ford focus reving high

[ford26]

i have a 2.0l mk1 ford focus that is revving high at idle. during warm up it idle around 1500rpm. once warm if i rev it up it take a lot longer for the rpm's to go down. if i drive it the rpm goes up to around 3000 whe i stop. i have notice if i slip it into neutral while moving the rpm drops to around 1500 and will pick up while braking to 3000 when stoped, this is with it in neutral with the clutch up. it will do the same if i come to a stop normally when it is either put into neutral or in gear with the clutch down. my initial thought is the idle air controll valve is bunged up or faulty. however the idle air controll valve is not easy to remove on this model. according to the manual it is located / mounted on the inside of the inlet manifold. my other thought is that it might be best to get a diagnostics done before removing anything as the problem could be caused by a number of things relating to the ECU, purge valve, throttle position sensor etc...........

 

[Mursal]

The fault codes would be handy. Try spraying carburetor cleaner into the suspect valve where it is. You will have to take the inlet pipes off.
Also check for loss of inlet manifold vacuum from leaks, cracks in the vacuum pipes coming from the manifold. sometimes the crankcase/sump ventilation valve can stick causing this problem. Try kinking/closing each pipe to see if the revs go back down. But, probably the idle control valve sticking.

Not an easy thing to find/fix

 

[bhm1712]

this is normally the idle air control valve as you have said. There are other causes but id put money on the IACV. If you get underneath the car on a ramp or pit, or axle stands then its very easy to get to. You just look up the back of the block and its about half way up on the bottom of the intake manifold. If i recall its 2 or 3 screws. Not hard to change - If you can get underneath.