BMW Repair: erratic idle, vacuum leaks, bimmer

Question
1987 bimmer 325 engine has an awful erratic idle! it goes from normal all the way to approx. 1600 rpm. what is causing this?  

Answer
Jonathan I would clean the ICV (Idle Control Valve, located on the back of the intake manifold (325e/325).  Remove it and spray it out with some carb/choke cleaner.  if this doesn't help, try checking for vacuum leaks.  Take some starting fluid and spray around any vacuum hoses, if you hear the engine idle up while this is happening, you should fix the leak where you sprayed the starting fluid.

 Hope this helps,
 Josh