How To: Throttle body cleaning 2005+ V6

I noticed recently that my truck hasn't been as responsive and seemed a little sluggish off the line. Thought I'd finally give this a try, and wow, what a difference. $12 well spent! Thanks for the write up, and like many others have said, the red arrow is brilliant. Kudos good sir.

 

94000 miles and just did it holy Sh*^! Excellent write up, going to do the wifes TSX next.

 

Just did this. Super easy with your "red arrow" tutorial. thanks for the great write up.

 

This is on my list to start off my new year, tomorrow. I assume you can get the cleaners @ Advance Auto, AutoZone, etc? I have looked @ Walmart, but my Walmarts do not carry them.

 

yup.. any of the auto parts stores should have it.

 

Sorry to hijack: I've been considering removing my 2nd air filter, any disadvantages to doing this? Can it hurt anything?

 

Do a search on here and you can find different opinions on doing it. I think it doesn't really help the v6's much, I could not tell a difference. It did not hurt anything either though since I have done it. Cleaning the throttle body and mass air flow sensor helped more that taking out the 2ndary air filter.

 

Thanks.

 

What color is the MAF sensor supposed to be? Mine is silver on top and copper colored at the bottom (loop). I have my secondary air filter in place. How should I clean this without getting the secondary filter sprayed?

This the best pic I could get.

 

Just take it out and spray liberally with the mass airflow cleaner. I had a real bitch of a time getting the secondary filter out. I damn near broke it. And as stated for the love of god, don't break the wires inside or you'll be out a few hundred for a new one.

Also, when spraying inside the throttle body make sure the red hose on the can is on tight. Your ass will pucker faster than a clam at high tide when it goes shooting out and into the engine and you have to extract it with pliers.

(Course that shit would happen to me.)

 

Thanks for the help. Do you mean take the MAF sensor out, or take the filter out?

 

I will probably do the tb cleaning hopefully this weekend

 

My 2008 has 40k on it. This is the 1st time I have cleaned the throttle body. I will definitely do it more often. Maybe every other oil change.

MAF Sensor did not look dirty from what I could see. I could not figure how to clean it with the secondary air filter in place without soaking it as well. I skipped the MAF Sensor cleaning.

Did the throttle body, and boy what a difference! Took it off to clean the back end as well. That was the dirty side. I am learning more about mechanics thanks to this website. Great write up, and very detailed pics!

Here are some before and after pics.

 

I took the MAF sensor out...Blew the top off with an air duster, unscrewed, cleaned sensor, wiped edges, and re-installed.

 

Did it come out easy after you removed the 2 screws? Was it difficult to get it back in without destroying the wires?

 

It might stick a little, unplug the harness before you take the screws out, it should come out pretty easy, don't forget to reset the ECU before you fire it up

 

I hate to keep asking what probably seems like stupid questions to most of y'all, but how to I reset the ECU?

 

No problem man, the only stupid question is the one that doesn't get asked. The ECU is your trucks computer and all you have to do is disconnect the battery for a bit, say 30-60 seconds, the truck does the rest.

 

I took both out.

Disconnect the battery. Turn the key to ignition to clear all power from the system. ECU reset.

Oh yeah, the wires are well inside the little conical housing. You won't break them unless you drop it or cram something inside. You don't have to be super gentle with it. Just don't use it as a hacky sack.