Idle Air Control Valve

[White Lincoln]

I recieved my new IAC from RockAuto yesterday and took a few minutes to replace it. After it was replaced, I tested how it worked compared to the other two I have been using. The weird idle pattern is gone. The idle now starts at 1500 and slowly goes down to 700/750. No 2500 rpm when cold, hang for 5 seconds then drop to normal. When I put it in reverse to back out, the car would die. That is gone too. So both the OEM junk yard and RockAuto (old purchase) IAC's where crap and the cause of many of my issues.

If you don't believe using the wrong cleaning fluid on an IAC will ruin it, try it sometime. I hope your IAC won't go to shitz like mine did. That was the RockAuto one that basically broke after using brake cleaner to clean it out.

I used a new gasket and torqued the bolts to spec on the new IAC. Torque is 7 ft/lbs on the bolts.

 

[1997ThunderbirdLXV6]

Sounds great!

 

[KevinVarnes]

What brand IAC are you purchasing from RockAuto?

 

[White Lincoln]

What brand IAC are you purchasing from RockAuto?

Hey Kevin,
Funny you should ask. I was debating the one on Amazon that had the Ford part numbers on it and the one on RockAuto that was from somewhere in China I am sure. I have a hard time getting a Motorcraft one at $100 and it may be the same as the one I buy from RockAuto.

WELLS VEHICLE ELECTRONICS 4J1024 Idle Air Control (IAC) Valve $ 55.79

 

[1997ThunderbirdLXV6]

The E-Series Van with the V6 uses the same IAC, and Rockauto still has the Motorcraft branded one for that I think.

 

[1997ThunderbirdLXV6]

The E-Series Van with the V6 uses the same IAC, and Rockauto still has the Motorcraft branded one for that I think.

I'm going to qualify my statement in saying that I'm unable to retrace how I figured this out.

Iirc, Rockauto didn't offer Motorcraft for my '97 V6; however, one of the off-brand part numbers was also suitable for the E-Series van. Then, searching the section for the van, I saw the Motorcraft part available. The Motorcraft part number doesn't match the MN12 spec though.

In practice, I never purchased a new part. I purchased a junkyard unit from a '99 E-Series van which looked exactly like my stock unit, installed it, and used it without issue for several months. YMMV.

 

[KevinVarnes]

RockAuto lists a Motorcraft IAC for $63. I wouldn't assume a "Motorcraft" part from Amazon is actually a Motorcraft part. This valve had a lot of different applications (E-Series, F-Series, Mustang, Taurus, etc.).

 

[1997ThunderbirdLXV6]

. This valve had a lot of different applications (E-Series, F-Series, Mustang, Taurus, etc.).

Yes, but in reality, there are some differences in the orientation of the connector. I compared the F150 with the E150 IAC (both 4.2 V6) in the junkyard. Although they should have been identical, only the van had the connector pointing sideways like on the Thunderbird.