Do you guys regularly clean the throttle body?

[researcher]

That's what I thought. It's carb cleaner that can allegedly strip the "non stick coating". I've never heard of tb cleaner harming plastics, but maybe???

yes you're correct, regular throttle body cleaner contains acetone. Acetone WILL melt/deform the plastic composites of the intake manifold. What you can do is either (what I do) spray TB cleaner on a sponge cleaning swab, then clean the plate.. or.. Use MAF sensor cleaner, it's safe for plastics and it does clean the TB very well.

EDIT: Forgot to mention, if you take the TB off, then TB cleaner is fine. But most of us leave it on the engine while we clean it and that's why you don't spray TB cleaner down the throat of the TB. Most of the more recent cars have plastic/composite air intakes that the TB is mounted on.

 

[Silver]

There are lots of TB cleaning freaks about. I've never had it make any difference at all, but maybe mine just haven't been dirty enough.

My '02 Taurus will develop a sticky pedal when the blade gets slightly gunked up, but even then there's no other symptoms.

 

[Infomercial]

I just replace the throttle body every time i see a cheap one. They gunk up in places you cant reach when on. Labor to remove and clean, plus the cost of solvent is more than the $4-28 ive spent on a throttle body

 

[ekrampitzjr]

Performance ? No, but on my car it would occasionally "stumble" when coming to a stop and the RPMs would drop to 400-500 (??) and then catch itself. Cleaning the throttle bodies made that problem go away.

I had the same problem on some 1990s Fords. I didn't spray the cleaner directly into the body. Instead, cleaning around the throttle plate using a soft-bristle toothbrush with throttle-body cleaner got rid of the gunk that builds from the PCV system, and everything would be good for 10,000 miles or so. Yes, the gunk, though soft, was enough to make a difference in idling.

Also, over time the throttle plate, when closed, will wear a small groove around the inside of the body. This is a reason cleaning becomes necessary.

Removing the idle air control valve and spraying its insides with throttle-body cleaner every so often helped too.

 

[researcher]

I had the same problem on some 1990s Fords. I didn't spray the cleaner directly into the body. Instead, cleaning around the throttle plate using a soft-bristle toothbrush with throttle-body cleaner got rid of the gunk that builds from the PCV system, and everything would be good for 10,000 miles or so. Yes, the gunk, though soft, was enough to make a difference in idling.

Also, over time the throttle plate, when closed, will wear a small groove around the inside of the body. This is a reason cleaning becomes necessary.

Removing the idle air control valve and spraying its insides with throttle-body cleaner every so often helped too.

Yup that's what happens on mine too.. more the Scion with it's drive-by-wire throttle plate.. It's gunks up at the pivot points. And on the Scion it's the MAF sensor instead of the idle-air valve same idea though.

 

[hardcore302]

My 2nd gen Equinox seems like it appreciated a throttle body and Maf cleaning every so often.

 

[1000MPH]

CRC sells a two pack of TB and MAF cleaner. I did my 4Runner at 10 years/110k and both were pretty clean, I had no need to perform the idle relearn procedure. It’s easy to get to and remove on the 4R so I’ve set a goal to do it at 5/60k. It’s also a good time to pull the intake and airbox off, look around, and do some engine bay cleaning. The 4R pulls air from the inside of the passenger fender and that area can get full of dirt, leaves,etc.

 

[FTTSHO]

I do it about every 10k miles just because it's easy and I don't mind doing it this often.


I have a 2010 Ford Taurus SHO with the 3.5 ecoboost. Super easy to remove it and clean it. My throttle body is always pretty clean because I have an oil catch can that catches most of the oil that would go through the throttle body, but I still clean it every 10k miles just because I like to keep things clean.

 

[ARB1977]

Every 30K on the Tacoma 4.0L since I change the plugs. 30K on the 19 Pilot when I change the air filter.

 

[Gimpy1]

yes you're correct, regular throttle body cleaner contains acetone. Acetone WILL melt/deform the plastic composites of the intake manifold. What you can do is either (what I do) spray TB cleaner on a sponge cleaning swab, then clean the plate.. or.. Use MAF sensor cleaner, it's safe for plastics and it does clean the TB very well.

EDIT: Forgot to mention, if you take the TB off, then TB cleaner is fine. But most of us leave it on the engine while we clean it and that's why you don't spray TB cleaner down the throat of the TB. Most of the more recent cars have plastic/composite air intakes that the TB is mounted on.

