Label says Do Not clean. (Need to clean Throttle Body)

codyf11 · #1 04-14-2013, 07:57 PM

Have 1992 ford ranger 2wd 4.0L v6

I need clean out my throttle body and believe other part is called manifold that needs cleaned out as well. When I open my throttle plate and look in I see it needs clean and the manifold? Is all wet looking with bunch of black stuff in places.

But there is a sticker on it saying Do not clean the throttle body. Should I just take the throttle body off and clean it? And what should I do about the manifold?

cowboybilly9mile · #2 04-15-2013, 08:35 PM

You can safely clean it with any aerosol "air intake cleaner" for fuel injection. Beware of using any aerosol carb cleaner that doesn't say it's for fuel injected vehicles. Or if daring, take your chances. Here's why.......

Back in 1992, FI was still pretty new and American roads were still littered with carbed vehicles. Carb cleaner was abundant, but cleaner for FI was scarce to nonexistent. That's not the case today. The reason you should always use FI cleaner on FI intakes is because some of these have friction reducing coatings, like for example teflon, and these coatings can be damaged/removed by using carb cleaner. Damage to or loss of these coatings can/will alter how air moves across these surfaces and can impact performance. This is why that vintage sticker telling you not to clean is there, to try to stop the unaware from doing damage.

Be aware that when you clean the intake, and if you use a whole lot of cleaner, that all that crap will go down into the engine and possible land on the spark plugs, producing a somewhat conductive coating that weakens the spark. As such, brace for the possibility of spark plug replacement.

codyf11 · #3 04-15-2013, 09:07 PM

I took my throttle body off and cleaned it. I took the took the throttle position sensor be4 doing this.

I also cleaned the intake/manifold thing. Believe that name for it. Look on youtube and ppl were saying blow fire though it to burn the stuff in side. Big fail on my part I forgot take the Idle Air Control Valve off when I did this. After cleaning the intake/manifold my truck will not start now. Was there anything special I had do after cleaning these things? and could I have messed up that Idle Air Control Valve? The intake/manifold gets very hot by it self and that valve is hooked to it so shouldn't it be able take heat?

cowboybilly9mile · #4 04-15-2013, 09:15 PM

Hook up any wiring that you disconnected, which I would expect to only be the TPS wire jack.

codyf11 · #5 04-15-2013, 09:37 PM

I re-edit my last message

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The only other thing I took off were the ignition coils 3 of them of the spark plugs due to them being in way of the intake/manifold when I took it off. I made sure I got them back in the right places but there was 7 hoses on the back of the intake/manifold That I may have got mixed up. Link here is how it looks almost 100% same as mine but its missing some info on it. http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/...1&d=1178242533

lone-ranger · #6 04-15-2013, 09:45 PM

What the h*** are you trying to clean out here? If it's what I think, you shouldn't have to take off any plug wires?? And I'm not sure why you would use "fire" to clean out the throttle body if you have cleaner?

codyf11 · #7 04-15-2013, 10:13 PM

Didn't use fire for the throttle body, used cleaner and sorry if i got the name wrong but the thing I cleaned with the fire Is shown in the photo below. It had bunch spots of black crusty stuff deep in side of it but its gone now. It wasn't on my truck when I cleaned it.

1st photo is thing I used fire to clean out like few web sites say to do. Redneck way but ya worked
2ed one is the plugs I took off due to them being in the way
last photo is all the hoses im talking about

cowboybilly9mile · #8 04-15-2013, 10:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by codyf11

Didn't use fire for the throttle body, used cleaner and sorry if i got the name wrong but the thing I cleaned with the fire Is shown in the photo below. It had bunch spots of black crusty stuff deep in side of it but its gone now. It wasn't on my truck when I cleaned it.

1st photo is thing I used fire to clean out like few web sites say to do. Redneck way but ya worked
2ed one is the plugs I took off due to them being in the way
last photo is all the hoses im talking about

Between this thread and the other one you've got talking about how you removed your intake (upper and lower, just upper?) and this one, I'm lost and getting a headache.

