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11-22-2009, 10:29 AM
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Blinded by the light
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Join Date: Sep 2009
Posts: 7,674
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How To: Cleaning Throttle Body
Out of boredom today, I took my throttle body off and cleaned it. It was full of crap and the plate was actually sticking a little too I noticed. It is now clean and shiney.
Apparently it was nastier than it looked because it feels like i have a new engine now. It idles better. And the throttle responds faster and smoother. The cruise control accelerates much smoother. And it seems to coast downhill much better than it did before (and I do a lot of that to be cheap on gas).
We'll see if it makes a mileage difference on the scan gauge soon. But overall, I highly recommend everyone do this. That 100,000 miles worth of crap really messes with it apparently.
I don't even know what possessed me to even look. I was bored. Simply pulling the tube off and hosing it down from the outside is not adequate and forces the crap and cleaner deeper into the intake. You are only half-ass cleaning half of the throttle body doing that and your wasting your time. However the IAC is good thing to clean too. I already did that a few months ago so I didn't bother yesterday.
Matt's guide to cleaning the throttle body in 10 easy steps:
(1) Loosen hose clamp where the intake hose meets the throttle body. Unplug the MAF electrical connector and the crank case vent from the intake hose.
(2) Pull the intake hose off the throttle body and unlatch it from the air cleaner box. Put it off to the side out of the way. Look in the throttle body, you will see it caked full of black dirt and oily residue. Its nasty, don't wear nice clothing.
(3) Unplug the wire from the throttle position sensor on the side of the throttle body. Loosen and remove the two philips head screws holding it on. Place it aside.
(4) The throttle cable is pretty obvious on how to unhook it from the throttle body. Lift and slide off to the side like a bicycle brake caliper. If you have cruise control, you just pull back on the connection and it will snap off (yes, it snaps back on too). Disconnect both of them.
(5) The throttle body is held onto the intake manifold with (4) 5/16" bolts. Loosen, remove and don't lose the bolts. The throttle body will come off in your hands. Don't drop it.
(6) Now that you have it off the truck it is time to clean it. The most logical cleaning solution is throttle body cleaner (duh). I didn't have any so I just used an ether based spray can of starter fluid. Do not smoke, toke, grind metal, or launch fireworks while using any of these cleaners.
(7) Spray it in and let it soak, dump it out. Do the same on the other side. Spray some more and work the throttle plate open and closed. Spray some more and use some paper towels or shop rags to wipe it out. You'll probably need to do a lot of spraying and wiping.
(8) The tricky part is cleaning the throttle plate. You have to hold it open. With the throttle plate held open, clean the plate, the edges of the plate, and the throttle body around where the plate closes. It can be really caked full of crap around there since it is choke point for the air flow. It is pain in the ass to do while holding it open. Wedge it on something or have someone hold it for you.
(9) Spray some more around the exterior linkage and clean that up nice.
(10) Make sure the whole thing is clean, dry and free of loose crap, bits of towel, torn skin, or dried blood.
Work backwards from step (5) to reassemble. Make sure you plug all the stuff back in and reattach that crankcase vent. Start the engine. If it will not start, runs like crap, or throws a rod through the hood, then you obviously can't follow simple directions and ya done f*$ked up. I take no responsibility, award you no points, and may god have mercy on your soul.
Last edited by FireRanger; 02-12-2010 at 08:59 PM.
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11-22-2009, 11:37 AM
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Ford Ranger Driver
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Join Date: Aug 2009
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i was wondering what people's thoughts were of soaking the Throttle Body in a can of the carb cleaner like a person use to use for the old holly carbs and giving it a good soaking in there maybe overnight then blowing it out with a air hose?
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11-22-2009, 11:41 AM
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...............
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Join Date: May 2009
Posts: 23,399
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Quote:
Originally Posted by greyghost
i was wondering what people's thoughts were of soaking the Throttle Body in a can of the carb cleaner like a person use to use for the old holly carbs and giving it a good soaking in there maybe overnight then blowing it out with a air hose?
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I would say that's fine if the throttle body is really nasty. If you follow these steps and it does not come clean that would be the best way to then clean it
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2005 Edge
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11-22-2009, 11:47 AM
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Ford Ranger Driver
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Join Date: Aug 2009
Posts: 1,528
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i was thinking of grabbing one from a cfc, so you could still drive it if you had to and a person never has 2 many extra parts around for their truck..
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02-12-2010, 08:47 PM
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Learning to use the forums
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Join Date: Feb 2010
Posts: 3
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Anyone ever clean the throttle body on the 2.5's? Is it pretty much done the same way as the instructions above? Should I disconnect the battery first before starting?
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02-12-2010, 09:01 PM
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Blinded by the light
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Join Date: Sep 2009
Posts: 7,674
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No reason to disconnect to the battery. Procedure should be similar although bolt sizes may be different.
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02-12-2010, 09:46 PM
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Ford Tough
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Join Date: Feb 2010
Posts: 234
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Something i should consider on my truck that has 107K Miles on it? Wasn't sure what I was gonna do tomorrow but this might be a good project that seems hard to screw up....
