Idle Air Control Valve

[Steve Wendling]

I have been having an idle problem. It seems to be too low and every 3-5 seconds drops about 50 rpm..down to 600 or so. I bought a new idle air control valve and put it on and that seems to have fixed the problem. will know more later today. My question is should the o ring gaskets be left in place and the fiber gasket installed or should they come out and use the fiber gasket or ???. i put the new included gasket in and left the o rings as they were.

 

[imp]

I have been having an idle problem. It seems to be too low and every 3-5 seconds drops about 50 rpm..down to 600 or so. I bought a new idle air control valve and put it on and that seems to have fixed the problem. will know more later today. My question is should the o ring gaskets be left in place and the fiber gasket installed or should they come out and use the fiber gasket or ???. i put the new included gasket in and left the o rings as they were.

@Steve Wendling

Don't worry about it, if it's working satisfactorily. O-ring sealing is nearly a science of it's own, having numerous requirements regarding machining tolerances and applying "squeeze" on the ring within a narrow window range of acceptability.

You should be fine! imp

 

[J_C]

Some new IAC valves come with a paper gasket and some don't. I'm sure I've seen the paper gaskets sold separately.

If your original silicone gasket is in good shape, it can be reused. I reused it the first time I bought a genuine motorcraft IAC replacement around a dozen years ago, which did not come with a paper gasket if I recall correctly... pretty sure it didn't because I saved the old IAC I pulled off and if there was a spare gasket with the new one, I would have thrown it in the box with the old IAC before I stored it.

If your silicone gasket is worn out, you can use the paper gasket instead. You do not need both, but it should still make a good seal if you use both. I wouldn't use the paper one if it isn't needed so you have it to use later, if some day you decide to clean the old one to reuse and find at that point that the silicone gasket is shot so you need it.

On the other hand, you can just cut a gasket out of bulk gasket material. It is small and easy to DIY make one.