This is a guide to getting access to your throttle body in order to clean it.

Please use this at your own risk.

First, make sure the car is off and the key is not in the ignition.

Locate your airbox and disconnect the piping and move it to the side so that you can get access to the throttle body.

There are two tabs circled in this picture. Use a flat head screwdriver to push down on the tabs (see the arrows) and slide it forward towards the bumper of the car. Keep in mind, there is a tab on the bottom, so once you have loosened the tabs, move it forward and up to the left.



From here, you'll see the tube that connects the intercooler to the throttle body. The throttle body is connected to the tube by a hose clamp (circled) and a bracket that is mounted by two screws (circled).



The hose clamp is easily removed by using a flat headed screwdriver.

You then need to remove the two screws below:



Then, pull the hose off of the throttle body by pulling the hose forward towards the bumper of the car and to the right. This is what it should look like when you've done the aforementioned.



Now, that's one dirty throttle body!



We cleaned it off with paper towels and q-tips and a couple light sprays of throttle body/air intake cleaner:



This is what it looks like when it's clean



To put it back together, follow these steps.

Push the hose back into the TB;
Line up the bracket and put the screws back on;
Tighten the hose clamp;
Put back the airbox piping--you must first secure the bottom tab into the airbox, then put the top tabs in place.

Done!

Hope this helps.

Thanks so much to Splinter for helping me do this (he basically did 99% of it). Thanks for your hospitality and welcoming me to your beautiful home.

 

Very nice write up!

 

Good stuff Phil - Excellent pictures. Now everyone knows how to do it - simple.

 

Nice write up phil!

 

Good deal.

 

thanks for that DIY... but whats the point of cleaning it? other than it looking dirty...

 

having a dirty throttle body can contribute to poor performance and drivability issues. The throttle body regulates the air being sent into the engine with that flap you see inside it. If the surrounding areas are dirty, then it limits how efficiently that flap can open and close and it could even block that flap.

so, if the car has a lot of miles on it, the throttle body could be pretty dirty and have a lot of build up dirt that could pose problems.

http://www.mobiloil.com/USA-English/...le_Bodies.aspx

 

nice write up! Is that the first time you cleaned it? How many miles are on your car?

 

thanks. yeah, that is the first time I cleaned it (although the dealer may have partially cleaned it about a month ago). it's fast approaching 70k miles.

 

Anytime, Phil. It was my pleasure. You’re always welcome in our home.

Straight up, it was pretty much a 50/50 effort from my recollection -- with you handling the gunky portions.

 

very cool... thanks for the link

 

thanks for the DIY

I will try and clean the throttle body this weekend.

I too have the rough idle at times (on cold start and even when im just idling at a stop light). Hopefully this can help that. Fingers crossed.

 

Ok, I'll add the DIY for removing and replacing the TB here:

You basically follow the steps above to remove the tube/snorkel. Then, unplug the electrical connector/harness on the right side of the TB (the ONLY connector on the TB).

You then have four torx screws that are on each edge of the TB. Carefully remove those screws. Those are the only things that hold the TB in. Carefully pull out the old TB. Replace the TB and line up the screws. tighten the screws, plug in the harness/connector.

Follow the replacement steps above.

Done!

Thanks to the Jose (mig888) for showing me this and doing the install.

 

Here is a pdf of the DIY instructions by nlpamg (hope u dont mind that i posted it)

 

Since this was the only post I could find by searching for throttle bodies I thought I would ask this question. Yesterday while changing out my cam sensors and adding pigtails to the new ones (thanks for all the great info on that issue, I save @1700 by diy) I noticed a loose air hose. This air hose was very oily so I took it off to inspect and found a small pooling of oil in the throttle body. This was only after much research that I was able to determine it was the air hose that connects to the throttle body. With my limited knowledge of engines I do not think there should ever be oil here. Am I wrong? The cam sensor was leaking very badly and it could have dripped onto the belts and flown onto the body throttle and seeped inside the loose hose. I cleaned it up and reattached everything and after clearing the code she runs like a gem again. But I am worried that oil should not be there and can not get this out of my head. Any advice?

 

Very nice write up! Thank you. I haven't really thought about cleaning my throttle body but I'm going to do this tonight. Thanks again...and for the PDF.

 

So I cleaned my throttle today and found a little bit of oil in the body and the hose. I assume this isnt normal but my car runs fine. Did you find any oil residue in yours?

I've cleaned it off and gonna wait another weak and examine it again. Maybe I'll call my SA also tomorrow.

 

i brought my car into the dealer and my SA inquired with his tech about the oil. His tech said that was the throttle for the supercharger and its normal for oil to get in there. Huh really? I guess maybe I need to take it to another dealer and have him check it.

 

i cleaned it yesterday - found a bit of oil aswell.. i guess its normal. car ran fine b4 car runs fine now.

 

Thanks for the info. I sure do hope its normal. My car drives fine as well.

 

To add on to this informational thread

When doing a TB replacement, does any gasket/o-ring need replacing? Or better yet, is there a gasket that goes between the manifold and the TB? I will be switching my TB unit out with another one. Just wondering before I begin the work incase I need to purchase any parts.

Thanks.

 

Even considering the scant labor involved with properly installing a throttle body,
it’s false economy to not fit a fresh $3 (271 141 10 80) O-ring concurrently.

 

Hey Phil,

Do you also clean behind the butterfly in the TB? Or is it enough to clean the entrance up to the butterfly?

 

What did you use to get the screw off that bracket? Before i start, (cold symptoms) to replace the idler, tensioner pulley ac pulley, i'm going to try and give this a clean before spending a wad of cash!!!

Anyone get good results?

 

Does anyone know the precise bit to remove the two hex screws??