Cleaning the throttle body
 

OK, I'm not a mechanic and have never done mechanical type work on my cars (other than oil changes) until the SVX. I've just heard too many stories of shops mistreating our cars, aside from the fact that it is often a LOT of money for simple fixes and procedures. Thanks to this site, I've used a lot of those fixes and have learned a lot about taking care of my car.

So with that said, don't laugh to hard. :) I did a search and found several posts about "cleaning the throttle body" among the "Tune-Up" things to do. (I'll probably be asking about some of the others, but one thing at a time) So first, what and where is the throttle body? And then, what is the procedure?

Thanks guys!

Re: Cleaning the throttle body
 

Troy,
Your throttle body is located under your H6 Cover (be careful not to lose the little screw-like clips that hold it on). Take it off and you'll see two large rubber hoses held on by large worm-gear clamps. Start by loosening those clamps. Once done, unsnap your air box (where your filter is). You'll also need to find a few hoses that are attached to the plastic bits connected to the intake (large plastic ductwork), as wall as unplug the electrical connector to your MAF (the thing that looks like a small Pizza Hut, in the plastic "ductwork" configuration). Once all that stuff is removed, the orifices from which you undid the large clamps is your throttle body. spray those orifices liberally with carb/choke or throttle body cleaner. That will clean out accumulated varnish and other gunk. Then, open the butterflies by depressing the accelerator (you'll see the link to the butterflies on the passenger's side -- if I remember correctly -- attached to the accelerator cable -- just depress that). Once the butterflies are open, continue to liberally spray cleaner into those areas until the cleaner begins to run clear. Occasionally use a mirror to check and make sure the areas are clean. Once you've gotten it all cleaned up, and used a rag to dry up any remaining cleaner in the intake, then, reconnect the intake ductwork and you're done.

As I told one member, you may experience some rough running on start up and puffs of white smoke -- that's normal. It's your car burning off the cleaner that's still in the intake. Just drive it around a little while and it'll smooth out -- plus, your ECU will begin to adjust for the freer flow of air.

Good luck.

Thanks Randy!
 

Thanks! I had seen you suggested this to other's in my search, but had not seen the specifics. As always, very well written instructions, I shall give it a try! :)

How often should this be done? If the car seems to be running ok, should I do it just out of normal maintenance? Thanks

The mechanic who has done most of the work on my cars (unfortunately, not on the SVX, though), suggests you clean the throttle body at every other oil change, just to be safe.

Re: Re: Cleaning the throttle body
 

Why remove all that stuff? Can just the two big hoses be undone from the throttle body?

I don't have any clips for my H-6 cover? When I got the car there was only one, now the other has disappeared so it's just sitting on top. Can I get some more or do I just use a nut and bolt now? :)

I think I paid about $5 for the two clips at my Subie dealer :)

:D B.C. :D

As Brian said, the clips are cheap. They're available at subaruparts.com. Just to to the engine diagram.

The H-6 cover has to come off to get to the hoses. You COULD just undo the hoses, but there are smaller hoses restricting the movement of the "two big hoses." It's much easier to get the can of cleaner behind the butterflies if you remove the stuff. You'll see what I mean, once you try. :D

Ah okay, I see that makes sense then.

I'll order the clips along with a driver's power window switch. I took it out to clean it / look at the breaking driver's switch and I couldn't get it back together without disabling the P/W lock. Also I broke the switch even more. So now there's about four individual things wrong with my switches so that's a good excuse to get a new box :)

Glad I could help . . .:confused: I think. :D