Vacuum leak?

[swdavis78]

I have a 2001 Chevy Tahoe that I purchased used last year. It has low miles given it's age (less than 65k) and has been a great vehicle. However, lately it's started to have a very rough idle. Sometimes turning off the A/C fixes the problem. What happens is when I idle at a red light or in a parking lot the RPMs drop to about 500 and the A/C kicks on and off and the idle is very rough. From time to time it will die but usually just idles rough.

I took it to an ASE certified mechanic last month and he said it was probably a vacuum leak. But he didn't want to fix it telling me to drive it like that as long as I could stand it. He said fixing it would require trying this or that until they found the problem.

It's honestly very irritating. It's to the point now that I have to remember to turn off the A/C at red lights and when I'm backing out of a parking space just so it won't die on me. I'd like to get it fixed ASAP. My question is does his diagnosis sound reasonable? Should I be prepared for a lengthy "try this or try that" approach? Or does this sound like something one of you guys has experienced that I may be able to tell them what to check specifically?

Thanks for any advice.

 

[shadow]

Another member had a variable idle problem and fixed it by cleaning the throttle body real well.

If you search for it on the forum, you should be able to find that thread.

 

[jey_]

Yeah start with the easy stuff - when was the last time you replaced your air filter? What about other periodic service items, like spark plugs? How is your fuel economy?

 

[swdavis78]

Yeah start with the easy stuff - when was the last time you replaced your air filter? What about other periodic service items, like spark plugs? How is your fuel economy?

Working on a car isn't something I feel comfortable doing but yes the tech who looked at it checked the plugs and the air filter was replaced recently. Compared to the suggested MPG I get about the average so that's fine.

I found the post mentioned in the previous reply and printed it out. I'll take that to a guy I trust and see if that could be it.

Thanks for the help and if anyone else has suggestions please pass them along.