*Seriously, did you actually point a torch (ie, fire) at your upper intake? Really? And if so, I would like to see that vid, because I want to direct the creator of that one to a thread concerning the guy who puts his garden hose in his engine as part of his oil change and can't figure out why the engine stopped. Those boys are two peas in a pod. I have an idea. It worked for me back when I had an early OHV 4.0 and I wanted to clean the aluminum parts on the engine. No fire either. I went to O'Ricers and spent $6 on some quality aluminum wheel cleaner and used it on the intake and all the other aluminum parts on the engine. BTW, is pic #1 a Ranger pic, or an Explorer?

Pic #2 does not appear to be an early OHV 4.0 Ford. I'm not exactly sure what you're trying to say you took off, but did you take off the spark plug wires from the coil and as such, you hosed up where there they're supposed to go?

As for the vac hose issue, there should be a sticker on the core support showing the vacuum hose routing.

codyf11 · #9 04-15-2013, 11:15 PM

Ill see if I can find the video. I've had bunch of problems today and my search history is jam full of random things. Here is thing them plugs go in to http://www.autozone.com/autozone/par...ier=18698_0_0_ and I found out that was the problem of why my truck wasn't starting. Had 2 of them in wrong place. Its working fine now but keeps dying on me. I know why that is....Its because I forgot take that Idle Air Control Valve off when I did that fire thing and it most likey screwed it up. Running and dying sign of bad Idle Air Control Valve right? I'll check it out later with a volt meter recall there test I can do on it see if it bad or good.

Side note there no stickers telling me where put them vacuum hoses. Life sucks nothing going be that easy for me :P
But I got them back in order now.

cowboybilly9mile · #10 04-16-2013, 09:44 AM

That would be the coil pack. Make 100% sure that each plug wire is in the correct spot. Assuming it wasn't dying before this all began, the dying could be caused by an open vacuum port (ie, vac leak) or like (and with a bit of inspection, you'll hear that) OR, assuming you put a bunch of FI intake cleaner into it, you rinsed all that dirt onto the spark plugs, and what I mentioned at the end of my post #2 is now happening.

The early 4.0's are designed and built to idle at ~ 300RPM with a failed and/or disconnected IAC solenoid. This is because there is a mechanical adjustment that provides for this, it makes the vehicle somewhat driveable should the IAC solenoid fail. If, after verifying that there are no vac leaks and that hose routing is proper, pull and look at a few spark plugs. A blackish/tan coating on the plug and especially the center electrode = a bunch of that shit you rinsed down into the engine with the intake cleaner, it's got some carbon in it, carbon is conductive, this weakens spark which = poor idle/rough idle/ loss of power/lower gas mileage.

*Suggestion: Today, cameras are everywhere and every phone other than maybe a trac fone has one. Take picture before disassembling, and take more than you think you might need. Unlike back when we had to use film, pics are free once you own the camera, there's no waiting, and like they say, a picture is worth a thousand words. Bot after this, I bet you'll remember.

*BTW, before placing the spark plug wires on the coil pack, it's good practice to smear a very SMALL quantity (ie, ~ the volume of two grains of rice) of dielectric grease onto the inside of the rubber boot, only on the rubber and not the metal, maybe 1.4" or so from the edge of the boot. This not only helps discourage moisture from being able to get in, but makes it easier to remove the boot from the coil in the future. Yes, this is what they did at the factory when they were new.

codyf11 · #11 04-16-2013, 05:26 PM

Im sure there no leaks in the vacuum system and I got them hoses back in the right place. The spark plugs all seem to be good.

But my truck is still sounding like it wants to die. My oil pressure gauge and battery gauge are twitching but they are in the normal area. The rpms are between 3 and 4. I have alot of white smoke coming from my exhaust pipe. Little under the hood as well on the passenger side middle spark plug area. Isn't the spark plug that's smoking. My truck wasn't acting like this be4 until I cleaned my manifold out.

I tested my idle control valve with my volt meter on ohms with my truck off.
Put paper clip in where my wire/plug goes in at for the idle control valve here what I got.

