How's it going? I've run a search on how to do this, but I just want to know the right way. As far as cleaner is involved, which is it? Brake, carb, etc? What's a good brand out there? Seafoam Deep Creep any good? Now when cleaning the throttle body and even the lower intake, do I just spray until all the carbon deposits dissappear? I've read of some people using pipe cleaners and toothbrushes without any problems, but then some say this is a very bad idea because of the special coating. Which is it? Can the gasket be reused or should I buy a new one? I think that's it. Didn't want to ruin anything you know. Thanks.

 

I have used BG throttle body intake cleaner for about 10 years with no problems. It is safe for the coating and will not harm electronic components. Many dealerships use this and will sell it to you. If not, just search the web for BG products and their office will advise you of where you can purchase their products.

 

And I just spray it on liberally until all the deposits have gone? No toothbrushes or abrasives?

 

When I cleaned mine, I just got some carb cleaner from pepboys. I then took my entire throttl body off and cleaned the backside of the butterfly by spraying a ton of the cleaner on it and rubbing it with a clean rag for the job. After that, I sprayed some more carb cleaner on the rag, then wiped the elbow behind throttle body clean. I used the entire can of spray cleaner, and now everything is clean, and no problems. ANy more questions, PM me.

 

Don't use carb cleaner. You have to use a throttle body cleaner that doesn't strip the coating off.

Mike

 

Okay, so throttle body cleaner makes sense. I planned on taking the whole throttle body off and cleaning the IAC and EGR valve also. And I can clean the elbow with a rag and it won't damage the coating? This is the thing I'm curious about because some say it's totally fine and some advise against it. Thanks.

 

Yes, sorry, I messed up, it is throtle body cleaner. Yes, you can take a rag and wipe the elbow, it will not mess up the coating. THe biggest thing is to make the butterfly clean, and moving properly, thats where you will get better response and run better.

 

Excellent. Thanks guys, I'm doing it today. I'll let you know how it all turns out.

 

Alright, It's done. The throttle body was a little dirty, not really that bad. Just some buildup on the back of the butterfly and along the edges. I then took the whole elbow behind the throttle body out and cleaned that all up. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, but one out of the two EGR ports was severely clogged up, even past the hole so that if you would open the butterfly all the way and look in, you would see an inch of crap just sitting there. It was as hard as a rock and took some time to clear it up. I bought one of those brushes you use to clean out baby bottles and trimmed the bristles down so that they would fit into the holes and cleared them all out. While I was at it, I cleaned out the MAF, the IAC, and the other sensor that sits inside the intake tube. The IAT I think. After putting everything back together she started up nicely. I took it for a drive and noticed that it accelerated and idled noticeably smoother. There was this humming noise that would come up when I would let go of the gas pedal on low RPMs, and I later found out that it was the rubber elbow that went from the intake tube to the IAC valve. I put it on backwards or something and it was whistling. All in all everything worked out for the better, I even put half a can of Seafoam through the brake booster line and no smoke came out the exhaust which means everything was relatively clean.

What I don't understand is what the "coating" which apparently is some sort of teflon coating actually does. I mean the insides were all covered with all kinds of crap. What really amazed me was how bad that EGR port was, wow. I wish I would've taken pictures. If anyone has any questions, I'll be more than happy to help. That's it, thanks again.