Drunkencat

I just got my car back from the mechanics because I couldn't pass emissions. It does now but I also had him look into a problem I had with a irratic idle where it would go from 500rpms to 1500 rpms back and forth till the car was warmed up all the way IE sitting for 5 min before driving. My mechanic told me that he checked all of the sensors and they all checked out good and he said my vtec solenoid that is leaking oil is bad. Would a leaky gasket from the vtec solenoid cause this problem or will I need to buy a new vtec solenoid?

bnjmnptrsn

Weill I am not sure if the vtec solenoid would make it do that. I am new to vtec myself. But quite a few of my friends and I have had civics and integras that have run into this problem. I came to find that a common problem for the late 80's early 90's honda motors is a valve on or around the intake manifold. Don't quote me on it but I was told it is the same or similar to an Idle Air Control Valve on newer motors. It's called a fast idle valve, or something like that. It basically tells the computer that the engine is warmed up. That valve is why when the engine is cold it will idle at a higher rpm than at normal temp.When it starts to go bad that irratic idle will happen until the car warms up and when it REALLY starts to go out it will just happen all the damn time and the idle spikes a lot higher. It gets really annoying! But it's all just because that valve wont let the sensors get a proper reading. I would do a little research first cuz this valve is a dealer only item, at least in MN it is, and it cost around $100 every time my friends or I bought them. I'm new to these forums and just thought I might be able to help. Hope this helps.