I have a 97 1.8TQM, so its the drive by cable. I cleaned out the throttle body (there was alot of junk in there i might add), but now the car idles funny. When I start it, it idles really high, near 2k rpms, then drops back down to about 900. When I'm driving and I press in the clutch, it does the same thing, jumps up to 2k rpms, then down to near 1k, then up to 1.5k. My coolant temp guage wasn't working so I changed the sensor, I heard that was supposed to help but it didn't. I also did a TBA, but that didn't help either (I tried both ways: not pressing the gas at all, and I also tried flooring it). Any help would be much appreciated, thanks.

 

Do a throttle boddy reset, its got a different airflow now so its all confused, look up the reset and try it. Should take care of it.

 

Sounds like it still needs the tba?

It almost sounds like the cable is sticking a little or something.

Try spraying the linkage off, leave the hood open, turn the key to on position, and look at the cable/linkage. You should see it moving around and adjusting the throttle.

Also, look closely and make sure you have all the hoses tight (smic to tb), because an air leak may cause those symptoms.

 

He has a dbc and not dbw. Dont think you can align those like a dbw car.

 

I know he is dbc.
I have the same car.
You turn the key to the on position, and leave it there, it adjusts the throttle body automatically. You can stand there and watch it.