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'Floating' idle normal?

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YOUR RESEARCH'Floating' idle normal?

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Check vacuum hoses

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Suggestion
Although a vacuum leak should cause the idle to jump around a greater amount, check all the vacuum lines to be sure they are tight and not cracked.
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'Floating' idle normal?

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Leading evidence: 'Check vacuum hoses' (no explicit attributable resolution; this is a reported action or suggestion). Across 1 matching discussions, The most frequently discussed action is 'Check vacuum hoses' (1 discussions). For that action, 0 discussions report a resolution and 0 report an unsuccessful attempt. No action has an explicit, attributable resolution report under the current rules. These are forum reports and suggestions, not a confirmed diagnosis.

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Clean throttle body

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Suggestion
Try cleaning the throttle body and change you air filter if needed.
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'Floating' idle normal?

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Check vacuum hoses

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Reported fixes: 0
Unsuccessful attempts: 1
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Suggestion
Although a vacuum leak should cause the idle to jump around a greater amount, check all the vacuum lines to be sure they are tight and not cracked.
Original post Read captured discussion
'Floating' idle normal?

Clean throttle body

No successful repair reported for this finding.

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Reported fixes: 0
Unsuccessful attempts: 1
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Discussions that contain suggestions: 1

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Suggestion
Try cleaning the throttle body and change you air filter if needed.
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'Floating' idle normal?

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POST 1 / ORIGINAL POSTEROriginal post

Hey guys, I bought a 2001 996 back in August and shortly thereafter noticed what is best described as a 'floating' idle. The warm idle RPMs sit around 800 (the first dash south of 1k) but every few seconds they gradually move up and down slightly -- by around 25-50 RPM or so. It doesn't matter if the HVAC is on or off, same problem (although when off it floats around 700 or so). I can also hear slight changes in the engine note as this is going on. Otherwise, the car runs great. I've sat in a coworker's '00 996 as it was idling and I'm not really sure if it does this, although the idle RPMs do seem to float ever so slightly (maybe 10 RPM or so?). I also didn't notice this on the other cars when I was shopping around, but then again I didn't notice it on my 911 until after I had bought it. I've also mentioned idling issues to the guys at the local dealership and they said they didn't find anything wrong. My buddy seems to think this may be normal for a high-performance engine -- trouble breathing at low RPMs since they aren't really tuned for that. Anyway, the obvious question here is is this something that 911s do normally? If it isn't, what are the likely culprits / fixes? Thanks for your insight!

POST 2Original post

Idle should be solid as a rock. However, your idle is not varying that much and is probably not an indication of a performance problem. Try cleaning the throttle body and change you air filter if needed. With all the sensors on this engine, any one of them could be slightly out of spec and be causing this, but it doesn't sound like it will effect the drivabability of the car. Although a vacuum leak should cause the idle to jump around a greater amount, check all the vacuum lines to be sure they are tight and not cracked. Also make sure you oil cap is on tight.

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