concentrated stuff from Gumout or any major brand, [bit pricey, around 3-6$ a bottle]. If it the injectors, this should open them up. Hope this helps, if not, at least it not too expensive for a usually common prob. of sticking injectors, linkages, pawls, etc.

[Ladyfire3374]

I'm trying to fix the same prob on a friend's car ...and I'm really a Ford gal.

His initial complaint ('97 2.4 stickshift, 95k mi) was the funny idle as you described and a MIL. (300 random misfire, 1133 O2 sensor) I like to start with cheap, obvious stuff, so we changed the fuel filter, air filter, plugs and plug boots and the upstream O2 sensor (from the DTCs). Ran Techron injector cleaner thru. Didn't fix.

Then the battery wouldn't hold a charge - turned out it was leaking.
Cleaned up & replaced. That resolved the weird DTCs that appearedafter the initial work.

Idle prob getting worse, still getting the random misfire and O2 sensorDTCs. Tested ignition coils and ignition module. Coils within spec and module generating trigger signal. Haynes says this means the CKP is ok as well.

Then cleaned IAC and throttle body. IAC solenoid ohmed out ok, and cleaning narrowed the range of idle swing quite a bit. Does this means the IAC is definitively ok?

It appears the idle "hunt" starts just as the car goes into closed loop, after @ 60 seconds, depending on the temperature. If he tries to take off in the next couple of minutes, it will stall. After it warms, no noticable problems in running. Once shutdown, the more it cools, the worse the idle/stall.

The only things I can think of are vacuum leak, TPS and MAP. And I think MAP has to have proper vacuum to work right anyway. I'm going to look at vacuum and hunt for leaks next.
Any suggestions, tips or other advice?

Thanks!