Proven Ford idle (fidle) valve that works!

[jesse408]

I did some testing with factory Ford idle valves this week.
The first 2 I tested did not work properly. These 2 had a small spring inside holding them open at idle and they were very noisy.
When vacuum was applied, they sort of worked, but were not consistent. On a boosted application, the default open valve position was unacceptable to say the least.
After lots of searching, I found a Ford idle valve that works exactly the way it should and operates very quietly.
Go to a scrap yard and pull one from a 1987 Ford Mustang LX or order it from your local auto parts store.
For those getting frustrated trying to find one that works, This one does!
No one to my knowledge has posted a part number for a compatable Fidle valve.
The one I have here has no internal spring and is made by Borg Warner.
The part number is BWD21762.
Hope this helps someone.

[ashford]

ford made a pile of different ones because they are physically tuned per engine. engine size, vacuum at idle, plenum size affect this. one i have seen to work well with cammed 5.0s is from a 3.0 v6, i helps idle surge considerably. also one from a 99up 3.8 is sprung closed quite tightly and has a more linear approach more like a stepper motor.

[jesse408]

Thanks for sharing. I may look into the 99 and up 3.8 style also just out of curiosity.

[Rickster]

Just a heads up. The ford valves with the long canister that screws to the housing can be removed, and the rod shortened slightly to allow the valve to close all the way. The rod sticks out past the flange a bit allowing you to hit the end of the rod with a grinder. This worked wonders for me. Now my valve goes fully opened and closed.

Rick