[VgRt6]

Is this safe to do on the MKIV since it's drive-by-wire (DBW)?
It's no big deal on drive-by-cable cars, but is there a possibility that the servos and other parts of a DBW can be damaged if the throttle plate is moved, especially the way it's not supposed to? Also, are regular TB cleaners safe for the gaskets and seals (won't dry them out) in the DBW TB. I bought a can of Valvoline SynPower Carb Choke & Throttle Body Cleaner. On the can it says it's safe for cats and O2 sensors (not important since I'll be cleaning the TB with it out of the car), but it doesn't say anything about being safe for gaskets and seals.
I'm going to be giving this a shot soon and figured I'd try and get any advice I could before I started.
Thanks in advance.

 

[VgRt6]

Re: Anyone ever clean the throttle body on their MKIV? (VgRt6)

Anyone?
Bump back up to page 1.

 

[MTLVR6]

Re: Anyone ever clean the throttle body on their MKIV? (VgRt6)

I've never cleaned the TB but my mechanic told me it can be a good idea. He's going to do it for me sometime soon. I know nothing more but when I find out I'll post here.

 

[VgRt6]

Re: Anyone ever clean the throttle body on their MKIV? (MTLVR6)

Thanks. Hopefully I'll be doing it in the next few days. I'll be putting together a DIY of how to do it (assuming I figure it out!

) I just wanted some tips before I started.

 

[anthony_g]

Re: Anyone ever clean the throttle body on their MKIV? (VgRt6)

Bentley says there's one gasket there and it should be replaced. i got one from my dealer, just never got around to cleaning the TB.

 

[VgRt6]

Re: Anyone ever clean the throttle body on their MKIV? (anthony_g)

I saw that in the Bentley, but figured it was most likely reusable. The Bentley says that all gaskets should be replaced, but in reality many of them may still be in good enough condition to be reused.
Do you have the part # for the gasket? How much was it? If it's not too expensive maybe I'll pick one up just to be safe.

 

[VgRt6]

Re: Anyone ever clean the throttle body on their MKIV? (VgRt6)

Morning bump.

 

[jddaigle]

Re: Anyone ever clean the throttle body on their MKIV? (VgRt6)

Quote, originally posted by VgRt6 »

I'll be putting together a DIY of how to do it (assuming I figure it out! )

You, sir, are a saint.
I wish I had more info for you, but here's a bump for your troubles, and a

 

[VgRt6]

Re: Anyone ever clean the throttle body on their MKIV? (jddaigle)

I'm doing the TB cleaning tomorrow so the DIY should be up soon.

Evening bump.

 

[Fantomasz]

Re: Anyone ever clean the throttle body on their MKIV? (VgRt6)

why U clean TB? any problems?

 

[tomvw]

Re: Anyone ever clean the throttle body on their MKIV? (VgRt6)

the throttle body can be cleaned with any choke spray. i have done this many times. my advice is to remove the throttle from the intake and then clean it thoroughly. dry it out by blowing it with air(not full pressure). change the gasket as well ( only a couple of bucks). the only problem you might have is that the throttle should be electronically reset by using a vagcom. good luck and let me know how it works out.

 

[VgRt6]

Re: Anyone ever clean the throttle body on their MKIV? (tomvw)

Have you cleaned out a DBW TB? I know it's really easy to do on a DBC TB, but I'm worried about damaging the butterfly valve servos by moving it to clean it completely. Is this something I should be worried about?
I'm planning on removing the TB from the car and I've got a VAG-COM ready to do the adaptation once the TB is clean. I plan on reusing the gasket unless it appears to be in bad shape.



Modified by VgRt6 at 11:06 PM 11-7-2003

 

[VgRt6]

Re: Anyone ever clean the throttle body on their MKIV? (Fantomasz)

Quote, originally posted by Fantomasz »

why U clean TB? any problems?

My idle is starting to get a little rough. It's not that bad, but is starting to annoy me nevertheless. I know the intake is full of oil from the PCV and it's never been cleaned in the 144k miles the car's been on the road, so it's probably a good idea to give it a good cleaning.

