To be honest I would, not sure how you found out but either rebuild or replace - don't waste your time on secondhand as you could easily buy one with a problem.

You need to check all your vacuum hoses and intake system.

Problem with the AAV is the little to rare use the car may be getting, condensation etc in the valve, poor filters, other things conspire to fill it with crud, the wax bulb on the bottom of it also gets tired. These engines must be warmed thoroughly - none of this start, move 50 feet stop, no starting without getting it hot basically.

Mine wasn't totally failed but it wasn't properly / fully closing, previous owner had done some stuff to mask the problem so my starts and idle were problematic, I had all kinds of air leaks, many nuts on the inlet manifolds were actually loose, and my throttle linkage adjustments were way out.

 

The easy way is to take the AAV off the engine and put it in a pan of hot water on the stove. Cold, the inlet passage should be open, and as it warms you should be able to see the piston move up and close off the air passage. If it doesn't, the AAV isn't working properly.

 

But don't boil !! .,..

Measure the temperature, placing in boiling water could damage the wax bulb

 

FWIW I threw mine over the hedge and dreamed up a simple alternate system...which I describe later if you're interested.

Cheers
DD

 

Likewise to all mine.

 

I'd be surprised at that. After shutdown the heat soak causes the engine temperature to go well over 100C, especially on a very hot day.

 

That's very doable and safer all around than starter fluid, which my bud's have used in the past. But too much can go wrong for me on my baby!
Thanks for the great explation