BSwithTF

iTrader: (8)

...that builds up inside the throttle body and the intake manifold? I cleaned out my throttle body the other day and noticed that the black stuff I just cleaned out of there goes on past there. Do I need to take the intake manifold (is that what it's called?; the thing the throttle body bolts onto) off and clean it too? What causes that stuff anyway? My car runs so much smoother at idle now that I cleaned that thing out. It was pretty gummed up.

Jon91SE

carbon buildup, use high octane gas , mabye throw in an injector cleaner or gas addative like gumout or something, yea you can clean the intake manifold too but thats going to be more work........older cars get it....

BSwithTF

iTrader: (8)

There's only 1 station that I know of around here that carries 93 octane. I try to fill up whenever I'm over that way. I may go ahead and pull that thing off one of these nights and clean it. Is it gonna help anything or is it a waste of time?

Jon91SE

im nto the best person to answer these, but..its not going to hurt at all , im sure u are helping gas mileage among a smoother ride so go for it

Daniel B. Martin

I respectfully disagree. Fuel is delivered into the intake manifold downstream of the throttle body. Fuel additives might clean the injectors, and they might clean the intake valve stems, but they won't reach the throttle body. The butterfly valve in the throttle body is actuated by the driver's foot on the gas pedal. That's something of a misnomer because on modern fuel injected cars it is really the "air pedal".

mzmtg

iTrader: (11)

Right, the fuel comes in WAY downstream of the throttle body. The black stuff is buildup from the emissions control systems. The PCV and the EGR both put icky black stuff back into the intake to be burned. This stuff builds up over time. Get some carb claener and shoot it in there to reduce the buildup.

Jon91SE

DOh! your absolutly right,i was a bit confused,thanx for clearin that up, but at any rate when hes done the TB and intake manifold, it woudlent hurt to do what i was talkin about for the internals........

VQMaxSE

Does anyone have directions on the proper way to clean the throttle body and intake?

Daniel B. Martin

You may clean the throttle body by removing the air duct and gently rubbing the now-exposed throttle body interior with a lintless rag or a toothbrush moistened with carburetor cleaner. Hold the throttle open with your left hand while you rub with your right hand.

On a high-mileage car a metal "step" may form where the throttle blade closes against the throttle body throat. This may be addressed with a fine abrasive such as emery cloth.

The intake may be cleaned by wiping with a dry rag. If oily "gunge" is present, moisten the rag with Frog Juice (WD-40 or equivalent).

dch95

If this filter is of the "oil/sponge" type, then that also adds to your dirty throttle body.

Jeff92se

iTrader: (82)

Not necessarily. I have run the K&N panel and cone filters and have had no problems with the filtering oil getting on the maf or anywhere else. It's when the filters are improperly serviced(ie... too much oil on the cotton guaze), that the oil becomes a problem.

As for throttle body cleaning, I highly recommend taking off the TB and cleaning the areas on BOTH sides of the TB. Especially if you have a high mileage car(over 80k or so).

Remember to be carefull and don't force anything. The TB has some senstive parts. Also getting a new TB gasket before you take the TB off is recommended.

Also make sure when you clean the front of the TB, you don't clog up the tiny air bypass hole at the bottom. Clogging will probably create some idling problems. Taking the TB off will allow you to spray cleaner directly down the hole to ensure it's open and clean.

dch95

I guess what i,m getting at is the filter has the potential to allow traces of oil to "line or contaminate" the passages of the throttle body and when this happens, any traces of dust/dirt will adhere to the oily passages in turn helping the throttle body get dirty.

BSwithTF

iTrader: (8)

I wondered about that. I had read somewhere that the oil from K&N filters can get on sensors and cause readings to be a little off. I don't know if this is true or not though.
I do wish there was a dry filter that fit on there.

When I cleaned my TB, I pulled it clear off. Much, much easier.

dch95

Considering oil on spark plugs is a bad sign and hinders performance, the rest is proabably true also. I imagine if you clean the filter and after oiling it, squeeze out as much of the oil as possible, it will slow down the amount of oil (or traces of) getting in places where it does not belong.