Hello,

The shop I go to has told me that I should clean the throttle body on my 2000 Civic LX which can help fix my idle fluctuations.

Can anyone give me any tips on how to clean the throttle body?

Thanks in advance.

 

Brake cleaner, seafoam, carb cleaner.

 

Go get a couple cans of intake system cleaner. It's normally an spray can. Follow the directions on the side. You'll probably sit there flipping the TB open while it's running, spraying the **** in there. It will make a nice cloud out your exhaust, so don't do it in your apartment's underground parking or anything. lol
The can should be under $10. Most shops charge an hour of labor to do this. Getting up near $100.

 

Hello,

Do you think you can be more specific on the steps on how to clean the throttle?

thanks

 

Take the intake tube off of the throttle body with a screw driver or the appropriate size wrench. If yours has the airbox and filter on top of the throttle body, just remove the air box lid and air filter(this is the easiest one to do this on). You may have to unplug your map sensor so you do not stretch the wires, but make sure you plug it back in before turning the key on.

Hold the throttle plate all the way open by turning the throttle rotor (the round thing that your throttle cable attaches to. Spray throttle plate and induction cleaner onto the throttle plate and inside the throttle body. Using a clean shop rag, wipe the build up off of the plate and body. Repeat the spray and wipe process until the rag wipes clean and the throttle plate and body look clear of build up.

When you are done, reattach the intake tube or replace the filter and box lid. It is very likely that your car won't fire up right away, so crank it over a few times, then hold the throttle to the floor while cranking and it should start. It will run roughly and smoke a bit for several minutes because carbon, build up, and throttle plate cleaner will be burning off. This is normal, just let idle until it runs as it should.

Do not use brake cleaner to do this. Brake cleaner is very flammable and can blow back through the intake upon start up and start a fire. I saw a guy at my shop do this, it is not pretty. Only use throttle plate and induction specific cleaners. Throttle plates/bodies have special coatings on them that can be damaged by other detergents.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by MatterMatt &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Take the intake tube off of the throttle body with a screw driver or the appropriate size wrench. If yours has the airbox and filter on top of the throttle body, just remove the air box lid and air filter(this is the easiest one to do this on). You may have to unplug your map sensor so you do not stretch the wires, but make sure you plug it back in before turning the key on.

Hold the throttle plate all the way open by turning the throttle rotor (the round thing that your throttle cable attaches to. Spray throttle plate and induction cleaner onto the throttle plate and inside the throttle body. Using a clean shop rag, wipe the build up off of the plate and body. Repeat the spray and wipe process until the rag wipes clean and the throttle plate and body look clear of build up.

When you are done, reattach the intake tube or replace the filter and box lid. It is very likely that your car won't fire up right away, so crank it over a few times, then hold the throttle to the floor while cranking and it should start. It will run roughly and smoke a bit for several minutes because carbon, build up, and throttle plate cleaner will be burning off. This is normal, just let idle until it runs as it should.

Do not use brake cleaner to do this. Brake cleaner is very flammable and can blow back through the intake upon start up and start a fire. I saw a guy at my shop do this, it is not pretty. Only use throttle plate and induction specific cleaners. Throttle plates/bodies have special coatings on them that can be damaged by other detergents. </TD></TR></TABLE>

Yeah, haha, I saw the same thing happen, he was the "eh, same ****" type of guy - scorched the throttle body and melted the intake arm.

Pretty similar to a nitrous backfire.

 

Seafoam works pretty good but make a ton of smoke...