Hi guys. Newbie here hailing from Lexington, KY. I discovered this site several weeks ago and have been coming back almost daily ever since. I have a ´91 Escort LX that has seen better days, but still has a long way to go (only recently passed 100k). I´m kind of new to automechanics, but I am really enjoying fixing up my car.
First, a couple of questions...
1) My engine is running uneasy when idling. I´ve checked a few things (PCV valve, air filter, spark plugs, etc.) and all seems okay. I heard mention of cleaning the idle control module, but that it must be chemically cleaned. Anyone heard of this, and if so, any advice? Is this something I can do myself?
2) While checking the above, I discovered that oil is leaking into my air filter box. My oil level is not too high. A friend mentioned that it might be (excuse my ignorance of this term) "blow by". From what I´ve learned this doesn´t sound easy to fix. Has anyone had this problem before, and would it be worth my time to fix?
Lastly, I´d like to praise the guys running this site and everybody in this forum. It was a pleasant surprise to discover that the Escort is such a popular car for performance tuning/mods/racing/etc. It´s really cool to see all this information collected here, and the community that gives it out. Hope I can contribute in the future as well.
Well I can offer a suggestion for the oil in the filter thing and please if I am wrong someone correct me but my mechanic said that can be solved by replacing your PCV valve but it sounds like you recently did that
The oil could possibly be from blowby, but it´s normal to have a little bit come through from the valve cover breather hose over time. As for the rough idling, I would clean out the idle air control valve like you said and see if it makes a difference. It´s the thing bolted to the top of the throttle body. Get some carb cleaner or tb cleaner and spray it all up in there until it runs out clean. Then let it dry and put it back on. Also if you haven´t gotten a new pcv valve then just get one cuz it will definitely mess the idle up if it´s bad. Also a pcv valve is only like $3.00 so why not replace it anyway. Hope that helps.
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