cleaning throttle body on 90 camry - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

jaansu · 01-20-2010, 09:26 PM

my 90 Camry is a rock but the throttle body seems to need cleaning every 6 months. This is getting expensive. I understand this isn't a tough job but reading the shop manual doesn't make it clear enough. Is there anything on the web that shows a bit clearer (or can someone describe it well enough) to allow me to tackle yet another operation on my ride?

atobe · 01-20-2010, 10:16 PM

http://www.4x4wire.com/toyota/mainte...throttle_body/ different car but same idea
i don't get why you have to clean it every 6 mnths for.. change the air filter may be ??

Jimnist · 01-21-2010, 02:23 AM

Or if it's oil, get an oil catch can. Goes between the PCV valve and intake manifold, it'll collect any oil vapours and stop them from getting into the manifold and TB.

Mike Gerber · 01-21-2010, 12:44 PM

In addition to what atobe posted, here's a thread for cleaning the 4 cylinder engine's throttle body, since you don't say which engine your car has. It's for a later model 5SFE engine, but should be almost identical to the 3SFE 4 cylinder engine of your generation.

How to: Cleaning Throttle Body -4 Cylinder Engines- With Pictures

Mike

white90dx · 01-21-2010, 03:41 PM

Unless you are getting a sticky throttle or poor running, somebody is just trying to get some money out of you... a little spray of cleaner, a little scrub of a toothbrush and you are good to go.

-Charlie

jaansu · 01-29-2010, 06:58 AM

Thank you for the ideas. I bought the Sea Foam Deep Creep, will remove the air hose and try the spraying/brushing/wiping you have mentioned. It sounds like basically just to spray everything down, wipe up whatever I can reach and the rest will burn off? I'm a little confused about how to open the butterfly valve to get behind it. Just force it open with a pencil or plastic rod?

It's more like 15000 miles for this to get bad but it is more frequent than any other car I've owned. If I ask for the oil trap at Pep Boys, will they know what I'm asking for?

I appreciate your help and will let you know if it worked for me.

Jimnist · 01-29-2010, 07:22 AM

It's easy as, just follow the throttle cable and turn the valve itself. It's easier to wedge it open (on the outside) so that you can scrub it good with a toothbrush on the inside.

Yes, the guys at Pep Boys should know what an oil catch can is.

Mike Gerber · 01-29-2010, 02:16 PM

"I'm a little confused about how to open the butterfly valve to get behind it. Just force it open with a pencil or plastic rod?"

No, you rotate the linkage from the outside the throttle body. Do not use anything inside the throttle body that might scratch the surfaces of either the throttle body itself or the butterfly valve.

Mike

jaansu · 02-05-2010, 09:43 AM

Thank you all for the advice. I used the Deep Creep and a toothbrush to clean as much as I could reach. From what I can see, there is still a lot of surface further inside the TB that looks very dirty and I couldn't reach with the toothbrush. But cleaning the butterfly valve and the area near it has eliminated the sticky accelerator I find happening when the TB becomes dirty.
I didn't use much of the spray and now I wonder if I would have been able to get the other dirt, further down the TB if I had kept spraying it in. I noticed no fumes from the exhaust after I fired up the car, so maybe not enough went in? I noticed the pros use a 'snake' that uses solvent to clean TB, which for $60 doesn't sound like a bad deal. Would that allow me to do a more thorough job on cleaning the whole thing? One problem I had was that I couldn't get the air filter hose assembly out of the way to really line up the spray can, since there was a wire connected to the top of it. When I unscrewed it, I could see all these delicate-looking metal leads that I thought I shouldn't mess with and I put it back together.

jaansu · 02-05-2010, 09:44 AM

Thank you all for the advice. I used the Deep Creep and a toothbrush to clean as much as I could reach. From what I can see, there is still a lot of surface further inside the TB that looks very dirty and I couldn't reach with the toothbrush. But cleaning the butterfly valve and the area near it has eliminated the sticky accelerator I find happening when the TB becomes dirty.
I didn't use much of the spray and now I wonder if I would have been able to get the other dirt, further down the TB if I had kept spraying it in. I noticed no fumes from the exhaust after I fired up the car, so maybe not enough went in? I noticed the pros use a 'snake' that uses solvent to clean TB, which for $60 doesn't sound like a bad deal. Would that allow me to do a more thorough job on cleaning the whole thing? One problem I had was that I couldn't get the air filter hose assembly out of the way to really line up the spray can, since there was a wire connected to the top of it. When I unscrewed it, I could see all these delicate-looking metal leads that I thought I shouldn't mess with and I put it back together.

white90dx · 02-05-2010, 01:01 PM

DON'T UNSCREW THE AFM HARNESS!!!

There is a small metal clip that you just slide out of the way and the harness pulls right off. You may have seriously damaged your AFM by unscrewing and pulling on the plug.

Don't worry too much about build-up inside the intake manifold. Just make sure the area near the throttle valve is clean and you should be fine.

-Charlie

Jimnist · 02-05-2010, 06:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by white90dx

DON'T UNSCREW THE AFM HARNESS!!!

There is a small metal clip that you just slide out of the way and the harness pulls right off. You may have seriously damaged your AFM by unscrewing and pulling on the plug.

Don't worry too much about build-up inside the intake manifold. Just make sure the area near the throttle valve is clean and you should be fine.

-Charlie

Major +1 to the above.

Far too many people have ruined their AFM's by unscrewing the main harness.

The only way to fully clean the intake manifold would be to remove it. To be honest, it really doesn't matter (the fact that it's dirty). As long as the TB and associated components are clean.

fredk · 02-05-2010, 07:26 PM

most of the crud inside past the butterfly is caused by EGR function, its a clean air emissions deal, the goopy mess on the butterfly itself is caused by the crancase vent tube ahead of the butterfly, on my wore out camry I took the hose off the intake tube and made a loop in it and hung a hose downwards under the car and plugged the hole up in the intake tube

jaansu · 02-06-2010, 10:58 PM

So did I solve one problem and cause another? I took out the two screws on either side of the plug that led into the top of the air hose from the filter and began to pull it out. I encountered slight resistance and could see what appeared to be shiny metal leads. I reassembled and replaced the screws. I don't notice any change in performance. If I damaged this (what does it do anyway?), would I be noticing something bad happening?

Jimnist · 02-07-2010, 01:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jaansu

So did I solve one problem and cause another? I took out the two screws on either side of the plug that led into the top of the air hose from the filter and began to pull it out. I encountered slight resistance and could see what appeared to be shiny metal leads. I reassembled and replaced the screws. I don't notice any change in performance. If I damaged this (what does it do anyway?), would I be noticing something bad happening?

Yes, if you messed it up you would notice something bad happening. The car might not start or will run very poorly. The AFM controls how much fuel to inject into the engine. It has a little gate/flap inside it. Basically, the greater the vacuum (varied by the butterfly), the more fuel it puts in. That's why you will need to jam a screwdriver in there if you ever start the car without intake ducts.