weird stuff happening at idle

I just noticed a little while ago that my idle is acting funny, it stays at around 750 rpms and then it will dip down real quick to around 400 rpms and it happens every few seconds, its almost like its misfiring but i would figure it would be happening on regular intervals, I have also felt my car surging alot when trying to increase acceleration, but i have been assuming its a slipping clutch, could these 2 things be linked and if so what could it be, nothing has changed to make something like this happen

Man, could be a lot of things.

Done a tuneup recently?

Distributor cap/rotor
Fuel filter
Air filter
Oil change
Maybe EACV or FITV
Spark plugs
Plug wires
etc etc

Edit I would suggest searching, there are a lot of posts about strange idles and tuneup procedures.

plugs cap fuel filter air filter all are in good shape, it literally just started the idle thing tonight. its not the kind of thing i would expect from an ignition problem like that, but im not sure

could it maybe be my ignitor or my coil?

fixed it, first i reset the ecu, that did nothing, so then i changed the plug wires and re adjusted the throttle cable and now its fine, i just feel like an ass cause i thought the jerking was the clutch slipping and catching, oh well, got a new one on the way anyways

Good to hear it’s fixed, the reason I didn’t think it was clutch related was the “surging”. In my experiences with the 2 clutches I’ve had go bad on me, it’s never caused surging, just constant linear slipping.

Mines doing the samething. It’s even worse when I turn the A/C on. I will pick up a set of wires next payday since I have a new fuel filter, plugs and air filter.
You said that you adjusted the throttle cable. In what way? Was it loose and you took the slack out?
Thanks!

The throttle cable is supposed to have some slack – there are specifications in the manuals for exactly how much freeplay it is supposed to have. A mechanic once told me that the TPS (Throttle Position Sensor) is not adjustable on our cars, so I guess the throttle cable adjustment has to be aligned with the presets of the TPS to work properly.

Mine does the same.

I am going to buy some Moroso spark plugs wires next week.

I have some Niehoff wires (Canadian Tire brand) and i think those ones suck as hell…that’s why i believe my problems are caused by those f*** wires…anyways.

I know my cap and rotor is new but the wires are fairly old. They where red but now look more black, LOL!!!
I checked my idle screw and the yellow paint mark is still at the factory setting.
I’m adjusting my valves tomorrow anyways so I might as well kill 2 birds with one stone.

Here’s the bit about throttle cable adjustment from the manual.

Thanks xep! I checked mine out and it’s inside the limits.

Thanks for the pic xep. Interesting.