PSA: I tried two ways to clean a throttle body and one was a total waste of time

I had a 2008 Civic come in with a rough idle last week. First, I just sprayed cleaner into the throttle body with the engine off, wiped it, and called it good. The car came back two days later. This time, I took the whole throttle body off, cleaned both sides of the plate and the bore with a toothbrush and cleaner, and made sure the IACV passage was clear. The difference was night and day. The idle was smooth right away and stayed that way. The first way just moved the gunk around, but the second way actually got it clean. It took maybe 15 extra minutes but saved a comeback. How do you guys handle throttle body cleans on older cars when you're trying to be quick but also do it right?

2 comments

2 Comments

jamie7125d ago

It's like @grayperez said, shortcuts usually just make more work later.

grayperez5d ago

Yeah, half-assing it is just a waste of everyone's time. Seen it a million times. That spray-and-wipe method only cleans the side of the plate you can see, and all the carbon just gets shoved into the IACV or the bore behind the plate. On my old Accord, I had to pull it to really get the built-up crap off the edges and the shaft. It's like cleaning a dirty dish by just rinsing the front. You gotta take it off and scrub both sides, or it'll just come back with the same idle surge or stalling problem.