**Edit - Ended up cleaning yesterday. Not a tough job at all. Glad I did it, my cruise control is not working now but I have a feeling the cable came loose. It was loose to start with. Thanks for the instructions.
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04' Edge 6 Cyl 3.0 5 Speed Manual 107K Miles
3" Body Lift - 33" All Terrain Tires
Drop In K&N Filter - Flowmaster - XM Commander Satellite Radio
Last edited by BigT8600; 02-14-2010 at 08:55 AM.
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04-30-2010, 10:47 AM
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yup
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Join Date: Sep 2009
Posts: 1,407
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Re: How To: Cleaning Throttle Body
what about using gas or acetone to clean it?
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2001 XLT 4x4 V6 4.0L auto
SAS'd D44 and 8.8. dual lockers, 38s, 12 bolt h1's, some other odds and ends
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05-02-2010, 05:28 PM
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Blinded by the light
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Join Date: Sep 2009
Posts: 7,674
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Re: How To: Cleaning Throttle Body
Quote:
Originally Posted by RangerLuc
what about using gas or acetone to clean it?
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I don't see why using a either wouldn't work. I'm sure it will work fine actually. However, what I can't say for sure is if there are components of the TB that won't react well to gas to acetone being poured on them. I know cleaner made for it will work. I don't know of those things won't hurt it.
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05-02-2010, 05:44 PM
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DISABLE ADBLOCK: LOLZ
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Join Date: Dec 2009
Posts: 1,471
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Re: How To: Cleaning Throttle Body
I do this every 20K, and on my car every 10K. When I just bought my 2003 it had 78K on it and it was loaded with junk. Sticky too. I also found that running 1/3rd a pint of seafoam liquid into the brake booster made a huge difference. I'm getting 26.0mpg average on the 2003 where as before the best average I could get was 24.5mpg.
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05-29-2010, 10:49 PM
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3.0hhh
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Join Date: Aug 2009
Posts: 171
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Re: How To: Cleaning Throttle Body
So just spray on the tb cleaner and wipe away? This won't hurt the coating?
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1999 Ford F-150 XLT S-Cab 4x4 4.6 V8 3:55 L/S
Traded - 2003 Ford Ranger Edge Reg. Cab Flareside 3.0 V6
5 Speed 2wd 4:10 Limited Slip
Mods: Cargo Light, Map Lights, Tow Hooks, Fabtech Add-A-Leaf, Ford Step Bars, 06 Tails
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05-30-2010, 05:54 AM
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Blinded by the light
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Join Date: Sep 2009
Posts: 7,674
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Re: How To: Cleaning Throttle Body
Nope. Just don't try to ruin it and it will be fine. If you go in there with a brillo pad and scrub it instead of just wiping it clean as per my instruction, you might mess it up.
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06-12-2010, 12:31 PM
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Ford Tough
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Join Date: Jun 2009
Posts: 451
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Re: How To: Cleaning Throttle Body
im thinkin about doin this to better my MPG, also might change my maf sensor too.
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2003 Ford Ranger XLT 3.0 2WD
PNW CREW
Mustang Dome Light, OHC, Flowmasters 40 Series, 06Corners, Painted Dash Vents & Bezel, 06-09 Tail Lights, 07 XLT Fender Badges, Kenwood CD player with ipod outlet, 235/75/15 BFG's on Crome Cragar Soft 8's, OHC, Edge front bumper/valance, HIDs, LEDs in the dash & HVAC, LED corners, Explorer Full console, 4.10 8.8 rear end
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06-13-2010, 11:06 AM
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Certified Car Nut
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Join Date: Feb 2010
Posts: 197
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Re: How To: Cleaning Throttle Body
i'm sorry i just had to jump in here, how is it you were getting 24.5 mpg in ur ranger? do you have a super light truck w/ a super big tank? the reason i ask is because the best i have been able to muster out of my 3.0 is 15.9 mpg city.
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Niche 17x8 rims, turn signal mod, painted side mirror ohc, full length explorer console, eatc, auto dim mirror, kicker components, sido exhaust, painted headlight, nightshaded tails,
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06-13-2010, 08:22 PM
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3.0hhh
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Join Date: Aug 2009
Posts: 171
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Re: How To: Cleaning Throttle Body
Quote:
Originally Posted by BryFin83
im thinkin about doin this to better my MPG, also might change my maf sensor too.
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I don't know if you got my last pm or not (been having some email probs.) but i would try cleaning the maf before buying another one. They are kind of expensive.
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1999 Ford F-150 XLT S-Cab 4x4 4.6 V8 3:55 L/S
Traded - 2003 Ford Ranger Edge Reg. Cab Flareside 3.0 V6
5 Speed 2wd 4:10 Limited Slip
Mods: Cargo Light, Map Lights, Tow Hooks, Fabtech Add-A-Leaf, Ford Step Bars, 06 Tails
Future Plans: 06+ Corners, Tint
Got a 3.0? Join Us!
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