Taking the TB could cause issues especially onVW group vehicles, unless you perform a thottle adaptation you'll get an EPC light. I've used the CRC kit in that comes with a maf cleaner and a tb cleaner. Both wont harm plastics

 

[researcher]

For those of you who want to believe that acetone won't harm plastics, feel free to use TB cleaner down the throat of your TB into your composite/plastic intake manifold.. Don't say we didn't warn ya...

For the rest.. here's the SDS (Safety Data Sheet) on CRC's TB Cleaner..

http://images.salsify.com/image/upload/s--T_CgCZPl--/eudf1htspyqljjbtqdgm.pdf

On page 2, ingredients Acetone 80-90%. And yes Acetone WILL melt plastic/deform it..

oh and CRC says that their TB cleaner is not safe for plastics.. at this link

Catalogs

app.salsify.com

The MAF sensor cleaner IS plastic safe..

 

[brianl703]

yes you're correct, regular throttle body cleaner contains acetone. Acetone WILL melt/deform the plastic composites of the intake manifold.

Plastic intake manifolds are made from glass reinforced nylon.

Acetone doesn't have any effect on nylon, except maybe if you left it soaked in acetone for a week.

Ref: https://www.newmantools.com/pipestoppers/NYLON_chem_resistance_nt.pdf

EDIT: VW has been using polypropylene for intake manifolds. That is another plastic that acetone has no effect on, ref: https://www.millerplastics.com/how-acetone-affects-certain-plastics/

 

[researcher]

Plastic intake manifolds are made from glass reinforced nylon.

Acetone doesn't have any effect on nylon, except maybe if you left it soaked in acetone for a week.

Ref: https://www.newmantools.com/pipestoppers/NYLON_chem_resistance_nt.pdf

EDIT: VW has been using polypropylene for intake manifolds. That is another plastic that acetone has no effect on, ref: https://www.millerplastics.com/how-acetone-affects-certain-plastics/

thanks for that info .. I appreciate it, I bet others will too. But for me, I still won't be taking any chances when cleaning the TB.

 

[Nesterenko]

For those of you who want to believe that acetone won't harm plastics, feel free to use TB cleaner down the throat of your TB into your composite/plastic intake manifold.. Don't say we didn't warn ya...

For the rest.. here's the SDS (Safety Data Sheet) on CRC's TB Cleaner..

http://images.salsify.com/image/upload/s--T_CgCZPl--/eudf1htspyqljjbtqdgm.pdf

On page 2, ingredients Acetone 80-90%. And yes Acetone WILL melt plastic/deform it..

oh and CRC says that their TB cleaner is not safe for plastics.. at this link

Catalogs

app.salsify.com

The MAF sensor cleaner IS plastic safe..

I think CRC would be wise enough to warn you of that danger if it were in fact a danger.

 

[Nesterenko]

I just replace the throttle body every time i see a cheap one. They gunk up in places you cant reach when on. Labor to remove and clean, plus the cost of solvent is more than the $4-28 ive spent on a throttle body

You're buying a complete TB unit for less than $28? Sounds too good to be true.

 

[GMBoy]

I do a spray and wipe down at every oil change. I also spray a whole can of intake cleaner thru with the motor running to clean the intake valves just before draining the old oil...a direct injected motor can benefit from that.

 

[silversport]

just re-cleaned the throttle body on my 2014 Cadillac CTS Sport Wagon with 3.0 V6...I had cleaned it sometime back but due to an error in me trusting my account on the Cadillac site I lost the date at mileage of when I last had done this...I was not having any issues causing me to clean the TB or the MAF but did it anyway...it had been more than 25K miles since the last time I did this though

I found the carbon/oil ring under the throttle blade...it cleaned up easily withe CRC Throttle Body Cleaner and a soft toothbrush...I have noticed it idles a touch better and the throttle progression seems smoother...I also realize this may be the placebo affect but I feel better about having done this...

Bill

 

[Infomercial]

You're buying a complete TB unit for less than $28? Sounds too good to be true.

Yes. Ever since I put 22" rims on my mustang life just works out really well.

 

[UncleDave]

Do you guys regularly clean the throttle body in your car? How often?

Just wondering. It’s never been on my radar. I’ve run a few vehicles to 200k without troubles. Mostly Toyotas. But now I’ve seen some YouTube videos where people recommend it. What say you? Is it worth doing?

Thanks!

Nope.

It's not been part of any vehicle schedule I've ever owned.

 

[Silver]

Yes. Ever since I put 22" rims on my mustang life just works out really well.

This guy...