View Full Version : Throttle Body Cleaning
I was reading on the mazda3forums about cleaning the throttle body. I opened it up and tried cleaning it with :
rubbing alcohol
carb cleaner
electronic contact cleaner
but none of those was able to get out alot of the gunk. What is the best product out there that will dissolve/penetrate that crap?!
From what i cleaned, it really made a big difference in performance. Alot more responsive!
Sparcas
10-03-2010, 04:33 PM
Canadian tire sells throttle bottle cleaner - it's what i use.
Kappa
10-03-2010, 06:39 PM
hmm would love to see this link about this
hmm would love to see this link about this
http://www.mazda3forums.com/index.php?PHPSESSID=36b7f1e7c40f6bc75b147065373584 3c&topic=167976.0
Really does work.. Try it you'll notice a difference just when turning it on during cold start. Rpm's increase much smoother. And i havent had any vibration when idle!
People are saying to use the mazda special cleaner. i used a bunch of random stuff i had laying in the garage and made sure i dried it after.. Worked great no cels..
Kappa
10-03-2010, 08:00 PM
hmm so i am thinking i might just try a wet rag but should i worry about all that stuff after putting it back on? http://www.miata.net/garage/tsb/01-007-09-2069.pdf
I tsb says not to spray inside, but i doubt anyone actully followed that. Throttle body cleaner , alcohol, carb cleaner etc are made to evaporate really quickly so even if you did it wouldnt hurt. I took the hose off then turned the butterfly with my hand and sprayed it down with carb cleaner, then took a rag and pressed really hard to get the stuff off. Youre going to need something a bit more abrasive because that gunk is really caked on there is no way a rag will get it completely off. im thinking tomorrow i will try a rough sponge for dishes like someone suggested on the other forum.
Just make sure you dry everything when your done and you've got nothing to worry about. Oh and dont forgot , DONT DROP ANYTHING IN THERE!
stevenma188
10-03-2010, 08:45 PM
Can anyone confirm it is ok to clean the TB without removing it? I would like to clean my TB, but am scared to pull it off.
For sure you dont need to remove it! Honestly, once you have that air hose out its a peice of cake. Its harder to remove the airhose because of its tight location but the cleaning is easier!
Its not as complicated as it seems. I cleaned mine without removing it, i also cleaned my jetta without removal and all is well.
Do it!
JayJay18
10-04-2010, 10:06 AM
By removing it, the cleaning process will be a lot easier, you wouldn't have to hold the valve open.
If you don't remove it then a tooth brush is good for scrubbing, spray a little tb cleaner with it as well.
n00bMeiSter
10-04-2010, 12:16 PM
... Youre going to need something a bit more abrasive because that gunk is really caked on there is no way a rag will get it completely off. im thinking tomorrow i will try a rough sponge for dishes...
Mr.Clean Magic Eraser?
It has "super-texture-micro-scrubber-things" lol
gabbygenier
10-04-2010, 09:53 PM
so my car is at 177000kms so i figured it was a good time to do this. it was as dirty as cab0oze on M3F. just got throttle body cleaner from CT and it worked like a charm, hardly had to scrub, the pressure from the can got pretty much all of it off.
it does make a diff in the throttle response and pickup in the car. not sure about the rough idle, ill see in the next few days if it goes away, havent had it yet so thats a good sign.
only thing is i kind of burnt my hand with the antifreeze from the hose as i did it after driving home
Thinking of doing mine over the weekend... has anyone come across a step by step for the removal air intake on another forum... preferably with photos?
What brand TB cleaner to you use from Canadian Tire? Also... should I spray on a cloth and try wiping... or spray down into the TB and then just mount back up and start and drive some?
Cosmo77
10-30-2010, 08:39 PM
be careful spaying throttle body cleaner in the throttle body. Its best to spray it on a tooth brush and then scrub or put it on a rag and rub it out.
Note: anyone who camplains about burns or something that really really "hurts" Welcome to my world, would you like a tissue?
gabbygenier
10-30-2010, 08:51 PM
its pretty simple, there are 4 bolts holding it in. the only thing that was a pain was the connector on the sensor for it. there was a writeup somewhere but i cant think of where it was.
as for cleaning it i just put it on the ground and kept spraying it. it eventually all came off. kept flipping it over.
Pokey
10-30-2010, 11:02 PM
So I cleaned mine today and now the revs do go up faster, the car feels like it wants to go go go, BUT if I shift to neutral while still rolling my revs stay at about 1800 until the car comes to a complete stop, then they drop to idle.
Should I reset the ecu?
Pokey
10-31-2010, 11:33 AM
Never mind - read the other thread. Reset ECU and bam, weird idle is gone.
