3Mar67

I was all set to clean my throttle body this weekend -- the car has 87,000 miles on it -- it's a 96.
Then I read in my Haynes manual that the throttle body on a Maxima should not be cleaned because it has a special coating on it which could be removed during the cleaning process.
The manual also warns not to use products like carburetor or combustion chamber cleaner on it.
Any opinions?
Can the throttle body be cleaned without harming it?

njmaxseltd

iTrader: (19)

Use Air Intake System cleaner, not carb. cleaner.

If the coating worked, the TB wouldn't get so gummed up. The real world fact is that our throttle bodies get very dirty over time and need to be properly cleaned. Excessive grime in the TB leads to poor idle, throttle response, hard starts and poor performance.

cam_honestiam

iTrader: (2)

I have used carb cleaner... No problems...

kcryan

iTrader: (1)

make sure it says coated TB safe or somthin along those lines. it will work fine. use towels on it and nothing abrasive and your set

bignutts

i just use soap and water to clean it.. and im not a newbie can a mod fix that

SkoorbMax

I wouldn't want to use soap because it won't dry itself out - I mean, how do you rinse it? I'm not thrilled with the of rinsing with tons of water!

Where do you get this air intake cleaner? All I ever found was carb cleaner. I did my TB on my 00 about 20k miles ago with generic carb cleaner and frankly I doubt I'll ever do my TB again. I think the process is greatly overrated on these forums. I've seen people reco a TB cleaning to fix an engine that's blown up

mzmtg

iTrader: (11)

You don't decide when you aren't a n00b any more. We do.

95BLKMAX

iTrader: (10)

Like it was said, if that coating really worked our TBs would not get so dang dirty. I used brake parts cleaner on mine, no problems. And in case "it does take away my dearly beloved coating", it doesn't matter to me since I clean my TB about every 10k miles anyway. I spoil it very much :-)

minsbang

Does anyone have a link to exactly how to clean the tb? I would love to see instructions w/ details and Pictures since I have no knowledge when I see the engine.

Irish

iTrader: (3)

i used carb cleaner.......

SkoorbMax

motorvate.ca

Ant96GLE

iTrader: (4)

Water in the intake???

dayglo

i found Throttle body Cleaner at Canadian Tire for 8 bux. cleaning the AIC valve made a big diff, coz myt TB was clean

96ItaliaSE

iTrader: (3)

I used a little gas on a rag....worked great

Batxel

iTrader: (1)

I used throttle body cleaner to clean my throttle body..

They have like 5 different brands of it at Pep boys. It said on the back that it was specifically engineered to clean throttle bodies, increase horsepoer, improve idle, and improve gas mileage. I believe it was Valvoline.

konak85

iTrader: (10)

carb cleaner here..

RastaManMax

iTrader: (5)

I used some TB cleaner from CDN Tire. Works great, i've done it twice and is on my list now as a yearly maintainence item. The first time i did it when i installed my intake it was very dirty and i had only ~60-70km on the car.

sleeper

try nissan products to see if they have a throttle body cleaner solvent.
what would the coating be for? so the air will flow faster?
even if the coating does come off will it make your car go slower?
some guys had theirs bored out. still works fine.
i just used carb/throttle body cleaner and soft cloth, removed tons of black stuff. still runs strong.
just dont scratch it to bad.

sleeper

do you have to drip dry it or use heat gun? lol

Ant96GLE

iTrader: (4)

Ask him, hes not a n00b...

mmike4164

i used carb medic and it clean all the gum up, seemed fine

eturnl

how do you clean the AIC valve? dont you mean the IAC valve? idle air control valve? any writeups with pics?

maxima_kenny96

iTrader: (10)

I used carb. cleaner...I guess if im really not supposed to use it...im screwed

96maxdaddy

WTF? just use damn carb cleaner. I spray that crap down Honda TBs everyday, and they come out fine.

MAXIMASE02

I recently had a valvoline authorized dealer perform a fuel system flush on my 02 maxima SE. The day after my check engine light came on. I brought it back they turned it off then later that day it came on again. I did notice the RPM'S where acting funny when I let off the gas during drive. They could not get it to go off agian, and sent me to the dealer ship to have it looked at. Has anyone heard af a familier issue? They did mention the TB cleaner may have triggered the Check engine light. Any suggestions would be great. I have an appointment at the dealership this week. Thanks for your time

THT

iTrader: (8)

1. 8 month thread resurrection...not cool.
2. You're in the wrong gen forum (try 5th gen)
3. Pull the codes to figure out what's wrong.

2 Da Max

iTrader: (2)

i hope you didnt start the car and clean the tb, we have mafs were not supposed to clean ours that way

sleeper

you should never need a fuel system flush. just replace your fuel filter. the way i cleaned my throttle body was to just spray some cleaner on a clean rag and wipe out the inside of the tb. it helps a little, but its not a major issue. the vq engine is a smooth performer. maybe the solvent they used to clean the fuel system fired off the code when it burned and sent massive smoke over your o2 sensors. its a simple thing dont worry about it.

Bobo

But if the stock air box and MAF were removed and the TB cleaner was sprayed into the TB with the butterfly plate open and the engine running and the TB cleaner was subsequently cleaned up, what difference would it make. The MAF isn't even hooked up at that point!

opm45

Use Seafoam deep creep. Works for me