I had the wife's 2009 Jeep Liberty into the dealership for an oil change. Naturally, they performed a 25 point vehicle check for free. At 30,000 miles, I was getting concerned about the brakes but the mechanic said they were fine. He did say that the throttle body needed cleaning and that I would be $100 for them to do that. Seems a bit much and a bit soon for something like this. Thoughts? Also, the book calls for spark plug changes every 30k, but when I called my garage to schedule an appointment, they said it was too soon and not to worry about it until fuel economy starts dropping.
Jeep Liberty Throttle Body
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lots of discussion on the jeep boards about regular TB cleaning. They are electronic and something about the PCV design of the 3.7 lends to rapid mucking up of the intake. That said, there are few actual reported problems I've read from a gummed up TB on these engines, and fewer problems fixed by cleaning it. folks just notice that they get dirty, and IIRC the new ones aren't expensive. I'm at 34,000 and haven't opened mine up, so I can't speak from experience-- will prolly peek in there this summer.
The rate is likely fair. IIRC they connect a can to drizzle into the intake while the car idles for 45 minutes. If they are good, they'll pull parts and directly clean/brush it. This is where DIY can save you some money.
The rate is likely fair. IIRC they connect a can to drizzle into the intake while the car idles for 45 minutes. If they are good, they'll pull parts and directly clean/brush it. This is where DIY can save you some money.
In my opinion you don't wait for a loss in performance before changing plugs and other items.BY the time you loose performance coil packs are overworked etc.There is a REASON there is mileage intervals for plug/filter replacements.I don't think much of a tech suggesting the just wait until there is a issue. Look in the Throttle Body yourself and see if any buildup.Its not hard to do with a flashlight.
JHZR2
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Ive seen that the TB does get dirty with a brownish residue within fairly short order. What Ive not seen is a situation where cleaning it has done anything but give a feelgood feeling because it looks clean.
The exception is my MILs 02 camry, which got clogged with solid carbon in the ICV and would not idle at cold startup... But that was a reliability issue which was solved by cleaning. Would PM have kept it from ever happening? Likely. But was it a big deal or hard to fix? nope.
Of course if you see anything from a rough idle to a CEL, Id do it as a matter of PM and addressing all possible issues. If none of these are found, Id leave alone.
Plugs are another matter. If the book says to do them at x, then at least pull and check/regap.
The exception is my MILs 02 camry, which got clogged with solid carbon in the ICV and would not idle at cold startup... But that was a reliability issue which was solved by cleaning. Would PM have kept it from ever happening? Likely. But was it a big deal or hard to fix? nope.
Of course if you see anything from a rough idle to a CEL, Id do it as a matter of PM and addressing all possible issues. If none of these are found, Id leave alone.
Plugs are another matter. If the book says to do them at x, then at least pull and check/regap.
At 30K there is probably some gunk on the throttle body that could be cleaned off. As far as if 100 bucks is a lot to clean it, that depends on HOW they are going to clean it. If they are just going to spray some TB cleaner in there then they are making 98 dollars proffit for a job that takes 5 minutes. If they are going to take the TB off and scrub it than 100 bucks is probably worth it, but you could save most of that money in labor by doing it yourself. The best way is a 3 step cleaning like 3M offers that is probably more than 100 bucks for them to do it.
As far as the plugs if they say they need to be changed than do it. Is your vehicle under warranty? If so you need to follow the service requirements or they could deny a warranty claim.
As far as the plugs if they say they need to be changed than do it. Is your vehicle under warranty? If so you need to follow the service requirements or they could deny a warranty claim.
I replaced plugs in my 07 Liberty at 30K. Not a bad job to do but the NGKs (I believe that was the OEM plug)were in perfect condition. I had already purchased a set of Motorcraft double platinums so I put them in. Yes, if you are under warranty I would do this maintenance but with the Liberty now out of warranty I will run them to 50K and check their condition. I will take a look at the throttle body on my Liberty for the build up condition.
Originally Posted By: hounddog
In my opinion you don't wait for a loss in performance before changing plugs and other items.BY the time you loose performance coil packs are overworked etc.There is a REASON there is mileage intervals for plug/filter replacements.
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I agree, follow the plug change interval in the manual, especially if your 3.7 uses a copper core plug. Don't wait for other problems or symptoms to develop first. If the dealer is doing a BG full fuel system induction and cleaning service, then the $100.00 charge is about right. The BG service is well worth the money but the dealer is probably not talking about removing the TB and cleaning it manually. If all they want to do is spray it with TB cleaner and maybe dump some fuel cleaner in the gas tank, you can do that yourself.
I am not sure about your 3.7 but on my 3.9, I remove my TB at every 20K, remove all the sensors from it and clean it with cleaner and a soft bristle tooth brush and a shop rag. I also clean my Idle Air Control Valve and lubricate all the pivot points and linkages on the TB with spray silicone. It's part of my yearly 20K tune-up and all it costs me is $2.00 for a new TB gasket and some TB/Carb Cleaner spray.
In my opinion you don't wait for a loss in performance before changing plugs and other items.BY the time you loose performance coil packs are overworked etc.There is a REASON there is mileage intervals for plug/filter replacements.
+1
I agree, follow the plug change interval in the manual, especially if your 3.7 uses a copper core plug. Don't wait for other problems or symptoms to develop first. If the dealer is doing a BG full fuel system induction and cleaning service, then the $100.00 charge is about right. The BG service is well worth the money but the dealer is probably not talking about removing the TB and cleaning it manually. If all they want to do is spray it with TB cleaner and maybe dump some fuel cleaner in the gas tank, you can do that yourself.
I am not sure about your 3.7 but on my 3.9, I remove my TB at every 20K, remove all the sensors from it and clean it with cleaner and a soft bristle tooth brush and a shop rag. I also clean my Idle Air Control Valve and lubricate all the pivot points and linkages on the TB with spray silicone. It's part of my yearly 20K tune-up and all it costs me is $2.00 for a new TB gasket and some TB/Carb Cleaner spray.
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