Random Erratic Idle at stop on 3800 Series II (97 Buick Lesabre)

[ringzero]

Ok, I tried googling around for this problem but i can't find any info on it.

 

I have this weird erratic idle when i am at a stop light. It acts like it wants to stall and some times it almost does but the amp guage goes down to almost a quarter and it seems it's trying to keep it alive that way?

 

The weird thing about this is that it's very random, it happens maybe once every two weeks.

 

The idle is fine when cruising at high speeds, but i noticed that the car will no go into overdrive, and when i let go of the gas pedal, and i put pressure on the pedal i notice that i have to push harder than normal to actually get the gas into the engine; it's not a fluid motion.

 

I just had a tune up, and I am due for an oil change. I had the SES light go on and a mechanic scanned the system and said that my car was misfiring big time on 1 and 6. This happened after the tune up so he suspected that the coil packs needed to be replaced, which were.

 

I get no SES light, and the only difference i have noticed is that I was late for work so as soon as i started the car up, I put it in gear and left... it was idling fine when it was cold.

 

I read that people had similar problems with the IAC, I owned the car since nov 05 and it has an AC Delco battery which still says it's good according to that little green dot.

 

I'm not a car person, but i like doing my research and try to figure out what to expect, plus i like to keep the mechanics on their toes to make sure they're not giving me the run around. Anyone have any idea what this could be? I am willing to bet that if I went out there to start my car up and let it warm up it will run and idle fine.

 

Thanks in advance!

[ringzero]

Hi all, just wanted to touch back...

 

I brought my car into the mechanics to get an oil change and i told them about the weird idling.... They said they took a look at the PCV valve and said it was pretty gummed up and cleaned it out, no charge... It's been running fine but today i noticed that it's still not behaving the way it should be.

 

It still idles poorly, but it's not as bad as it was before. Before the car would almost stall and the amp guage would drop. Now, the amp guage doesn't drop and the idling is not as erratic as before.

 

I turned the car off and opened the hood to take a look around... as i was inspecting the engine (i dont know what i was even looking for) i noticed a loud 'pop' or a 'ding'. It sounded like a small ball bearing hitting something inside. I turned the car back on and it was idling like it was supposed to.

 

I googled around to see if I can find out what a pcv valve looks like, and where it is in the car. The noise sounded like it came near the firewall of the car on the drivers side, but i cant be certain. I also saw a post about a 2000 buick lesabre with a weird whistling noise, which my car had. It was very high pitched and it's random. They said it was the oring for the pcv valve. Could this be related? Where is the pcv valve located on the car? Is the PCV valve something that a person with no tools/skill/knowledge can replace? People keep on telling me it's a matter of popping it out and in.

 

Thanks

 

[digitaloutsider]

Let me get a pciture of where the PCV valve is. Hold on.

[digitaloutsider]

WTF. Where the hell IS the PCV on the N/A 3800?!

 

On the L67, it's really obvious. Same for the Series I 3800's.

[PCGUY112887]

You sure that "ping" you heard wasn't just the engine cooling off and the metal popping from contraction?

[Andrew]

WTF. Where the hell IS the PCV on the N/A 3800?!

 

On the L67, it's really obvious. Same for the Series I 3800's.

Its under the MAP, which is on the left of the upper intake manifold. Dont feel bad, when i replaced mine i had to look it up.