Throttle body cleaning?

[Jeffs Black 97 Formula A4]

I picked up some CRC throttle body cleaner and cleaned the throttle body this weekend. Am I supposed to spray in the intake too, or is that unnecessary or unsafe? Thanks.

BTW, I had a rougher start after cleaning the throttle body, not sure if that was because some cleaner made its way into the intake (I heard the harder start is normal right after cleaning the throttle body).

I think I noticed better throttle response after cleaning (didn't appear to be dirty but my paper towel was pretty dirty after cleaning).

[Trash man]

sea-foam, nuff said. plus if ur engine is really bad u get a nice white smokey cloud

[ConElite]

Thats normal. yeah it makes it start rough. when u do that just hold the tb wide open. i spray plenty of cleaner in the manifold. nothing will get damaged

[Injuneer]

You aren't gaining anything by cleaning the intake manifold. The oily residue isn't really hurting anything. Probably increases the chance that the resulting slime will clog the tiny holes in each intake runner that distribute the idle air and EGR flow. Cleaning the manifold off the car would be OK, but on the car is questionable.

Cleaning the TB makes sense. Sounds like you left it on the intake to clean it. Would have been better to remove it from the manifold, strip off the TPS, IAC motor, top and bottom cover plates, and do a thorough cleaning, including the top chamber where the oil from the PVC vent system accumulates, and the idle air passages. That would avoid an accumulation of cleaner in the intake, and would have prevented some cleaner being left in the IAC passages, making the engine harder to start. You would of course need a new set of gaskets to reassemble.

[Jeffs Black 97 Formula A4]

Yes I cleaned the throttle body while it was still on the car. I really think it helped the throttle response and since it's running great, I'll leave the intake manifold alone. I looked past the throttle bores and it didn't look that dirty at all.

[Jeffs Black 97 Formula A4]

Oops, will this clog the EGR valve? I really hope I didn't do any harm if some of the cleaner ended up in the intake manifold.

[RAF7789]

EGR valve is a PITA the get to. i had to clean mine several moths ago due to the DTC. But most of the TB cleaners will say "smog safe." i cleaned my TB/intake with the Justice Brothers brand. I used the entire bottle. half of it went into the intake @ the tb, then the other half went in after the car was running. i definately noticed faster response afterwards....

[Injuneer]

Spraying reasonable amounts of cleaner in the TB when its still on the car will not have any effect on anything, other than the IAC passage, which could fill up with liquid. Liquid should evaporate. Will not hurt the EGR, PVC, MAP or anything else attached to the intake manifold.

You might want to put some lubricant on the TB shaft. The solvent could have washed that all away.

[RAF7789]

i was actually thinking of "O2 sensor safe". can the sensors be damaged when using sleaners that are not advertised as that? or will it just trip the sensor and throw out the trouble code?

[Injuneer]

If it isn't marked "sensor safe", its possible that it could destroy the O2 sensors. Anything with silicon in it will ruin them, for example. That's why some RTV's and sealants are a problem. That's why conventional anti-freeze is a problem if the coolant gets into the exhaust.

[RAF7789]

it all makes SENSE now....(pun intended)