Throttle body clean and reseal May correct: If you have read any maintenance manuals about cars particularly foreign cars, most say not to clean the throttle body. The reason given is that the bores in the aluminum are coated and cleaning can remove the coating, doing more harm then good. I myself find this not to be true. Although the bores MAY very well be coated I found that you can clean the main bore and throttle gate if some care is taken during the process. If you look around the air gate on most throttle bodies you will notice a rubbery coating that has been painted around where the brass meets the aluminum wall of the throttle body. This is to make an air tight seal when the throttle is in the fully closed position. An air tight seal is needed so that 100% of the air through the throttle body is diverted to the IAC (Idle air control), without it the engine has limited or no control over engine speed at idle. If you decide to clean your throttle body this seal will most likely be damaged and will need to be replaced. |
Reseal After the TB is cleaned you will need to reseal the throttle gate. To do this I made a mixture of thinned down silicone based RTV gasket. I chose RTV because it is oil and gas resistant and has good heat resistant properties. A solvent is used to thin the RTV, I used lighter fluid to thin mine. Add the fluid to the RTV a drop at a time until it takes on the consistency of paint and can easily be applied with a smallbrush. |
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With the throttle in the closed position paint the gasket around the edge of the gate as shown. Make sure you use a VERY thin layer and cover both the edge of the gate and the throttle body wall. Once dry ( 20 - 30 minutes) crack open the gate and make sure it moves freely. Reinstall and adjust your throttle cable.
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