1996 Acura Integra Engine head swap

SCOTTYWAYNEGORE

MEMBER
1996 ACURA INTEGRA
1.8L
4 CYL
FWD
MANUAL
200,456 MILES

I have a 1996 integra ls with a vtec head swap and my car idles weird it goes up and down from 1 rpm to 2 rpm constantly when I come to a complete stop or when it's in gear it does it. It doesn't do it sometimes when I start it. But when I rev it, it does. Some say it could be a vacuum leak or my car needs to be tuned or the throttle body is clogged. Or someone told me it's because I need to do a obd2 to a obd1 conversion

Thursday, January 30th, 2014 AT 6:50 PM

1 Reply

MLDANIELS2000

MECHANIC
227 POSTS

Perform intake cleaning first. Sounds like its hunting for idle speed.

Idle Speed

Operate engine until cooling fan comes on. Turn engine off. Connect tachometer. Disconnect 2-wire connector from Idle Air Control Valve (IACV). See Fig 3.
Restart engine and hold at 1000 RPM momentarily. Let engine return to idle. Check base idle speed with M/T in Neutral (A/T in "N" or "P") and all accessories, including cooling fan, off. Base idle speed should be 430-530 RPM. If necessary, turn screw to adjust base idle speed. See Fig 4.
Turn ignition off. Reconnect 2-wire IACV connector. Remove BACK-UP fuse (7.5-amp) in main underhood fuse box for 10 seconds to reset PCM. Start engine and allow to idle for one minute. Check idle speed. Idle speed should be as specified.

Also helpful are some vacuum diagrams.

Images (Click to make bigger)