I noticed you said to not get any overspray on the plenum. Though since it will be dirty, should I just wipe it with a clean rag or towel? Anyone have any input on this?

 

He actually states to "not spray the cleaner into the plenum!"
Just spray some of the cleaner on a cloth and then clean the plenum with it.
Mine was not that dirty, the main area is the throttle bodies....

 

I have an 09 g37s coupe. All stock except for k and n air filters. When I was changing spark plugs notice that throttle bodies where super dirty. Followed these instructions and it took me less than an hour to clean both and have everything put back together. I also reset the ECU so that it can get readings from the cleaned up parts instead of the dirty parts. At first it idled at 2k rpms but I let the car sit idling and after a couple minutes it dropped below 1k and sounds really clean. Gear transitions are super smooth now. I suggest resetting the ECU after doing the throttle body cleaning. Thanx for the help!!!!

 

This was very helpful.
The whole process was easy and quick. Noting to it. I was easily able to remove, clean and replace my TBs no problem at all. I cleaned my MAFs as well... Using MAF cleaner NOT TB cleaner. In fact the TB cleaner can specifically says do not use on MAFs.

I also did an ECU reset . I had no problem with Idle and did not have to remove the battery terminal.

Big thanks!












By the way, it is really helpful to have the right tools. Make sure to have a hex driver socket and a flexible driver link... then you can get at the lower throttle body bolts with a ratchet with zero trouble.

 

^^Doesn't look too dirty. How many miles since the last cleaning?

 

It didn't seem very dirty to me either. But I was installing new intakes so while I was down there I figured why not.

Besides, since most of the much accumulates on the inside, it's difficult to tell how dirty they are unless you take them off.

The car had ~34kmi on it at the time of the cleaning.

 

***WARNING THIS DIY WILL DAMAGE THE ACTUATOR AND THROTLLE BODY POSITION SENSOR***

I've just been informed that the actuator in my car has been damaged due to improper cleaning. Do not try to push the butterfly valve open because then you will break the actuator and the angles of the valves won't be identical and you will ruin performance and air intake. I was also informed that the motor needs to be off and the gear in drive and you must floor the pedal for a few seconds to lock the valves open which will give you proper acces to the valve and allow easy cleanup without damaging the actuator and making sure the valve positioning remains identical. This DIY is great at showing you how to clean it and remove it but you need to make sure the valve is set to open before you begin removing the throttle body and cleaning it because pushing around the valve will likely damage it.

 

Any comments on the above from those who have done this already?

 

Well so far there are several people (including me) who posted they cleaned their TBs without encountering this problem.

However the risk described does not seem far fetched.
The question is how likely it actually is.

Was the Mech' simply protecting his own interests, deflecting the cause of the damage, or demonstrating and over abundance of caution?

Hard to say without examining the internal construction of the TB.
Perhaps the FSM has some info on cleaning the TB other than just removing it?

Either way, IIRC the OP and others here did mention to be as gentle as possible when opening and closing the TB valve.


If this is all it takes to open the valve, then I see no problem with doing that step as a precaution. I'd rather have it open so I can get at it than hold it open with one finger while cleaning it.

If this temporarily locks the valve open then its a great tip in itself.
Can anyone confirm this function?

 

Thanx for this.. just did mine a little past 80k miles.. they weren't too bad, but they nice and shiny now.

 

I seriously need to find the time to get this DIY done!

 

If I understand you correctly,
with the ignition off (or on),
place the car in drive (not sure how to do this w/o ignition on)
hold the accelerator at WOT for ~5 sec
this will result in the throttle body valve will staying in the WOT position?

I hope this is a correct understanding.
How do manual cars accomplish this?

 

Ok, I can confirm that, with the ignition OFF, if you hold the the gas pedal at WOT (doesn't have to be at WOT) the valves will open. However, keeping the pedal at WOT ~5 sec and then releasing the pedal will not keep the valves open once the pedal is released. I even tried holding it for 10 sec. The only way I see doing this is to clean as much dirt out as possible beforehand and then have a wooden stick on the pedal while you clean the rest of the dirt out with the valves open. Question: holding the pedal to the metal will NOT keep my fuel pump pumping fuel inside the cylinders, will it?? Please advise

 

Reporting back. Had a buddy hold down gas pedal while I cleaned. Lots of dirt removed. Replaced spark plugs while I was at it. No problems starting the engine and no codes. Felt like a few very mild 'kicks' when my automatic transmission shifted gears for the first couple of miles, but then everything was normal. Engine idles around 800 just like it was before and no more rpm drops while idling at a traffic light! Success!

 

According to "fordtechmakuloco" if the TB is active/live, there's a chance that it could close/open suddenly and chop off a finger.

fordtechmakuloco: Ford Tech that posts videos on youtube.