I have used 100 shop towels, a electric tooth brush, and two bottles of throttle body cleaner and dirt is still in there. The rags, started out blue and ended up solid black. The toothbrush heads are gunked up so bad, it's not worth cleaning them and the two bottles are completly empty. I have gotten alot out but there is still more in there. Has anyone experienced this and how did you remove all of it? The throttle body has never been cleaned from the looks of it. I can scrap off a good 1/4 inch of solid gunk with my finger.

 

If you have a solvent sprayer, you can use Naptha or laquir thinner as a cleaner. Soak it first, then use the solvent sprayer last to clean it off. I cleaned a Vortec intake last fall and used a gallon of paint gun cleaner. It worked really well.

 

Will spraying down the maf sensor inside with Maf sensor cleaner(Kinda pricey but designed only for Mafs) give any advantages or make the car run better? Trying to do a full tune up from every angle I can.

Air Filter, Oil, Injector cleaner, Sea foam, Throttle body, Maf sensor, Clean up the intake, wash out the radiator, New plugs and wires, Transmission flush, new intake hose, all new hoses, belt, valve cover gaskets, thermostat, radiator flush, new resovoir fuel filter. Trying to make the motor run smoother and have a little more pickup since I know it has not been fully tuned up in 2 1/2 years. Just oil changes and thats it. Anything else anyone will add pertaining to just the engine bay parts. I have wiper blades, air pressure, ect down.

 

There is actually a spray cleaner just for cleaning the MAF and screen. It's made by CRC and is called MAF cleaner. O-Rielley's sells it. Allow it to dry completely before reinstalling it. I have used it on every vehicle I own once or twice now. The '97 Suburban's MAF was kind of dusty. Cleaning it made the most difference of all them. Ran much better after cleaning it. I'm not real sold on K&N air filters any more.

 

Damn, how many miles since last time it was cleaned? I try to clean mine every 10-15k miles... but yours sounds really gunked up, I'm sure you'll notice the difference when you start it up again though

Edit: Ahh now I see it has never been cleaned, that explains it.

 

I know thast this will go against conventional wisdom ... but after you do all that ... put in a stock paper air filter first and then after 5000 miles check your TB & MAF. The go put a K&N on and do another 5000 miles and recheck ..... see if perhaps you've found a contributor.

 

I dont understand this gunk TB problem.
Must be linked to the poor usa fuel
Or something

I have a 91 with 60k, took it appart
Last year and it was as clean as you can
Get it when new.

Hearing. 1/4 inch gunk is just incredible.

May be you should stop regular and go premium?

 

 

maybe buy a bucket of the 'parts cleaner' stuff, and let the whole TB soak in it for a day or so? That might be able to eat away at the gunk.

 

Seems like mainly air goes thru the throttle body and strange it could gum up like that. That leads me to believe its pulling engine oil or crankcase fumes into the body. Might want to check out the PCV valve and related hoses. Be careful cleaning the resistors if they are dirty also. If they are that bad the computer (ECM) is probably not getting the correct input for operation meaning A/F ratio.

 

The first time I cleaned my TB (since I owned the car) was during Cruise-In IV when the fellows repaired my leaking intake in the motel parking lot.

They used a concoction consisting of brake parts cleaner and vodka, but it worked like a charm.

I now clean my TB annually using Valvoline Synthetic Throttle Body Cleaner and an old toothbrush. It really mellows the base idle and improves throttle response.

 

I believe it's what the PCV draws out of the engine that creates this gunk. I know the entire inside of intakes get coated. Plus the EGR adds some carbon in there with the gunk. Maybe adding a sepperator in-line between the PCV valve and the intake would catch most of it. Then adding the cleaning of this catch-can to maintainance because now it's going to get gunked up instead of the intake. As far as the EGR. Not much you can do about it. I don't think you want to do away with it.

 

is it an easy part to get to?

does cleaning it bring back some performance that may have been lost over the years?

 

Is the throttle body on the car, or did you take it off? If still on, I would take it off to clean it. I plan on doing that, and I'm thinking of pulling the plenum and runners to clean those as well. I guess it will depend if there is gunk inside the plenum when I pull the throttle body.

I would also clean the IAC as well. I believe you don't want to spray anything inside. From what I remember, you remove the IAC and attach it back to it's wire. Then stick it in a ziplock bag. Turn the car to on and let the IAC shoot the need out. Then clean the needle and spring and use a tooth brush to clean the opening of the IAC without spraying anything inside. I know when I turn my car off, I can here a winding sound coming from the engine bay. Like a little electric motor is running for a few seconds, I'm guessing that is the IAC.

And I don't think bad fuel would have anything to do with this as it is TPI. So, no fuel touches the throttle body.

Are you going to remove the radiator when you flush it out?

I too have planned to replace the valve cover gaskets as I've seen some oil gunk on some of my plug wires. I've been told to go with the rubber Felpro gaskets.

Oh, and what wiper blades did you get?

 

Throttle body? Yes it's right up front on top. You have to remove the MAF sensor along with both bellows (as a set). The engine we are discussing is the LT1.

 

It's really easy to get to. Just remove your rubber intake bellows coupling. There are four bolts that hold the TB to the intake inlet. If you have an LT1, you'll want to clamp off the coolant hose that leads to the TB (if yours is still stock and hasn't been by-passed).

It's a good Saturday morning shade tree mechanic project. Improves throttle response, performance, and might even improve fuel economy slightly if you can keep your foot outta' the radiator.

 

If you have an L-98, I would not clean the MAF. I did it and then my MAF died within 100 miles. Others have seen this too. I did clean the TB with no ill effects. Yes, K&N filter oil will work it's way through the filter and end up in the intake. I have a K&N on my Silverado SS, because the MAF is a much heartier design and can be cleaned. The GMPP cold air kit for my Silverado SS is a dry element filter because of the oil concern.

 

I run only premium fuel from BP or Texaco. BP has invigorate and Texaco has Techron in it. No off brands ever! Thanks for the response guys. I went out and bought some more cleaner, rags and tooth brushes. 130, xxx miles on it has taken it's negative effects on the TB. I only use paper filters. Had K&N before but I did not care for it. Will report back later with updates. Hopefully it's getting better than it was before.

 

An out of the box K&N filter caused an oil coating on my MAF wires. That resulted in my BLM and Intergrator values becoming way off. As I recall, my BLM readings were pegged at 108.

I removed the MAF, turned it upside down and sprayed the wires with MAF cleaner. Then I removed the K&N filter and replaced it and the engine readings returned to normal.

Jake

 

What did you clean your MAF with?