Car seems happier now. I should drive around at 5000rpm more often :headbang:huge smile
bunchi
11-02-2010, 04:57 PM
someone please educate me on this. how does a dirty throttle body really affect you? wondering how the gunk can afftect the air coming in. did a search on the web, i didn't see a clear answer. they usually end by saying it could be a problem with something else i.e. maf sensor or injectors.
i ask this because the part i try to keep clean is the maf sensor. after cleaning the maf sensor, the car did become responsive like before, i got back the pull i used to have in 3rd gear (there was a time when the car is on 3rd and i would gun it down but the car just sounds like it's drowning and just won't go), the clicking sound i am hearing when accelerating harder than ordinary disappeared (at least for now)
Cab0oze
11-02-2010, 08:19 PM
Weird, i was searching google trying to find one of my threads on here, and i found my name in this thread lol
To answer your question, it has to do with the gap between the butterfly and the body. At idle the butterfly rests in the 'closed' position, which actually is slightly open, in order to sustain combustion. If your TB is really dirty, you will have a rough idle because when closed your TB will be starving your engine of air. Your MAF will likely detect this and command the TB further open. Soon as this happens, you'll get too much air, and it will close again. This is most likely what causes a lot of people's rough idles.
As for all other side effects such as more low end power/better acc'n, they may partially be explained by improved airflow, or maybe just the fact that the ECU was reset due to DC'ing the battery.
I'm not an expert, but that is my .02.
Cab0oze
11-02-2010, 08:22 PM
Ok, so sorry for the double post but i hate the 'no edit until 100 posts' rule... well i guess i'll be getting there quicker now.
I need to clarify what i said - when the butterfly is in the closed/idle position, all the contamination built up around that area I was referring to will restrict airflow.
Default User
11-02-2010, 09:12 PM
Ok, so sorry for the double post but i hate the 'no edit until 100 posts' rule... well i guess i'll be getting there quicker now.
I need to clarify what i said - when the butterfly is in the closed/idle position, all the contamination built up around that area I was referring to will restrict airflow.
That sums it all up
But also - one of the old skool tuning tricks was to swap out the tb's for a larger one - or shave it up wider for more powa!
Pokey
11-02-2010, 09:13 PM
Ok, so sorry for the double post but i hate the 'no edit until 100 posts' rule... well i guess i'll be getting there quicker now.
I need to clarify what i said - when the butterfly is in the closed/idle position, all the contamination built up around that area I was referring to will restrict airflow.
Agreed, when I cleaned mine there was a ring of soot right where the butterfly opens. So basically the butterfly sits against the soot ring blocking air. I imagine when you apply the throttle it should make little difference as the butterfly will open more fully allowing more air in - at wot it could make some difference as a 1mm buildup around the outside is blocking the airflow. At 90K mine was fairly dirty, I finally used some of those old toothbrushes that I've been saving - took me 3 brushes to clean the tb.
Cleaned mine this morning using an old toothbrush and TB cleaner from Canadian Tire. As with everyone else's experience, I felt an immediate change in the throttle response as well as a much smoother idle.
Took me about 15-20 minutes from start to finish
rockhead
12-16-2010, 07:23 PM
Did mine yesterday with the same findings - carboned-up pretty good on the intake manifold side. Used CT TB cleaner with an old toothbrush and it worked like a charm. RPM response way better and idle has stabilized. The one thing I still notice though is the idle drops from 750 to 500 when I'm just sitting at a light. The heat controls turned-off including defrost so I don't think it's the AC cycling on - can't hear it come anyway. Any ideas?
m_a_t_r_i_x
12-16-2010, 09:02 PM
Did mine yesterday with the same findings - carboned-up pretty good on the intake manifold side. Used CT TB cleaner with an old toothbrush and it worked like a charm. RPM response way better and idle has stabilized. The one thing I still notice though is the idle drops from 750 to 500 when I'm just sitting at a light. The heat controls turned-off including defrost so I don't think it's the AC cycling on - can't hear it come anyway. Any ideas?
how do you go about accessing the throttle body? do you have to remove the air box? im having this rough idle as well..tia
gabbygenier
12-16-2010, 09:11 PM
how do you go about accessing the throttle body? do you have to remove the air box? im having this rough idle as well..tia
go to post #4
m_a_t_r_i_x
12-16-2010, 09:38 PM
go to post #4
tnx, but i dnt wanna remove the entire thing, just to access the opening and take it from there. so i guess i have to remove the box and air hose to clean it.
gabbygenier
12-16-2010, 09:46 PM
then ya, just simple clamps and its off. i guess you just want to see how bad it is?
gskills
12-17-2010, 03:03 AM
Its not that hard to clean.
