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slow to return to idle

3828 Views 16 Replies 8 Participants Last post by  SweetPee
Hey guys whats up, and happy new year.
I have a problem, my 04 tj seems to have a problem after letting off the skinny pedal to shift the rpms stay around 2k and then slowly fall back to idle, or the shift is lurchy due to the throttle not letting off. Any guesses, I live in NY and it is cold right now. This is not the first time it has done this but it always has gone away in the past. thanks
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im guessing sticky or dirty throttle body
I'd add sticky cable or pivot point to the above.
josaff said:
Hey guys whats up, and happy new year.
I have a problem, my 04 tj seems to have a problem after letting off the skinny pedal to shift the rpms stay around 2k and then slowly fall back to idle, or the shift is lurchy due to the throttle not letting off. Any guesses, I live in NY and it is cold right now. This is not the first time it has done this but it always has gone away in the past. thanks
If it makes you feel better, my 04 does the exact same thing. :D Once it warms up the issue goes away. I am planning on doing some cleaning under the hood to see if I can fix it, but it only happens when it is really cold. (Also live in NY)
Must be a NY requirement :D



I would clean the throttle body spring and check the throttle cable for any buildup
Pull and remove your TB and clean it THOROUGHLY with a good TB cleaner. If you've never done it before, and this is the first time for the rig, I have found the dealer TB cleaner to be a little stronger and easier for a first time cleaning. On subsequent cleanings every spark plug change at 25K on my rig, standard Napa cleaner works fine. The difference is a couple bucks in price so the lack of time spending cleaning with the little more expensive dealer stuff is worth it to me for the "first time" cleanings. You'll need to scrub that thing thoroughly with an old toothbrush, and clean every nook and cranny on it. Excercise the plate and get all around it as well. You want a mirror finish with no dull grey/black marks anywhere, no rings, no residue. With that done, clean and exercise the IAC as well. Depending on what year/model you have, there will either be one, or two screws holding it in. Clean it thoroughly as well.

Prior to TB removal I'd suggest getting a new gasket just in case you have trouble getting yours off and ruin it. They're about $4.00 or so from the dealer or parts store, but make sure to get it ahead of time. I've found that none of the parts stores or dealers in my area stock this item. They get it overnight, but won't have it the same day. When I do this, I order the gasket a couple days ahead of time when I know I'm going to be cleaning it so it's here when I'm ready for it.

This is a good general maintenance routene that I do with every plug change. Keeps things clean and fresh inside with the TB and related parts working properly. This was the only thing that cured my erratic/slow responding idle problems in the past. I make it standard maintenance on all the family vehicles now, and have had good luck doing so.

Best of Luck

Mike
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Thanks guys i just ordered the gasket(your right no one has one) hope it does the trick. does any one here ever have the bolt in their exhaust were it goes from 4 to 2 get loose, mine seem to need to be tightened every so often?
As far as I could tell everything is moving well and there are no hangups in the linkage or cable.
Thanks guys for the help!
josaff said:
Thanks guys i just ordered the gasket(your right no one has one) hope it does the trick. does any one here ever have the bolt in their exhaust were it goes from 4 to 2 get loose, mine seem to need to be tightened every so often?
As far as I could tell everything is moving well and there are no hangups in the linkage or cable.
Thanks guys for the help!
Yes! Thanks very common for us all. A long extension, and a 15mm ujoint socket works well. It isn't uncommon to have to tighten them about everyother month.
SweetPee said:
josaff said:
Thanks guys i just ordered the gasket(your right no one has one) hope it does the trick. does any one here ever have the bolt in their exhaust were it goes from 4 to 2 get loose, mine seem to need to be tightened every so often?
As far as I could tell everything is moving well and there are no hangups in the linkage or cable.
Thanks guys for the help!
Yes! Thanks very common for us all. A long extension, and a 15mm ujoint socket works well. It isn't uncommon to have to tighten them about everyother month.
X2-Sweetpee's on a roll! :D I have to re-tighten mine about every GOOD wheeling trip. Less often on lesser trips, but still, tighten a LOT.

