idle wont slow down to shift

[festy90]

my dads carborated 1989 festiva has been having some issues with idle. when he pushes on the clutch to shift gears the idle doesnt slow down like its supposed to in order to be able to shift. hes almost been rearended several times because its taken so long for the idle to come down enough. does anyone know what might cause this and how to fix it? hes been a mechanic for years, but doesnt know much about festivas and is a bit stumped with this one.

[Festy46]

Check the secondary throttle shaft to make sure it works freely and closes at idle. There should also be a small spring holding it closed (I think, it's been a while since I worked on one). If you can duplicate the problem with the car parked (rev up and not return to idle), have one person forcibly hold the secondary throttle closed while you rev the motor. If it returns to idle immediately, you've found your problem.

[wybnrml]

Is it a problem with the Vac Advance on the distributor, like a hole in the diaphram inside it?

[FB71]

high idle is also indicative of an intake vacuum leak.

[WmWatt]

When he pushes the clutch to change gears he should also take his foot off the gas.

It might be a sticky accelerator cable?

There's a 4-hose solenoid on the front left of the carburettor which does something when you take your foot off the gas. I think it's an anti-backfire device. Someone else might know what it does and if it could be a problem. I've had one apart. If it's a problem to fix I'd pull the top two hoses and give it a split second squirt of WD-40 but not before checking with someone knowledgeable.

[festy90]

uh yeah he has a lot more common sense than that lol

[festy90]

ill let him know all your ideas of things to check