Hey guys I've been searching through the forum to solve my P0506 rough idle problem and came to the conclusion that I gotta clean the throttle body. I'm no auto buff and have very little experience working on vehicles beside changing oil, but everyone says it quite easy to clean...I just don't have a clue as to how to find,remove, and for that matter even find the exact part to clean. Any help would be appreciated, thanks.

 

Remove your air box and clean it with some carb cleaner and shop towels. Or you can completely remove the TB and bench clean it. Just don't do what I did today and strip the MAF threads.

 

im kind of like you... not a whole lot of experience but learning... I took mine off in a matter of 5-10 min. Hardest part was getting the clamps off of the air intake..

Just take off the clamps from your air intake, remove the 4 bolts.. can't rem what size.. maybe 10mm, remove the 3 plugs i believe.. and it will come right off... use some carb cleaner and a shop towel. Carbon should come off fairly easy. Just don't use anything that could scratch sides. Then just reverse to put back on.

Very easy to do.. I would say on a scale of 1-10, 10 being hardest as far as mechanically, this was about a 2

 

im kind of like you... not a whole lot of experience but learning... I took mine off in a matter of 5-10 min. Hardest part was getting the clamps off of the air intake..

Just take off the clamps from your air intake, remove the 4 bolts.. can't rem what size.. maybe 10mm, remove the 3 plugs i believe.. and it will come right off... use some carb cleaner and a shop towel. Carbon should come off fairly easy. Just don't use anything that could scratch sides. Then just reverse to put back on.

Very easy to do.. I would say on a scale of 1-10, 10 being hardest as far as mechanically, this was about a 2

 

It sounds harder than it really is. I spent more time waiting for everything to dry off than I actaully spent removing and re-installing the parts. While you have the air intake off go ahead and remove the maf sensor and spray it too. I just went to the auto parts store and bought the stp throttle body cleaner (worked great) and some crc maf sensor cleaner. Remember not to touch the maf sensor but just spray it and thats all you will need.

 

This may sound like a dumb question, but I am a bit gun shy about messing with my MAF. I had a 99 Explorer that ran with the CEL on for about a year b/c of intake issues.

If I don't have a light on dash showing that there is an issue, and my truck isn't showing any codes, would it be advisable to do this cleaning? I am afraid I could/would do more damage than if I just let it be. What say you?

 

I haven't looked at the TB's on our trucks, but I do recall on my 95 cobra, the OEM TB had a sticker on the outside rim that said specifically not to use any chemical cleaners on the inside of the TB, as it would remove the buildup inhibitor on the inside walls. Does Ford still continue to do this? If so, using carb cleaner is probably not a good idea.

 

If there is already significant build up on the intake, is the inhibitor doing it's job?? I recently cleaned my TB and intake manifold using carb cleaner & Deep Creep and noticed a big improvement. If you don't want to go through the hassle, go get the motorvac service which will clean carbon deposits.

 

thanks for all the help guys. i actually just sprayed the area around/in the throttle body plate ( as directed by an autozone employee). Im just gonna let it dry overnight and then try it again with shanks12's approach. thanks again!

 

well, i don't know all that much about the coatings they used to use, or even if they still do use them. but i will say that in my experience, nothing is perfect. the inhibitor, if it's even still on the new ones, would just inhibit the build up, not prevent it. you guys do what you want, i was just pointing out what i knew about the old ones. maybe i'll check mine soon. how many miles on your rides when you cleaned them?

 

At what miles is everyone cleaning there TB?

 

I just rolled past 24,000 and cleaned mine. I was able to wipe most of it off with a paper towel. I had the shakes while sitting at red lights. I've only gone out once since I cleaned it and no shakes so far.

Is it possible the inhibitor keeps the filth from embedding itself into the pores rather than inhibiting the actual build up? Mine wiped clean without much effort at all, suggesting to me that the surface is fairly smooth. I'm thinking spraying it may lead to quicker buildup, more frequent cleaning - not that it's a hard job to do. Do whichever you're more comfortable with.

 

All you need is a socket wrench and a standard set of sockets. Very easy to remove. Don't get any liquid on the electronics on the side of the TB. What engine do you have? The 4.6's TB is easy to remove, but I have no clue on the 5.4.

 

I am just under 50,000 on mine. It was caked up pretty good also.

 

Can anyone post some pics on the removal or some pics of the airbox off then the TB off for a 5.4 ? Would like to do this as well and pics would make me more comfortable first, THANKS !