Best of Luck,

Mike
I'm sure this has been tried/done but is Loc-Tite been used on the problem bolts?
BLACK RUBI said:
I'm sure this has been tried/done but is Loc-Tite been used on the problem bolts?
Seems like I want to say someone tried that but it was only half successful and was a PITA to do. IIRC, the loctite held well for a little while but over time the heat cycles still broke it loose. But now Loctite has some new formulas out now...so it is possible there is a better product out there now. Summit Racing or the Eastwood Company carry a pretty up to date selection of loctite.

What I have thought about but never done or researched is getting the dimensions of the bolt(s) and calling up Stage 8 and seeing what they could do.
SweetPee said:
BLACK RUBI said:
I'm sure this has been tried/done but is Loc-Tite been used on the problem bolts?
Seems like I want to say someone tried that but it was only half successful and was a PITA to do. IIRC, the loctite held well for a little while but over time the heat cycles still broke it loose. But now Loctite has some new formulas out now...so it is possible there is a better product out there now. Summit Racing or the Eastwood Company carry a pretty up to date selection of loctite.

What I have thought about but never done or researched is getting the dimensions of the bolt(s) and calling up Stage 8 and seeing what they could do.
Where do you find this stuff??? That looks like it would work nicely here in this situation. Nice work!!! I did try loctite once, but as you mentioned, it didn't last long. I'm sure it was from repeated heating/cooling cycles that finally gave out. What's kinda dumb is those bolts go up into some cheesy flimsy ring thing and I'm sure if I torqued hard enough, I'd strip the stupid threads out on that upper portion and be in a world of hurt for something to replace it with. They're kind of like the ones in the dash that the dash screws go into-that fit over the plastic lip-I forget the name of them. Anyway, a real nut up top would likely be a better solution to what they have from the factory. Those things Sweetpee listed though from that stage 78 place or whatever look like the best solution. I wonder what they cost for a set of 4?

Best of Luck,

Mike
[quote='05TJLWBRUBY]Stage 8
Where do you find this stuff??? That looks like it would work nicely here in this situation. Nice work!!! Those things Sweetpee listed though from that stage 78 place or whatever look like the best solution. I wonder what they cost for a set of 4?

Best of Luck,

Mike[/quote]


Mike those have been around for YEARS! They supply fasteners to all areas of government, private, & public sectors for anything such as tanks, bridges, railroad, to car headers. They are real popular with the guys that run headers on virtually any muscel car or sports car. I had thought about them for my mustang, but never got around to it. They often have a "kit" for certain makes and models. I have no clue if they have one for Jeep though... never seen it in any catalogs or online, but I am sure that they make something that would work. Getting the deminsions of the bolt is what you would have to have though in order to find out and I have never gotten around to totally removing a bolt to find out. I also figure it would be a PITA to reinstall once I did also.

If anyone knows the demindions for these bolts, and if they are different depending on model year, post up. Maybe we could figure this thing out.
SweetPee said:
..........Getting the deminsions of the bolt is what you would have to have though in order to find out and I have never gotten around to totally removing a bolt to find out. I also figure it would be a PITA to reinstall once I did also.

If anyone knows the demindions for these bolts, and if they are different depending on model year, post up. Maybe we could figure this thing out.
Eric, I snapped one last winter and luckily it was the forward most bolt. I was able to remove the broken bolt from the nut thingy with heat. I remember getting one from tractor supply (it was a weekend when I was doing that 4 hr round trip commute) but, can't recall the size.
Wow, never heard of "stage 78" before, or whatever it was. If I've seen those before, I guess I never paid any attention to them. Either way, looks like they should work well! Thanks for the info.

Best of Luck,

Mike
To tell you the truth I've not seen the problem bolts you all are talking about firsthand (guess I may need to check them out) but is safety wiring them an option? Just throwing it out there FWIW.
BLACK RUBI said:
To tell you the truth I've not seen the problem bolts you all are talking about firsthand (guess I may need to check them out) but is safety wiring them an option? Just throwing it out there FWIW.
You'd have to drill a hole in the head(s) of the bolts or replace them with bolts that have holes inorder to wire them. Even then I'd say you would really have some trouble getting in there to wire them up. It's tough enough to get a socket in there.
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