On Southbound I35W just north of Ft. Worth at the 820 interchange which is under just a bit of construction...

I slow down for traffic, and everything just starts rattling! I see this wrench on my display... well that's new. Rolling start, so I push it into 2nd, and let the clutch out and nearly stall as I roll onto the accelerator because the accelerator doesn't do a damn thing. I was just thinking how amazing this pickup was running... peppy, responsive, smooth!!

...I guess this is limp mode. ...on I35... with no shoulders and no exits... ...in the fast lane. Why am I in limp mode?! Temp? okay... Oil Pressure? okay... Alternator? Voltage, good...

It seems I'm limited to about 1,200 RPM... Hey, here is one of those advantages of driving a stick... 1,200 RPM in overdrive is still about 50 mph! I'm not quite going to die! ...just make a lot of people really really mad.

First exit I get to, I pull off, find a parking lot, and shut her down. No fluids leaking... coolant level is good... oil level is good... Nothing looks out of place... okay, lets see if she cranks and goes back into limp mode...

yep...
nope... full power! Damn... All I had to do was clutch, cycle the ignition, and roll on... oh well.

I get to talking to the Ford techs at the dealership at my destination and they say, "there are only two reasons that wrench comes on. The first is the transmission, but you have a manual which can't throw it. The other is the throttle body." Hey! Two perks in one day for driving a stick! Does Ford know this? It sure isn't helping me reconsider buying an automatic... EVER.


$250 later on Amazon, and a new throttle body is ready to go in when the gasket arrives.

 

Why not just clean the throttle body instead of buying new

 

Because it's likely caused by bad data coming from the throttle position sensor. Eight years of hot/cold cycles will wear a sensor out. The TPS is part of the throttle body, and not the easiest thing to remove. $110 on it's own, and you might as well just get a whole new throttle body.

8 years is the limit that Ford makes parts for vehicles. Which is where I am... I'll still be able to find parts that were left unused on dealers' shelves for a while, but eventually those will disappear and aftermarket OE will be the only option. Some things are worth having extras. I'll eventually be able to go through and clean up the original TB, replace the bushings and put a new TPS on it, then wrap it in plastic and hold on to it for the next 120,000 miles.

 

I was just curious I clean them all the time and it does wonders on most high mileage trucks and cars. �

 

Do they have electronic throttle bodies? You can clean the throttle bodies and they will work fine.

The problem comes when the electronics - often the TPS that is built into the electronic throttle body - have problems.

 

Also...

clean what?

it is literally nothing more than a butterfly valve in cast aluminum, a position sensor, and a rotary actuator...

Are you thinking Throttle Body Injection (TBI)? These engines are not TBI. They are port injection. The throttle body, true to its name, does nothing more than throttle air. The only two ways for it to malfunction are 1) physically, which would mean a leak, and 2) electronically, which means either the position of the throttle is unknown, or the actuator is not moving the throttle as requested.