I posted this in the general Explorer/Mountaineer forum and then thought that this might be a better place to put the question as it is more an engine question that anything else.

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Hi all,
hopefully someone here can help me out with this brain teaser. The vehicle is my 1997 Mountaineer 5.0L. I just had it at the shop as it needed some emissions components checked out/replaced (code 0402). Not 10 mins after getting it back the CEL came on again so back I went to the shop.

The report is that the new code (no paper work for the repair so I do not know what it was) indicated too much air in the throttle body at idle. They tell me this is because it is getting old and worn out (which at 184k miles I might believe). Apparently they had noted some rough idle (which is true) and solved it by cleaning out the throttle body (which apparently had some excess carbon in it) which agravated this current condition. The solution, however, was not to replace it for $200 bucks but to plug a hole with a screw and some epoxy. They tell me that if the code returns in the future (and it may not) that I will at that point need a new throttle body.

OK, so I guess I am OK with that. But I am not getting where exactly the put this screw. The service dude, not the tech, was telling me that it is a hole in the throttle body plate inside that since the body is worn just allows a little too much air through. And that by plugging this hole the leakage around the plate is still enough for it to be fine for the moment.

Does this make sense to anyone else. I think that it might but want a second opinion.

thanks!
-John B