Idle issue after head gasket

[ChIoVnIdCa]

Head gasket went
Had head checked out and resurfaced/ cleaned up
Did timing belt, water-pump, tensioner, head gasket, intake manifold gasket, distributor o ring,

Bleed coolant , Car idles at 2k then 500 then 2k then 500 etc..... If I put my finger over the fitv port inside the throttle body the car dies... I have no vacuum leaks or cels..

The mechanical timing is correct.... As far as the ignition timing though I marked the distributor and reinstalled in same position so it is probably pretty close... I need to get a light)

[kronikally420]

when you bled coolant, did it come out of the screw like a volcano? or just barely come out?

i dont know much, but I had this happen to me and I flushed my coolant system to get better flow, because it was barely coming out of the screw and my idle was bouncing similiarly..

rebled the system and it worked. (the water shot up a few inches instead of barely coming out)

i dunno might help, or at least make you laugh

[wed3k]

yea, you gotta rebleed it.

[HondaFan81]

I read your post and you stated you bleed the coolant system, good. It really should not have been difficult to do so and personally I do not see how people can screw it up.

Therefore, we move onto the possibility that you do not have your FITV set properly. The FITV is probably open when engine is both cold and hot. The idle system is trying to compensate, hence the irritatic idling. If you had a constant vacuum leak, it would remain at higher RPMs.

Therefore, get engine completely warmed up to where coolant temperature gauge is about 1/3 from total cold area. Once there, remove top cover or FITV (2 screws) and turn white plastic ring with flat-tip screwdriver CW snug. This will close FITV in engine hot condition, which is should be. The FITV should only be open when engine is cold, to warm the engine up faster.

After FITV adjustment, reset your base idle. Check DIY sticky section for base idle setting procedure.

Report back your results please.

Note: Honda headgaskets do not just fail. They are mult-layered steel and a high quality product. Did you ever investigate what CAUSED the failure? That needs to be fixed, otherwise the problem could occur again. Usually it is from engine overheating due to some coolant system related component failure and lack of engine observation from owner.