Wire one red was 0.756
Wire two black/white stripe 0.770

Also here some links I found of the thing I've been talking about

I would have took photos of this stuff be4 taking it off but my camera was broke and I really didn't think about doing it because of it.

cowboybilly9mile · #12 04-16-2013, 06:25 PM

I'm having trouble following all of this, it's getting to be fragmented and confusing. So I have to ask, based on something you said earlier, did you remove the upper and lower intake mainfolds from the engine? Answer options are only = yes or no

And if you did, did you clean ALL the gasket surfaces, including those on the heads and use a new lower and maybe upper intake gasket(s)? The only possible answers = no new gaskets, OR yes, both gaskets new, OR only lower new, OR only upper new.

The readings taken on your IAC solenoid are of little to no value to me as I don't have a Ford Factory Service manual for a 92, but remembering my 94 4.0, I want to say that the resistance of a GOOD IAC solenoid, with NO wires hooked to it, was 12 ohms. I *think* there was a range of voltages for the IAC solenoid when the engine is running, but I haven't worked on this system since 2004 and I can't remember what they are.

codyf11 · #13 04-16-2013, 07:04 PM

Yes but only removed the top mainfold and cleaned it.
Yes and no for the last question. Cleaned it all but the gasket were in good shape and didn't fall apart when I took the top. Know I should have but didn't

lone-ranger · #14 04-16-2013, 07:23 PM

I just don't understand why you used fire for any of this. I honestly hope you get it all figured out again, Rangers are good trucks. Next time, look up some more quality stuff and ask questions first before taking things apart

cowboybilly9mile · #15 04-16-2013, 08:34 PM

If it were me, I would have used a brand spankin' new gasket, they're cheap, they eliminate uncertainty of, in this case, a vacuum leak and for it all to happen at an inconvenient time, like for example, now. But before I pealed it apart, cleaned it thoroughly and without damaging the gasket mating surfaces on the aluminum parts, and then using a new gasket AND torquing everything to spec, I'd look for vacuum leaks via listening, and/or listening with a hose that's being used as a stethoscope and probing potential leak locations, and/or using a can of carb cleaner and spraying it at points where it possible for vacuum to leak (ie, like the stethoscope, anything that was disturbed is now suspect). I have no idea if the IAC it toasted or not, but to run the pinpoint diagnostics on it is pretty quick and simple. Also, when you remove the wire from the IAC solenoid, the engine speed should drop, IF the IAC is working. Your IAC may not be working right, and there could be more than one problem, but theoretically, the signals the ECM is sending to it, and provided there is no CEL, should be attempting to speed up the idle. So if you pull the wire and it slows down/dies, your IAC solenoid is *probably* ok.

I don't know exactly why it's steaming out the tailpipe, and when it does this I assume the engine if FULLY warm and therefore shouldn't be steaming. But I do know that the early 4.0's were known to develop vacuum leaks on the lower intake gasket, where it meets the head, and that it's conceivable in you case that a small amount of coolant is being drawn into an intake port. If your exhaust smells like coolant, you'll know what that steam is about. Many of these vac leaks were easily solved by simply retorquing the lower intake manifold. Of course, you use the correct torque, you use a torque wrench, you torque the bolts in two or three stages rather than full torque all at once, and you do use the correct torque sequence for the lower intake manifold.

*Uh, the fire thing. I bought a new Ranger in 94 with a 4.0, it had 2 miles on it when I left the lot. I sold it with 181,937 miles. Once and only once did I decarbon the engine using PM3 bought from the Ford dealer, and following the TSB. I sprayed the butterfly setup clean at the same time, then I changed the spark plugs cuz they were now messed up, and knowing that a bunch of that crud probably got in the oil I changed that and the filter. I did this once around 140,000miles. Never in my wildest dreams did I consider pealing any part of the intake off and cleaning using fire. The middle fire video, what he did to that SBC intake with fire most people would have done, and done a better job I might add, by using a hot tank followed by a garden hose. But his is what you do if you're upgrading/modding the engine using used parts or rebuilding, other than that nobody would ever clean that intake on a whim, especially the internal portion.