garethrl

Car - 1988 80 5 sp 4 Cyl

Old problem - wandering idle, bad smell, poor fuel economy, starting problems.

'Solution' - change O2 sensor, clean ISV, check for vac leaks (none)

Now - idle more stable (but not spot-on) and smell seemed to be gone at first. But once the engine has warmed up then when I'm slowing down (especially shifting 3 -> 2)
or driving slowly in traffic in 2 and using the clutch a lot then the revs drop to 200 or lower and the car nearly stalls and sometimes does. Hill starts are deadly, car doesn't want to go above 200 and I stall. Restarting is often hard and takes several attempts. Seems to be running very rich the whole time as the smell is back, maybe not quite as bad as it was. CEL generally flashes on-off during stalls and near-stalls.

I've put some Techron in and filled up with 91 octane. If this is going to make any difference how long should take? 10 miles or 1/2 tank??

Beyond that, where should I start troubleshooting? The car is actually pretty dangerous to drive as it is so I need to take care of it.

Thanks in advance, Gareth.

Merkin

soudns like you didn't connect the ISV

20VT90q

......or damaged it by submersing the electric motor in carb cleaner(or whatever you used to clean it). You should only soak the bottom half as the motors don't like to get wet feet. Also make sure there is no vacuum leaks still.