Idling speed BMW 518
 

I had a problem with very erratic idling speeds on my BMW 518. Idling
speeds would surge up and down from about 1200 to 1600 for no apparent
reason and the engine also had a tendency to cut out. With a little
help from some people here and an expert we came to the conclusion
that the Idle Control Valve was the guilty party. These are expensive
to replace. So I did the following. With the engine running
(erratically) I tapped the ICV a few times and the speed became
normal. I cut the engine and sprayed some WD 40 into the input side of
the ICV. I repeated this about five times and the ICV then started to
behave itself and has been 100% for a week...

"Louis Carroll" > wrote in message
om...
> I had a problem with very erratic idling speeds on my BMW 518. Idling
> speeds would surge up and down from about 1200 to 1600 for no apparent
> reason and the engine also had a tendency to cut out. With a little
> help from some people here and an expert we came to the conclusion
> that the Idle Control Valve was the guilty party. These are expensive
> to replace. So I did the following. With the engine running
> (erratically) I tapped the ICV a few times and the speed became
> normal. I cut the engine and sprayed some WD 40 into the input side of
> the ICV. I repeated this about five times and the ICV then started to
> behave itself and has been 100% for a week...

sounds good - did you have to dismantle much in order to achieve this? Would
it be enough just to remove the big intake boot? (M20 engine)