'99 4.0L SOHC Explorer won't hold idle

[msu89dawgs]

Yesterday afternoon, leaving work, my Explorer wouldn't stay cranked. It gave no trouble starting, but would immediately die. I found that, if I applied any gas, it would run, but as soon as I released the accelerator, it immediately died. A couple of my co-workers who are more car-savvy than me looked at it; they got it to keep running by turning the throttle stop bolt (if that's the right name) 1 1/2 turns; with no gas applied, it idled at just over 500rpm, which allowed me to drive it home. Obviously, I need to get the problem fixed. It was 70 degrees outside when the problem arose, and I haven't had any problems with it since having a thermostat replaced about 25,000 miles ago (it has 78K miles on it).

I have done some searching on the web, and it appears that the throttle position sensor is a possibility. Anyone have any input on what else might be causing the problem? I don't want to spend more on the repair than necessary, and if it's something I can fix myself, I'd prefer to save on the labor costs. TIA for any assistance.

 

[aldive]

Have you cleaned the IAC?

 

[Eneurb]

Have to go with the IAC theory myself...

 

[Afboy143]

same thing happned to me. I replaced the IAC and it worked fine. Over time so much crap gets built up in there and it prevents it from opening up right and letting air into the intake