My car is a 1988 Volvo 244 DL with 233k miles on it. This just started happening last night out of the blue. Any advice on where to look for a problem would be much appreciated. Anyway, when I put the car in park, the idle slowly but gradually climbs as if a ghost was pressing the gas pedal. I have given it gas to see if it brings the RPMs down, which it does, but then they begin to climb again. It seems to run fine in drive and reverse. Can anyone point me in the right direction? Thanks!

Devon

Any hissing under the hood that would indicate a vacuum leak?
Does this slow idle climb continue to happen when the engine is fully warmed up OR just when cold?
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'75 Jeep CJ5 345Hp ChevyPwrd, two motorcycles, '85 Pickup: The '89 Volvo is the newest vehicle I own. it wasn't Volvos safety , it was Longevity that sold me http://home.lyse.net/brox/TonyPage4.html http://cleanflametrap.com/tony/

I've had a similar problem, but it generally only happens when the engine is cold.

I've replaced the IAC valve and cleaned the throttle body recently. Any suggestions?

GoVo

Could be a small Intake manifold gasket. It's letting in a bit more air so it idles up. As the engine warms and expands,the gasket seals. Just a thought.. this has been seen before

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'75 Jeep CJ5 345Hp ChevyPwrd, two motorcycles, '85 Pickup: The '89 Volvo is the newest vehicle I own. it wasn't Volvos safety , it was Longevity that sold me http://home.lyse.net/brox/TonyPage4.html http://cleanflametrap.com/tony/

Thanks for the help guys. Oddly enough, the problem appears to have subsided. It was revving up as the temperature gauge crawled to the center. The temperature had dropped down to about 30 degrees a few nights here and I assume that was causing the symptom. If I have any other run ins with the problem, I'll be sure to hit you guys up!

Thanks.

I would clean the Idle Air Control Valve. T-shaped, cylindrical valve with two 1" rubber air lines and an electrical connector; probably stamped Bosch on the side. It is located under the intake manifold. Remove it and clean with carbuerator cleaner, then re-install. They can go bad but I have never seen one that didn't respond to cleaning.