Throttle Body Cleaning Torque Specs etc.
 

I posted it in the DIY also but just wanted to make this thread so that people searching could find the torque specs and the other tips from the service manual in case they needed it.


Electric throttle control actuator AKA Throttle body.

In studying the service manual (2013) very closely I discovered some things that are not mentioned in the DIY on this forum. That may or may not make a difference in the cleaning of the throttle body and then the associated problems with idle etc.

Note: Normal Idle is 650+-50 so approximately 600 to 700 RPM.

1. Do not disconnect the battery. It does not state to disconnect the battery in the Service Tech Manual. Why I dont know. I speculate that although the power is off the the "electric" throttle control acutuator may still be monitoring/recording the position of the butterfly valves. If it is disconnected it will not monitor it and when you start the car the ECU will not like what it sees. Again this is speculation but the manual does not say to disconnect the battery.

2. When removing the Electric Throttle Control Actuator, DO NOT REMOVE anything connected to it. This includes the two water hoses and the harness connector. Service manual states if you remove the harness you will need to do multiple relearns for the ECU.

3. There is a specific order to loosen and tighten mounting bolts.
Per manual:
-loosen bolts in reverse order as shown in the figure:
-Tighten in numerical order as shown in the figure.
So I suppose that its 4321 and then tightening it back up 1234.


https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.myg...ca84f5cc25.jpg


4. Torque of these bolts is 8.43 FT-LB if you over-tighten or under-tighten could cause an air leak and ECU again will not like what it sees. (make sure your throttle body and rubber O ring is seated properly you know why....)

5. Do yourself a favor and buy a torque wrench and a Hex Bit Socket Set. Or the socket Hex bit metric 5 if you can buy independent. The whole set only costs around 15 bucks and believe me you will use it again.

6. Service manual states you MUST do the following after you clean the electric throttle control actuator inside:

THROTTLE VALVE CLOSED POSITION LEARNING : Description INFOID:0000000008161734
Throttle Valve Closed Position Learning is a function of ECM to learn the fully closed position of the throttle
valve by monitoring the throttle position sensor output signal. It must be performed each time harness connector of electric throttle control actuator or ECM is disconnected or electric throttle control actuator inside is cleaned.

THROTTLE VALVE CLOSED POSITION LEARNING : Special Repair Requirement
INFOID:0000000008161735

WITHOUT CONSULT
1. Start the engine.
NOTE:
Engine coolant temperature is 25°C (77°F) or less before engine starts.
2. Warm up the engine.
NOTE:
Raise engine coolant temperature until it reaches 65°C (149°F) or more.
3. Turn ignition switch OFF and wait at least 10 seconds.
Check that throttle valve moves during the above 10 seconds by confirming the operating sound.
>> END


So the main speculation is should you move the butterfly valve I do not know. It appears that if you follow the DIY video and make sure you do exactly what the service manual states ..above... you should be able to move the butterfly valve and have no problems.

I hope this information helps!

I just did mine earlier today after I saw a few threads talking about it. My car has 67K on it and they were DIRTY or what I consider dirty I guess.

I will say that I DID move the butterfly open several times while cleaning. I tried to be careful with it as much as I could but there was a lot of gunk around the edges of it. So I went to town with some rags/toothbrush. End result was a high idle for 5-10 seconds and then a rock stable 650rpm. I only drove the car around the block so I'm not sure how much it helped but response seemed better.

On the passenger side you could see where there was so much buildup that when the butterfly opened it scraped the gunk backwards.

Before:
Attachment 134810

After.Attachment 134811

Get an inch-lb torque wrench. It's useful for torquing stuff like spark plugs, thermostat,etc.

Nice and snug. Have done this on 4 vq. Not a single issue.

It isn't necessary to remove the throttle bodies to clean them. Also, it's ok to move the throttle plates when you're cleaning. It's also ok to disconnect the negative battery terminal. In fact, it's probably a good idea to do so.

Afterwards, perform the accelerator pedal released position learning, throttle valve closed position learning, and the idle air volume learning. Follow the instructions in the FSM to the letter.

backside gets real dirty too. I would move the butterfly as little as possible.
most definitely disconnect batt.
lastly ive never had to do the peddle dance after a cleaning doing it my way.

I use this one...https://www.harborfreight.com/14-in-...nch-61277.html

get it for even less with a 20% off coupon...has worked great for me

(FYI 8.43 ft lbs is approximately 100in lbs)

The bolts holding down the TB are what, 6 mm, so not too heavy duty. Not sure I'd be using a torque wrench on this. Snug is good IMO. Just make sure to do them in a criss cross pattern.

some people get too technical. just tighten it. its not a big bolt jeez

yeah, thats more than close enough, the reason people try to be precise with this is that they are trying to avoid airflow/vacuum leaks that can cause issues with idle/AF. Its not the precise torque that matters, its just making sure you don't crush the o ring too much (in this case the o ring sits in a recessed groove so its hard to do anyways) the most important thing is really the even installation as Jsolo mentioned, make sure you install them in a criss cross pattern to make sure they install flush/evenly to minimize the potential causing a leak...

usually for small bolts like this I wont bother with a torque wrench unless, like in this case its fit to a gasket but then then its more about being close and even installation with other bolts rather than precise torque

anyways good luck!

Funny, all this back and forth and no one bothered to check if OP wrote it wrong...I just looked and you are correct the 8.43 is Newton Meters in the FSM...thay also convert it it for in/lb, its listed as 75in/lb

There is no reason to remove the throttle bodies to clean them. Carefully manipulate the butterfly by hand so you can clean both sides.

You're going to have to do the "pedal dance" no matter, since the closed position of the butterflies will have changed once the sludge buildup is removed.

Watch Motorvate's videos.

u guys not cleaning the back of the tb plate? i like to remove it to make cleaning easier and more thorough including the flat edge part of the plate

I disconnected my battery, and removed the the TBs to clean. No pedal dance after.

Carefully rotate the butterfly 90 degrees. You have to do that anyway to clean the area where the edge of the butterfly meets the bore of the throttle body.