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Old May 4, 2003 | 09:05 PM
  #1  
saintthomas's Avatar
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Question Throttle Body

Looking at cleaning the MAF and throttle body in effort to remove the dreaded Ford pinging. I got the MAF under control; tamper resistant torx bit and Gumout. However; I have a large sticker on my throttle body that says "DO NOT CLEAN. Special coating inside." After looking in my Hayne's, I was suprised to see the same note. "Do not clean. Special coating inside. At the tiem of this publication no aftermarket supplement is available." What the hell is that stuff? And has anyonw out there ever cleaned it off?


I have three kids now....
Kobe
Meghan
and the 3.0 forum.
I am such a proud daddy.
thanks again FTE
 
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Old May 4, 2003 | 09:58 PM
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Throttle Body

I've cleaned the throttle bodies on both my 3.0L and 4.0L, and both had the same warning on them. What I was careful not to do was scrub any of part of of the TB with a brush or rag. I simply sprayed Air Intake/Throttle Body cleaner in there (open and closed throttle position) while blowing it out with compressed air. I repeated this process several times. Worked good for me.

P.S. Just curious, does one of your MAF torx head bolts have a black plastic seal in the torx head?
 
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Old May 5, 2003 | 10:26 AM
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Throttle Body

Use any TB cleaner you like. JUST DON'T USE A CARB CLEANER.
When Ford techs clean the TB they usually just pat it with a cloth. They don't rub it. I normally just hose it down with TB cleaner and have never had a problem. I believe the special coating keeps carbon from sticking to the TB. I had an Escort with a TB that grew black carbon on it all the time and I think someone at one time used CARB cleaner on it instead of TB cleaner.

Originally posted by saintthomas
Looking at cleaning the MAF and throttle body in effort to remove the dreaded Ford pinging. I got the MAF under control; tamper resistant torx bit and Gumout. However; I have a large sticker on my throttle body that says "DO NOT CLEAN. Special coating inside." After looking in my Hayne's, I was suprised to see the same note. "Do not clean. Special coating inside. At the tiem of this publication no aftermarket supplement is available." What the hell is that stuff? And has anyonw out there ever cleaned it off?


I have three kids now....
Kobe
Meghan
and the 3.0 forum.
I am such a proud daddy.
thanks again FTE
 
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Old May 5, 2003 | 08:05 PM
  #4  
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Throttle Body

Thanks for the input on the throttle body. I don't feel worried about cleaning now. Rock, my MAF is just the tamper resistant torx. No plastic or anything. Bkarr, the last time I was at Advance I saw a torx set. Can't say I have seen them individually though. If someone can't find them, I MAY have an extra one at the shop I could loan out. Stess on may.
 
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Old May 6, 2003 | 02:02 PM
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Throttle Body

Does the same "no clean" thing apply to early (93) 3.0s?
 
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Old May 7, 2003 | 12:23 PM
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Throttle Body

Originally posted by agelder
Does the same "no clean" thing apply to early (93) 3.0s?
Do you mean the throttle body?
 
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Old May 7, 2003 | 02:46 PM
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Throttle Body

Kind of, the throttle body seemed to be one piece with the intake manifold. I accidentally used some carb cleaner on the butterflies a few weeks ago (had some serious buildup to get rid of) but now I am worrying that I screwed things up. I don't see one of those labels though.
 
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Old May 7, 2003 | 03:19 PM
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Throttle Body

Originally posted by agelder
....I accidentally used some carb cleaner on the butterflies a few weeks ago (had some serious buildup to get rid of) but now I am worrying that I screwed things up. I don't see one of those labels though...
I wouldn't sweat it. Like greenpus said the worst that probably can happen is that you might build up carbon a little faster than if you had not damaged the special coating (if you even damaged it at all). So just check it every several thousand miles and if/when it gets dirty, clean it again using the right stuff.
 
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Old May 18, 2003 | 02:40 PM
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Throttle Body

Hello fellow 3.0 drivers. Just thought I would share a couple of things with you. Icleaned the MAF yesterday. Made a great improvement on the pinging. I also checked into the "Do Not Clean" thing. According to the Gumout website, throttle body cleaner is designed to do the same job as carb cleaner wihout damaging the lining of the EFI systems. So it is perfectly safe to clean the throttle body with the proper cleaner. I also checked with one of the service mechanics at work. He said that the label is just a liability issue if someone were to clean the coating off. He also said that the lining was to prevent the corrosion that can be seen on the outside of the motor. I plan on cleaning mine next week. Take care all.
 
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Old May 18, 2003 | 04:50 PM
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Throttle Body

Originally posted by saintthomas
Hello fellow 3.0 drivers. Just thought I would share a couple of things with you. I cleaned the MAF yesterday. Made a great improvement on the pinging. I also checked into the "Do Not Clean" thing. According to the Gumout website, throttle body cleaner is designed to do the same job as carb cleaner wihout damaging the lining of the EFI systems......I plan on cleaning mine next week.
Glad to hear you are successfully chipping away at the pinging problem. From what I have read and heard, the best way to approach the problem is to do what you've been doing.....try and keep the ignition and sensors fine-tuned, and the intake/throttle body, cylinders and heads clean of carbon.

When you clean the throttle body you naturally loosen up a lot of crud and carbon, some of which can make it's way back into the engine, which in turn winds up in your engine oil and filter. So, you might want to change your oil and filter not too long after you do the cleaning.

Thanks for the feedback and the info on the throttle body warning.
 

Last edited by Rockledge; May 18, 2003 at 04:52 PM.
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Old May 18, 2003 | 05:26 PM
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Throttle Body

No problem Rock. I hope I can help anyone out there. Besides between me and you we have to get the thread count up there. LOL
 
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Old May 18, 2003 | 05:38 PM
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Throttle Body

Originally posted by saintthomas
No problem Rock. I hope I can help anyone out there. Besides between me and you we have to get the thread count up there. LOL
Yea, I guess we both are kinda on the hook that way...

P.S. Speaking of counts, congratulations on your new posting status.
 
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Old May 18, 2003 | 05:43 PM
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Talking Throttle Body

Hey thanks Rock! I hadn't even noticed until I saw your post. Your going to have to teach me how to post pics like you. Then life will be good. LOL
Take care.
 
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Old Jun 1, 2003 | 10:50 AM
  #14  
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Throttle Body

Don't you guys think that if you used a good gasoline like chevron with techron it would keep everything clean. I've been using chevron in my 3.0 and and runs like new and has excellant throttle response.
 
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Old Jun 1, 2003 | 08:59 PM
  #15  
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Throttle Body

Hi John,
The MAF and throttle body shouldn't be affected by the case you use. They are both on the air intake. Fuel never touches the two. The MAF collects dirt ( or oil if you have a K$N type ) that passes through the air filter. It also develops a petina like all exposed electrical connections will. And anyting that burns creates carbon deposists. The carbon does not come from the fuel but the air that mixes with it. Remember that air is oxygen, nitrogen, adn carbon dioxide. As for the different fuels, sure they have benefits. Remember too, it's all petroleum. Even the cleaners are just distilled petro.
 
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