# High Idle at startup, cause?



## GT3man2001 (Jun 17, 2003)

The car is a 98 200SX SE-R, auto tranny. I'm having a problem with the car idling at 1,400 rpm when I start it up. After i drive it around a while, it drops to about 900 to 1,000 rpm. Anyone know what the cause of this could be? I've kinda narrowed it down to being either the EGR valve, or a vacuum(sp?) leak.


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## McLaren F1 2003 (Jan 2, 2003)

play with the idle adjustment screw...i dunno where it is on an sr20, so search really quick


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## RedB14SER (Nov 19, 2002)

dont worry about that it idles high because the car is running cold so once it warms up the idle goes down lower.


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## McLaren F1 2003 (Jan 2, 2003)

but an idle of 1000 is still kinda high


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## Rottdog (May 2, 2003)

not really my 98 se does the same thing , my friends truck does it and his is a 2002 , its normal for a car to idle high when it first starts up till it warms itself up , thats the whole point of it idling high so i can warm itself up quicker , look at the old packards with the v12's man they had thermostat controled louvers on the grill that would close when the car first started up and let it idle high so it could warm the motor up faster and when the motor was warm they opened again


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## bugnlv (Jun 24, 2003)

the slightly higher idle is to help get the oil moved around in the motor while its cold. so yea after a few mins it should drop. if you sit there and watch it it should go from like 1300, 1100, 900, then 800 or less before your eyes, you can watch it fall if you actually sit there long enough for it to warm up like were "supposed" to. im just as guilty for not lettin it fully warm up.


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## dry (Oct 21, 2002)

yeah this is normal... my car used to start up at 2200 and then drop to 1200 idle... I found a hole in my intake mani and patched it with some bubble gum and it idles fine now (700) I dunno why tho...


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## Cullam3n (Aug 22, 2003)

Just to chip in... my SE starts usually around 1500rpm, then lowers after a few minutes (or longer if in the winter ) to a little under 1000, maybe 800 or so. Idles a little lower in Drive. 

-PC


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## azkicker0027 (May 31, 2002)

i could even ease out of the parking lot in idle at 1500 and in first gear, then floor it when it's warm and out on the street. although i noticed this after the header install, i guess it's "breathing easier" now.


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## Katana200sx (May 13, 2002)

if its unusually high its a vaccum leak somewhere like with a torn gasket and when the engine warms, it seals the gasket. that's how it was w/my tb gasket anyway


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## GT3man2001 (Jun 17, 2003)

I don't think this is a normal thing, because it just recently started doing this. About the gasket leak, could a valve cover gasket gone bad contribute to the high idle? I noticed some oil in the spark plug wells, signaling to me that it needs to be changed soon. $150 out the door..... Anyways, even when the engine is warm, it idles at about 900rpm, and is kind of "irratic". Meaning it moves up and down some. Should I just mess with the idle screw, or look into something else?


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## azkicker0027 (May 31, 2002)

rough idle could be attributed to the oil in the spark plug holes causing small misfires, the only leak that would cause the high vacuum leak would be from the intake manifold, and anywhere in the intake tract, unmetered air.


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## Katana200sx (May 13, 2002)

that oil prolly fouled your plugs man. i dont know what could make it get oil in there. bad valve seals maybe


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## GT3man2001 (Jun 17, 2003)

I checked the plugs this morning. There is no oil on them. As a matter of fact, the plugs looked great. Completly normal. 

BTW: What would repainted fenders and a hood with no emissions stickers signal to you guys? I'm starting to wonder if the car was in some sort of accident before I bought it. Everything under the hood is in great shape though, nothing bent.....


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