Okay I need help trying to find the reason why my engine is idling high. I probably made a mistake by washing the engine. Because since then it idles high. Can someone tell me why.

All I did was change oil, flushed out cooling system and replaced thermometer and the housing, and washed the engine. After washing it I turned it on and it was idling high I took it around the block and it was still doing it. I turned off and then wouldn't turn back on do to water in the distributor, so I dried it and now it starts but still idles high.

 

You may have gotten water in your idle air valve. It's the large metal canister bolted near on the throttle body with a wire coming out of it.

Take it off, and see if the plunger inside still moves freely.

 

Okay i have it off what do I use to see if it moves without damaging it?

 

look for broken vacuum lines. If you have the original lines, they can be brittle and break when old. That will cause a high idle.

 

Sometimes when you wash the engine bay you will then let the smoke out of the PCM.
That will cause the high idle too.

 

Inside there is a shaft that moves back and forth with a plunger in the middle. Just stick a flat head screw driver in there and start wiggling an see i it moves.

 

A diagram of the IAC shamelessly stolen from the Old Fuel Injection Technical Library: