Cleaning Throttle Body
Thread Starter
3rd Gear Member
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 788
From: Lewisetta, Virginia
Cleaning Throttle Body
How do you folks clean your throttle body? I bought some throttle body cleaner spray from Valvoline. Do you just try to wipe what you can reach or do you remove the throttle body? If you remove it, do you have to buy another gasket for it?
6th Gear Member
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 6,130
From: Honolulu, HI
i havent taken mine off, but others have probly clean it better that way, not sure if you need a new gasket. at least 2x/ year i shoot some carb cleaner down the TB and clean it out that way, i dont wipe it w/ anything, just shoot it down and rev the engine, and it does run smoother after.
3rd Gear Member
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 816
From: Spring, TX
Take off the intake hose, spray in CRC or something similar. with one hand open the throttle butterflies, with the other hand take a rag and wipe down the edges around the butterfly blades. Be sure to go around each circular opening.
Put the hose back on and start her up.
Taking off the throttle body really won't help much.
If you do take the throttle body off, the gasket is reusable. Be sure not to overtighten the bolts as they are going into plastic. We did a write up of a GT500 TB swap that shows pictures of the gasket and such....
Here is the link.
http://forums.bradbarnett.net/showthread.php?t=479976
Put the hose back on and start her up.
Taking off the throttle body really won't help much.
If you do take the throttle body off, the gasket is reusable. Be sure not to overtighten the bolts as they are going into plastic. We did a write up of a GT500 TB swap that shows pictures of the gasket and such....
Here is the link.
http://forums.bradbarnett.net/showthread.php?t=479976
2nd Gear Member
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 401
From: Ohio
Just read an article online from the May, 2001 issue of Popular Mechanics about cleaning a throttle body. There were a couple of interesting things in it.
Sparknotes: Don't use a carb cleaner to clean your throttle body.
Full story: I noticed some of you say you used carb cleaner to clean your TB, so I was kind of surprised when I read this article. Here are a couple of interesting paragraphs:
I'm not saying this article is true or false, because I'm not an expert on throttle bodies or throttle body cleaners, but it does make some sense. The article is also from 2001, so things could have changed.
I do plan on cleaning my throttle body soon, and while common sense says get throttle body cleaner, I noticed some of you using carb cleaner which made me at least think about using that. I'd just hate to use something that could actually be doing more harm than good in the long run.
Maybe someone with more knowledge could chime in on what seemed to be such a simple process at first, haha.
Sparknotes: Don't use a carb cleaner to clean your throttle body.
Full story: I noticed some of you say you used carb cleaner to clean your TB, so I was kind of surprised when I read this article. Here are a couple of interesting paragraphs:
Spray-can carb cleaner may be a little too aggressive for safety--dilute it with gasoline to prevent damage to seals and sensors.
There are three reasons why you have to be careful, both in choice of solvent and in application: First, if the throttle body has a protective coating (as on many Ford products) to reduce the buildup, a strong solvent and hard brushing will remove it, so you'd have to do the job more often. If you see a warning label on a Ford product, that's why.
Second, there may be a sensor tip projecting into a small opening in the area of the throttle plate, and a strong solvent or hard brushing might damage it. In addition, a sensor O-ring seal may be damaged by a strong solvent.
Third, the throttle plate shaft is sealed at the mounting holes in the throttle body to prevent entry of unmeasured air (which would upset the fuel mixture). A strong solvent (and hard brushing) could damage the seals.
Second, there may be a sensor tip projecting into a small opening in the area of the throttle plate, and a strong solvent or hard brushing might damage it. In addition, a sensor O-ring seal may be damaged by a strong solvent.
Third, the throttle plate shaft is sealed at the mounting holes in the throttle body to prevent entry of unmeasured air (which would upset the fuel mixture). A strong solvent (and hard brushing) could damage the seals.
I do plan on cleaning my throttle body soon, and while common sense says get throttle body cleaner, I noticed some of you using carb cleaner which made me at least think about using that. I'd just hate to use something that could actually be doing more harm than good in the long run.
Maybe someone with more knowledge could chime in on what seemed to be such a simple process at first, haha.