Mine was SO Black, At first I thought it was normal but with the cleaner it was melting off, it did need somehelp by pushing on the throttle and cleaing around the edges with a very soft cloth and the chemical. (wear some rubber gloves)
Take it off for best results, its held on with 4 brass bolts. Dont take the gasket, 2 coolant hoses off. leave them it will give you a bit of play but you will spend less time pissing with other stuff.
it did look ok from the one side but the side facing the air filter was something else.
Im so glad I did this. It looks like its all back to normal with its idle when I come to any kind of stop.
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll69/gsills/Facingengine.jpg
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll69/gsills/FacingAirintake.jpg
and the cleaner, sorry the can label got ripped.
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll69/gsills/DSCN4041.jpg
m_a_t_r_i_x
12-17-2010, 07:33 AM
^^^Im not into DIY but with these detailed pictures, Im definitely going for it. Thanks gskills!
m_a_t_r_i_x
12-17-2010, 08:21 PM
update: just finished cleaning the TB and guess what, no more dropping of rpm while on stop (@ drive mode AT). carbon deposits/caking/crap is the culprit. tnx for the info in the forum, save me some money in taking my car to the dealership.
gskills
12-18-2010, 09:01 AM
just go get a bottle of throttle body cleaner for the 6-7 dollars.
dont worry about all that other stuff i didnt replace my gasket, it was fine.
gskills
12-18-2010, 09:05 AM
opps i ment to reply to a pm with that last message
mr.chin
12-18-2010, 12:48 PM
nice post
gabbygenier
12-18-2010, 05:34 PM
i didnt replace the gasket either. my rought idle is still there a tiny little bit when its cold out but other then that it did a good job.
rockhead
12-21-2010, 06:28 PM
Does anyone know what the correct idle rpm is? - engine warm, a/c not on. Mine is steady now at 500 rpm but it seems that the idle is rough. Maybe a engine mount going bad?
gskills,
Excellent job cleaning that!
When you are referring to the idle when coming to any kind of stop, are you talking about the car feeling like its about to turn off? lol not that bad but you know what i am saying...
Also, if it's that black... I wonder what you mileage is? I have 78800kms, and I am wondering if I should get it done or not.
Thanks for the useful pictures! Very handy!
thesober
03-12-2011, 02:37 PM
I cleaned my throttle body last week with the help of those pictures, idling seems to be running smoother now, not a huge difference in my case but enough to notice (placebo?) I also cleaned my MAF, hope it will increase my gas mileage.
JaYson
04-25-2011, 04:32 PM
Def. going to do this along with the ETB Ground Mod.
my dealership service dept. has been bugging me for months to do the TB cleaning
JohnyGT
09-15-2011, 06:51 PM
Just cleaned my TB, i was told that the TB & fuel injectors need to be cleaned from MoT the other day, and it definitely has improved the engine response, a very noticeable one.
Ill try using Fuel injector cleaner additive at next fillup, hopefully that works and makes a difference.
JaYson
09-15-2011, 11:32 PM
Agreed. i did my TB cleaning last week too. made a HUGE difference, no more rough idle acceleration is significantly smoother, no more rumbling when i lay off the gas either.
JohnyGT - let me know how the injector cleaner goes
JohnyGT
09-16-2011, 12:55 AM
oddly, when i took off the intake, i spotted some sort of gunk where the sensor sits(not MAF), and also found some engine oil in the CAI pipe where it connects to the TB, is this normal?
Cab0oze
09-16-2011, 06:33 AM
oddly, when i took off the intake, i spotted some sort of gunk where the sensor sits(not MAF), and also found some engine oil in the CAI pipe where it connects to the TB, is this normal?
My first thought was the breather hose, but i'm not an expert. Is it still connected to your CAI? I know when I installed my SRI it came with a breather filter. Searching around the internet i found this... I think it applies to all engines:
And now the answer and possibly a reason to install a crankcase breather separate from the air filter someday:
"When blowby occurs on an engine using a crankcase vent routed into the air filter (which is the case with Vulcan's), oil makes its way through the engine breather into the air cleaner [or airbox in our case] and is then pulled into the engine along with the fresh intake charge and burned. That oil tends to carbon up the rings and glaze the cylinder walls resulting in a less than perfect top end seal. Once this occurs the die is cast. The poor top end seal leads to more blowby which pushes even more oil into the intake air which is then forced into the engine creating more blowby and so it goes."
Still with me here? Ok, in a healthy engine this isn't a problem, you're not really getting an oil mist blowing into the carb or throttle body, just air created by some over pressure in the crankcase, nothing to worry about. If, someday, you find a film of oil inside that right side air box (assuming a stock intake) then it might be time to pull the hose and vent it outside. If you install an aftermarket air cleaner you might choose to add this breather instead of drilling a hole in the back of your new air cleaner.
Powered by vBulletin® Copyright © 2025 vBulletin Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved.