I have a 2000 OBW, EJ251 engine, Auto Trans that is experiencing what appears to be the fairly common "rough idle when in gear" problem. The engine never stalls and otherwise runs great. I feel fairly certain that the idle air control valve is causing the problem. I have removed it and cleaned it very well with throttle body cleaner. It almost looked new when I was done. I also cleaned the air passages in the vicinity of where the valve mounts to the throttle body. Everything seems very clean, but the rough idle problem persists.
All other components that I think might be related to rough idle should be in good shape (new plugs, new plug wires, new air filter, new PCV valve, solid electricals/grounds).
My next guess is to replace the valve, but a new one is $300.00 (yikes). I can't really justify spending that much on the problem or a car with 200K miles. I have checked with several local junkyards and no one has a used valve.
So my question to those with much more parts experience (grossgary ?) is, how often do these idle air control valves actually go bad ?
All other components that I think might be related to rough idle should be in good shape (new plugs, new plug wires, new air filter, new PCV valve, solid electricals/grounds).
My next guess is to replace the valve, but a new one is $300.00 (yikes). I can't really justify spending that much on the problem or a car with 200K miles. I have checked with several local junkyards and no one has a used valve.
So my question to those with much more parts experience (grossgary ?) is, how often do these idle air control valves actually go bad ?