Is it possible to clean the VQ35 throttle body? Is it safe? I did a search, only got fourth gen stuff.

 

yea it is, you can even port and polish it for some extra power... you can jsut buy the throttle body cleaning spray , i worked wonders for me.

 

I read some threads awhile back....and 5.5 gen owners who clean their throttle bodies got a SES light.....they say something inside the throttle body is real sensitive

 

That's true, I cleaned my TB awhile back and triggered the SES light, end result after the dealer check was that the TB was shorted, resulting in my car idling higher than normal.
It's really a hit or miss situation. Could turn on or not.
I got mine replaced under warranty. ( aprox a $800.00 repair if not under warranty).
Good luck however.

 

If you manually move the butterfly valve in the throttle body when cleaning it, you will more than likely get the CEL. Something to do with the throttle by wire or e-throttle, whatever it's called. When I cleaned mine with the TB cleaner that comes in the aerosol can, my light came on. I had to reset the ECU by doing this: http://maxima.theowensfamily.com/ecu.asp
Same info with more detail about throttle response: http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=380328

 

don't do it...I did it and SES is on.

 

I was able to clean mine without any problems. I unbolted the TB but I left the wire harness connected, so I cleaned it while it was still in the car. You will need to clean it from both ends. Get some TB cleaner, tooth brush, q-tips and place a bunch of paper towels below the area where it is located. Just don't put much pressure on or try to move the butterfly valve.

 

Cleaning the TB isn't really going to get you much of anything...

It's not going to build up that much carbon/dirt as to obstruct air intake. Cleaning the filter and changing plugs at 60K will do more than cleaning the TB ever will...

 

I cleaned mine TB and caused a hi idle problem. It took my friend at the dealership at least 1 hr to fix the hi idle problem with consult II. We had to unplug the MAF and TB harmless while rev engine like crazy to reset that thing.

till now I felling the TB or tanny is going crazy. When I press the brake to stop the car the car would jerk foward causing me to press harder on the brake. My friend says it normal form the tranny downshifting. or it could be from warp rotors

Also my buddy works for nissan say alot of their tech has borken alot of throttle by wire TB aready( mainly bending the plates). HINT*** let them clean it- if break they fix it for free. to big of risk to clean yourself!

 

Nissan technicians are morons, hint #1. Most dealers around my aread ditch the old experienced techs and hire fresh out of UTI kids for 10 bux a hour to fix cars.

I cleaned my friends 02 TB, unbolt the TB from the intake manifold, use some 3M throttle body cleaner and throughtly rinse the TB with it, then use a small tooth brush and clean off the gum inside the TB from both sides. Then I bolted on the TB back to the intake and ran 3M intake manifold cleaner through the engine- setup hooks up before the throttle body and with the engine runing 3M intake cleaner goes through the TB, cleans it some more, and then cleans out the intake manifold. Works really good, alot better than SeaFoam did thats for sure. No Check engine lights involved, car ran same way before as after the cleaning, with better throttle response and he tells me little bit smoother and gets 2-3MPG better gas mileage.

 

Hey Mike, on a scale of 1-5, how difficult would it be for an amateur to perform the same steps you did to clean the TB? Can anyone do this?

 

I cleaned my throttlebody without any problems. Not only that, but I moved the butterfly valve many times to clean it out, and I never had any problems afterwords. There was a bunch of gunk in there. Once it was clean, I had better throttle response, and I think better gas mileage (don't know for sure because I did not do any testing), but it seems that I get a few more miles per tank. (could also just be in my head).

Anyway, I was scared doing this because I also read about the shorting problem, and having to replace the throttle body at $800 bucks. I tried it anyway, but I removed the negative terminal on the battery first and let it sit for several hours. Typically to short something you have to have an electrical source, right? so I removed the battery. When I started it up afterwords, it sputtered a bit, probably because of all the stuff I sprayed in there, but eventually idled back down to normal. My idle also felt smoother after the cleaning. I did not remove the throttlebody to clean it.

For those of you who did manage to short, or break your throttlebody...Did you disconnect the battery before doing it? Was the car running while you sprayed the cleaner into the TB? (I've seen this done many times on older vehicles when I worked in a mechanic shop)

 

Removing the TB and cleaning it is super EZ, you just need the right allen wrenches to remove the TB screws. I give it a 2 on a 5 being a supercharger install.