Shop said our 2008 Focus had carbon deposits on it. Doesn't appear to be too difficult, but I needed a little tww verification:

http://www.carforum.net/routine-preventative-maintenance/5460-how-clean-your-throttle-body.html

http://forums.focaljet.com/team-tech/437973-throttle-boddy-cleaning.html

These about right for a guy with reasonable mechanical inclination?

9/19/2011 8:45:26 PM

how many miles are on it? i really doubt a 2008 model needs this done. sounds like the shop is trying to fuck you.

[Edited on September 19, 2011 at 8:53 PM. Reason : but yeah, it's pretty much just taking loose the intake hose and spraying some shit in there]

9/19/2011 8:50:01 PM

About 78k...and yeah it didn't seem too difficult, was the first time I'd been told a vehicle of mine needed this type of work done.

When I asked the lady about how long it takes something like this to build up, she said she couldn't begin to guess, its all based on driving habits. When I pressed the issue...there must be some sort of 'average driver' baseline for this sort of work...she completely dodged the question.

Ordinarily I don't quip over a $67 repair/maintenance, but her evasiveness and other factors during my encounter pissed me off.

9/20/2011 8:16:12 AM

This is just one of those things muffler shops do to squeeze a little extra cash out of their customers. 2 minutes to take off the air intake hose, $.30 worth of cleaning spray, and a quick scrub/wipe for $67, lol.

Unless it's bad enough to prevent the butterfly from opening/closing properly it's unlikely that cleaning it will make any difference in performance whatsoever, but go ahead and clean it for the piece of mind and to maybe save yourself a little trouble 100k miles from now. Also don't be surprised when they tell you it is filthy and offer you the exact same service the next time you take your car in.

[Edited on September 20, 2011 at 10:21 AM. Reason : s]

9/20/2011 10:20:17 AM

For years fords have had a special coating on the throttle bodies and stamped on it in big letters it says "DO NOT CLEAN". But I clean them anyway.

9/20/2011 10:35:27 AM

About a year and a half ago I cleaned the throttlebody on my Q45. After 14 years so much carbon had built up that the butterfly would stick and I could feel it through the gas pedal/throttle cable.

Propping the throttlebody open might be helpful, but you can rotate the linkage with one hand and clean with the other. A toothbrush would be good but if the carbon is really built up in there you will need something more abrasive. I had to use a pick set (you can get a set from Harbor Freight for a few dollars) to scrape carbon in many areas. I felt like a dental hygienist or something.

9/20/2011 11:28:54 AM

Most ford TBs have a sticker on them that says don't clean with an abrasive anything. However you can spray some cleaner on a rag and wipe it down and it will be okay. I think your car is drive by wire so don't go looking to pull the cable.

9/21/2011 10:10:59 AM

Thanks for the enlightenment folks, greatly appreciate it

9/21/2011 4:16:03 PM

I'm wondering if the things I'm experiencing are throttle position sensor related. '02 Jeep GC 4.7

When I have cruise control engaged the RPMs from time to time will jump 50-200 for a second and then settle back down for an arbitrary amount of time. It might go minutes before it does it again, it might go seconds. It generally DOES NOT do this without cruise engaged with my foot holding more or less the same RPM.

It's been doing this for the past ~6 months or so but in the past couple/few weeks it's started zooming up to 2000rpm when I crank it and it will take it 5-15 seconds before it comes back down to its normal ~500 rpm idle.

I'm not getting any CELs.

[Edited on October 30, 2011 at 7:07 PM. Reason : z]

10/30/2011 7:07:29 PM

carbon buildup sounds more likely to me unless TPS is a common problem on those engines

10/30/2011 10:56:13 PM

tps change seemed to straighten it out. Now if only my fucking passenger window regulator wouldn't have snapped this morning all would be right with my world. Here is to hoping some marine tex will save me from having to spend the money on a new unit.

11/9/2011 6:54:35 PM