Throttle Body Questions

[G Stone]

So I am finally thinking of cleaning my throttle body. It seems pretty simple but I have a couple questions:

1. Accelerator Cable - I have a Haynes Manual and it says that I need to disconnect the accelerator cable from inside the car down by the firewall near the gas pedal. How hard is this? Does anyone have any tips on this? What worries me is it says I have to pull the cable through a groment in the firewall. Is it easy to get the cable back in through the groment to reinstall? Is it easy to adjust the cable?

2. Cleaning - What exactly do I use to clean the throttle body? I have heard of throttle body cleaner and I will pick up a can of that but is there anything else I should do?

3. Gasket - It also says in the Haynes Manual that a new throttle body gasket needs to be put on after cleaning. How much do these cost?

Anyone who has any links to a common thread or FAQ please post them! As we all know, this search engine doesn't seem to work too well. Thanks!

[cajun]

I cleaned my 2.3L's TB a few months ago. Hopefully one of the V6 owners can chime in on your questions.

1. On the 2.3L you simply disconnect the accel and cruise cables at the TB itself. No need to adjust either one after putting them back on. Maybe that's another way to do it with the V6?
2. I just used throttle body cleaner from an auto chain. Spray it in, wipe it out, repeat. That's all it took to get mine clean, and it was pretty filthy. You also MAY need to clean off your old gasket. When I removed the TB half the gasket was stuck to each surface, so it took time to scrape every little piece off.
3. My OEM gasket was ~$3 from one of the online Honda dealers.

Good luck.

[DonutLimo]

1. No you can easily remove the cable at the TB. you may have to loosen and lift the adjusters out of the mount to get slack. When you reassemble, make sure there is a whisker of cable slack in both the throttle and cruise cables so the throttle closes completely every time.

2. Or carb cleaner, probably the same thing. It will take that stuff right off! You probably know but be careful with the idle air control openings. If they ingest something they don't like, good chance it will stick, swell, jam, whatever.

3. There are 2, you may only need one and mine ripped so for the $2-3 you should be ready.

[G Stone]

Awesome advice guys! Thanks for the help. I will keep you posted with probably more questions as I start this project. What did you use to plug the lines and did you lose any antifreeze while you did this?

[DonutLimo]

I'm pretty sure I maneuvered the TB easily enough for cleaning without taking the coolant lines off. Back to the cable disconnect- you might be able to get enough slack twisting the throttle plate by hand and not need to touch the adjusters. You might get it without touching that. I also taped the IACV holes before i sprayed anything to make sure nothing got in there- something that's debatable. I've heard of people using simple green in the IACV with no problems but I still think you're playing with fire from everything else i've heard.

[Bruce Hawkins]

Some people just clean it on the car. Make sure no (very little) cleaner get in the IACV.
Were gloves, soak cleaner on rag, wipe TB, TB blade (inside/outside (hold TB open clean back side. Use an old tooth brush (don't reuse!), etc. Repeat, repeat, till no filth can be seen....
If the TB cleaner (dont use carb cleaner), get inside the idle air control valve (IACV), it may malfunction, and is not reparable, you have to replace it, and its expensive!

[cajun]

Originally Posted by G Stone

Awesome advice guys! Thanks for the help. I will keep you posted with probably more questions as I start this project. What did you use to plug the lines and did you lose any antifreeze while you did this?

Again, I'm talking about my 2.3L, but I was able to easily turn the TB enough for cleaning with all coolant lines installed. Shove a rag in your intake so you don't get any gasket fragments in it as you're scraping.

[nehonda]

My TB cleaning is also limited to 2.3s, but I have cleaned it two ways. By unbolting the TB but leaving the coolant hoses in place and the other way by simply blocking the throttle full open and cleaning it in place. Removal probably does a better job, but is more work. I use TB cleaner and an old toothbrush to scrub the surfaces good. When Im finished wiping it out with a towel I use a shop vac with a 1/2" hose extension to **** out any residual puddles of cleaner/gunk in the intake and also remove any bits of towel that may have gotten in there.

[G Stone]

Thanks for all the info. I am pretty sure I will unbolt the TB and leave the hoses clamped on since apparently that can be done. I was under the impression at first that I was going to have to take off the coolant lines and unbolt the TB and physically take it off the car to clean it. I am glad that is not the case. Does the toothbrush do a good job or would a wire brush work better? I am planning on doing this next weekend if everything goes according to plan. How much does the TB cleaner run? I am guessing about $3?

Also, after this cleaning is done, have you felt increased throttle response? I am hoping for smoother acceleration after this is done. As we all know, with a dirty TB these cars can get herky jerky.

[cajun]

I didn't use a brush at all. I sprayed, let it sit for a few secs and then wiped it out. Doing this a couple of time had mine looking clean. Yes, TB cleaner is about $3 at the auto chains.

Maybe wishful thinking, but to me it seemed like the car had a little more jump to it with a lighter touch of the pedal.

[nehonda]

I would not recommend a wire brush for a couple of reasons. First the clearance between the throttle plate and body are very small and a wire brush might change it slightly as the metals are rather soft (Alum & Brass). The second reason is a piece of the wire brush might get lost inside the manifold and get ****ed into the engine. A stiff toothbrush works just fine.

Good Luck

[Bruce Hawkins]

Bottom line: TB cleaning is an undocumented required service, on most FI cars every, ~15 to 30K miles...

[G Stone]

I have completed the throttle body cleaning!

Here is what I learned:

1. It was a pain in the arse! Getting the throttle body off with all the hoses attached was a bit of an adventure but not too hard. The hard part came with dealing with the gasket. It was MELTED on to the throttle body. I kid you not. One would have thought someone superglued it on. It would not budge. I picked off some small pieces but then I had to get out a big flat head screwdriver and scrap it off. I would spray TB cleaner on it and scrap. Repeat about 150 times and I finally got it off. Not the way I had envisioned doing it but it was the only way.

2. There was quite a bit of black carbon gunk by the throttle body plate. Sprayed it with TB, used a toothbrush to brush it out, wiped it with a rag and it was clean. That part of the cleaning only took about 10 minutes.

3. The TB bolt on the backside of the TB is difficult to remove and even more difficult to put back. Doesn't help that I have crappy ratchet.

4. I bought 2 gaskets but only changed out the 1. I saw where the other TB gasket was located and I had an idea of how to get to it but wasn't too keen on removing more things and adding to my project. Has anyone actually replaced both gaskets? If so how do you get to the second one?

5. Took the car for a short test drive and it seemed (maybe wishful thinking) to indeed have a little more umph to it. I noticed smooth acceleration with a lighter touch of the gas pedal. Could be all in my head too but I feel good about getting this needed maintenance done. Total time it took me was between 2 - 2.5 hours.

Much appreciation goes out to everyone that posted. You guys made this task a lot easier!

[cajun]

Big congrats on the job. I used every curse word I could think of while scraping off every tiny little piece of gasket.

[Bruce Hawkins]

Originally Posted by cajun

Big congrats on the job. I used every curse word I could think of while scraping off every tiny little piece of gasket.

Join the club. And I thought it was just me.