 

[MastaVR6]

I've replaced a bad TB (TPS died).
Clean the area around the TB, top, sides, etc. debris = bad inside intake.
Basically remove the air box, remove the MAF tubing as a whole, TB can be Carb cleaned in place, just make sure that there is no debris that might get sent into the intake. The gasket goes for about $7. To remove the TB and clean it (IMO slight overkill), the electrical connector needs a small flathead screwdriver slid into the catch from the dashboard side of the connector. (towards the front of the car.) Allow lots of drying time 1 -2 hours to eveaporate excess spray fluid. Clean the MAF while your at it (carb cleaner is fine).
VAG-COM when reassembled.

 

[MastaVR6]

Re: (MastaVR6)

BTW I bypassed the coolant flow during the replacement.
For the electrical connector, small thin flathead in from the rear of the connector towards. if it doesn't name sense, have a

then look again, or have someone else look at it for asecond opinion. At first I thought mine had been glued in by the dealer, but my roommate pointed out that the wedge was apperently releasd from the backside of the connector.

It shouldn't be forced off, I don't think it would be cheap to replace the harness.
My notes:
I've got pics, I had to bypass the coolant flow through the TB. On GTI's (facing the front) coolant goes down in front top of TB and (elbows) out the right side front on the bottom. (see link below). The exit port (GTI) is the cavity just below the brass tube (lower left in pic). it is not tapped for the Jetta part.
A Jetta TB crosses the bottom front to back, exiting in the rear of the TB and out the bottom right side. in the pic the bottom-most hole is missing the brass fitting to connect the hoses too. Jettas have the runner tube going across the bottom.
see http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=1021823
You will need an allen wrench to remove the 4 bolts holding the TB to the manifold, (mind the ground wire on the lower front bolt, at least mine had one). I would get the gasket too ($7 at the dealer). Be sure you can get the Throttle body "Adapted" (VAG-COM) when your done, your car will be happy you did. While disconnecting will clear CEL's, it won't retrain the TB to know what zero open is.
Clean around the TB area before starting- you want to avoid getting dirt inside. The clamps can be a PITA to remove. don't break them, be patient and walk them down the hoses to remove them. I used the existing hoses and rerouted them them to bypass the TB. no extra parts needed.
Pics for my TB swap here:
http://f1.pg.photos.yahoo.com/kmattwood
TB swap. shows the swapped parts, and old/new hose routing.

 

[tomvw]

Re: Anyone ever clean the throttle body on their MKIV? (VgRt6)

as long as you are careful, you wont damage the throttle plate. i've done this on both cable and dbw cars. you will be able to do a better job cleaning it with the tb removed. good luck.

 

[VgRt6]

Re: Anyone ever clean the throttle body on their MKIV? (tomvw)

Thanks for the replies guys. I'll probably get started after lunch. I'll let you know how it goes and also post the link for the DIY.

 

[VgRt6]

Re: Anyone ever clean the throttle body on their MKIV? (VgRt6)

Well, I did the TB cleaning yesterday afternoon. Everything went well and the car is running great. The idle has smoothed out considerably. It's still not perfectly smooth (a slight jolt every few secs or so, nothing too serious though), but is much better than I remember it being for quite a while.
I took a bunch of pics during the process and should start working on a DIY today sometime. I'll post the link here when it's done.
Thanks for everyone's help.

 

[MTLVR6]

Can't wait for the DIY. Good going!

 

[VgRt6]

Re: (MTLVR6)

I may have spoken too soon about the improvements in the idle from the TB cleaning. The idle is definitely smoother than before, but the engine jolts/shaking is back again. It's not as bad as before the cleaning, but it's still enough to annoy me. I guess I'll have to start looking for others sources of the rough idle.
Regardless, I'm still glad that I cleaned the TB out and would recommend to anyone with a rough idle or even just a lot of miles on the engine to do the same.



Modified by VgRt6 at 10:21 PM 11-10-2003