ACIS-Valve problems

[SolAraB]

Hey everyone, yea another one of my posts asking for help........

I have searched around and cant seem to find anything about this or anyone that has encountered this problem. Well as we all now with our Solaras there is a little butterfly valve that opens (or closes i forget) at about 3700 to 3800 rpms. Well i have kinda noticed that my car has lost a lot of top end within the last couple of months, but i figured it was time to change my cone filter or whatever. but actually i remember that looking under the hood from the passenger side you can see the little "arm" that opens the valve, this little arm moves only at 3700 rpms. So lets say if you revved the car up you would see the little arm move but it would move back to its place when you let go.

Here is where my problem is......... My arm doesnt go back where it supposed to go anymore......... after moving when the car is revved it just sticks. i dont feel the little bump at 3700 rpms and i feel like i lost a ton of power in the top end... What do you guys think this is?


(P.S. pics will be added soon)

[gnegroni]

I don't know much about the ACIS valve, but if its open, wouldn't you be getting more power in the bottom end? Maybe that's why u don't feel the "bump" at 3700rpm?

[Eye8Pussies]

there are bolts on the acis side of the plenum, unbolt it and clean the carbon out since that's what's probably making it stick

[SolAraB]

thnx for the post guys. ^^^^^^^ i have actually cleaned not too long ago for that reason........ but it turns out that wasnt the problem. i went to autozone today and talked to one of the guys and he seemed pretty good and knew what he was talking about. what was pissing me off is one of my coils keeps corroding..........but i think i know what the problem is there.. but as far as my ACIS goes.........i think the problem lies within the Actuator connected to the arm that opens and closes the valve. with my car having 170000 miles on it i think that the actuator which is supposed to move the arm back and forth has gone bad. Problem is i also think that this is a dealer item..............any ideas??

[Eye8Pussies]

check a junkyard

and yeah, a pretty good chance that the actuator is getting stuck after all these years as well. another possibility is that the vacuum hoses may be getting older and collapsing under the vacuum pressure- this is rare, but possible

[SolAraB]

So.......sorry to bring this thread back up, but i figured it would be better than to make a whole new thread with similar contents. A little update on the ACIS valve i have fixed it, one the hoses was slit big time dont know how i missed that but anyways i am still having the check engine light saying that my car is running lean. The idle seems fine but at time its starts to get a bit rough just a bit. But the two major things i notice are 1. sometimes when im driving ill let off the gas and will hear a sort of blow off sound, or high pitched whistle.....2. between 2500 and 3500 rpms in second gear i hear a snoring kind of sound when i am pushing it it WOT. Eye8pussies you have a been a great help in steering me to the vacuum hose leak direction......but it is becoming so dam hard to find it........and i think that the snoring is the car misfiring due to it running lean.

And another thing is that while all of this is going on one of my ignition coils keeps corroding........for now i have cleaned it with coca cola and after drying it i put anti-corrosion grease on it and it is good......but why in the hell would it keep doing that?

Please help.

2000 Solara V6 1mz-fe

[Sebas007]

I'm throwing this randomly (almost)

If it running lean, there is 2 reasons I can see

1 - Too much air
2 - Not enough fuel

Did you check your fuel system...injector, fuel pump those kind of things ?

[Eye8Pussies]

^ basically, those are the two most likely culprits- unless of course there's something wrong with the o2 sensors.

but since you describe a rough idle at times, that may not be the case.

also, the sound that you hear can be a vacuum leak...I had one before that was pretty big because my brake booster line wasn't seated correctly, and it would whistle all the time....it was cool....except that my brakes wouldn't always work then lol.


I would first check for vacuum leaks- the best way of doing so is by having the car idling (at warm idle) and then spraying throttlebody/carb cleaner around your engine bay- pay attention to where there are gaskets and vacuum hosing. If there is a vacuum leak, the revs will go up, since the throttlebody cleaner acts as fuel and gets sucked in.

another possibility are your injectors...but while they're ON the car, it's very hard to check them. You can try pressurized using fuel cleaner (not just the addititve in the tank) and see if that helps solve the problem.

[SolAraB]

I'm throwing this randomly (almost)

If it running lean, there is 2 reasons I can see

1 - Too much air
2 - Not enough fuel

Did you check your fuel system...injector, fuel pump those kind of things ?

I usually use premium gas and use fuel injector cleaners regularly....i will check the other things listed. Thanks for the reply Sebas your advice has been noted

also, the sound that you hear can be a vacuum leak...I had one before that was pretty big because my brake booster line wasn't seated correctly, and it would whistle all the time....it was cool....except that my brakes wouldn't always work then lol

LOL! dude you are awesome that is hilarious. Funnier thing about it is that might be where my problem is cause when i seafoamed the 'lara i think i was so excited about the smoke that i didnt pay attention to whether i put the hose back on all the way........god i feel like a dummy i hope thats the case though.......cause i do hear the whistling and my brakes work but they squeak at times when im not even touching the brake pedal......i have a day off tomorrow so i will check that the pads and the rotors and will make sure the pads arent having uneven ware. Thnx a lot fellas!!!

[SolAraB]

so a little update.....i tried changing the fuel filter and was not successful. Actually it was a pain in the ass.......i took off the top hose and plugged it so no gas would spill......then when i got to the bottom one with the nut it was impossible. I DID SEARCH and i read midias' tutorial but mine isnt rusted it is just tough.......so now im debating of whether i should find a kit like the one Midias has and just cut the pipe or try again another time from a different angle........what a BITCH