Throttle body cleaned

HeyJoe · June 10, 2004

I know the issue of throttle body cleaning comes up here frequently (Sticky Gas Pedal Syndrome), and I've used the advice I've found here to clean mine regularly ('99 Silverado, 5.3). It doesn't usually take long after cleaning, though, before I need to clean it again.

I had the truck in to a dealership for state inspection last month and mentioned this to the service manager, asking him if there was something more I should be cleaning in order to do a better job. He responded instantly with "oh, I know what that is -- there's an adjustment I can make that will fix it."

They cleaned the TB and did their adjustment magic, and it's been a month now and my gas pedal response is still better than I think it ever has been. And the weather here has been hot lately, which in the past tended to make the problem worse.

So, I don't know exactly what they adjusted, but it made a much bigger difference than I ever saw just by cleaning the TB myself. Cost about $40 for everything TB related.

I just pass this along in case anyone else is having chronic TB issues.

-- Joe

piratebaseball · June 10, 2004

Ask the dealership what the magic adjustment is? I'd like to do some hocus pocus on mine as well.

HeyJoe · June 10, 2004

Ask the dealership what the magic adjustment is? I'd like to do some hocus pocus on mine as well.

Two seconds after I hit "post" I thought "well, wouldn't it have been more helpful if I had called the dealer to ask what the adjustment was?" Doh!

I'll try to get him first thing tomorrow to find out.

piratebaseball · June 10, 2004

Ask the dealership what the magic adjustment is? I'd like to do some hocus pocus on mine as well.

Two seconds after I hit "post" I thought "well, wouldn't it have been more helpful if I had called the dealer to ask what the adjustment was?" Doh!

I'll try to get him first thing tomorrow to find out.

Thats funny! Its cool dude, I'm sure I've done the same thing before. Just let us know whenever you find the info out. Thanks!

HeyJoe · June 11, 2004

Ok, the magic adjustment comes from GM Service Bulletin #02-06-04-054B, "Increased Accelerator Pedal Effort, Idle Instability."

The service manager offered to send me a copy of the bulletin to share with you folks, but I searched onlne and found it already posted at this page, http://www.automotiveforums.com/t172875.html.

He told me that they were actually even replacing throttle bodies for a while because cleaning alone couldn't solve all the problems, but that these new adjustments seem to be the real solution. I can vouch for that so far.

I know this is a pretty common problem, so I hope this helps!

-- Joe

piratebaseball · June 11, 2004

preciate it dude

biznotch · June 18, 2004

I have been having the dreaded sticky pedal for a while now. So, I found this forum and did a search and found that a simple cleaning would suffice.

A little background:

I have a 2000 GMC Sierra with bout 70,000 miles. I bought it used when it had bout 40,000. LOVE THE TRUCK. A new throttle body was put on it at 30,000 miles.

However, i just noticed the "sticking" about 10,000 miles ago. its not THAT bad, but can be at times. It also idles in the 450-500 RPM range (not sure if this is normal).

Anyway....I took the air hose off today, and peered into the throttle body. I am a beginner, so I really didnt know what I was supposed to be looking at. But the plate ( butterfly valve??) on the outside was spotless!! It really looked nice and shiny, almost new!! I was surprised to say the least. AFte rreading threads on this forum, I was expecting caked up gunk all over the place. So I had a friend step on the pedal (with the engine offf) and I lloked kinside the chanber. It didn't llok bad. It was a grayish black color. Is it supposed to be nice and shiny like the outside of the butterfly valve thing?

Anyway, sorry if this sounds stupid, but I am a beginner. Any help would be appreciated. I put the hose back on, and plan to buy some 3M throttle body cleaner tomorrow. Went to autozone and they didnt have any....

kgornek · June 18, 2004

Will dealerships cover TSB's if it's not under warranty? I wonder how much this would cost to get done..

dukbludvl · June 18, 2004

the shiny plate doesn't mean you won't have the sticking problem. the sticking occurs around the outside of the butterfly plate. when I clean mine (i've got 66K miles and I've cleaned it twice), I clean around the plate -- a little gehind it and a little in front of it. hope this helps. it has worked well for me.

biznotch · June 18, 2004

Thanks. I'm heading over to NAPA to get the 3M stuff right now. I plan on spraying the outside of the plate around the circumference of the plate(wherer the plate meetes the chamber. Then I will have my friend step on the gas pedal with the engine off and spray insid ethe chamber. I will also try to spray the inside of the plate. I will let it sit for a while, and spray once again. If I need to use a rag I will, but the guy at NAPA said all i need to do is spray.

Any more pointers? How much of the bottle should I use? Not much, right?

biznotch · June 18, 2004

By the way, this forum is great

biznotch · June 18, 2004

Also, for those who are mechanically ignorant LIKE ME, I found some good links that show pictures and step by step process of how to clean a throttle body. Its not for a GM truck, but it at least gives us a reference.

http://www.4x4wire.com/toyota/maintenance/.../throttle_body/

AND

http://popularmechanics.com/automotive/sub...hrottle_bodies/

HeyJoe · October 13, 2009

Just thought I'd add an update to this thread (wow, it's really been over 5 years?), since I know the problem still pops up for folks from time to time.

I've still got my '99, and after that single throttle-body adjustment way back in 2004, I've been free of the sticky gas pedal issue until this past summer. Once the weather got really hot this year, the problem returned for the first time.

I still have the truck serviced by a dealership (although a different one -- the economy has certainly changed that landscape), and I gave them the service bulletin number and had them take a look. This time, all I needed was a little cleaning, nothing like the regular going-over the throttle body needed up until 5 years ago. That was a couple months ago, and everything has been fine again since then.

So take a look at the bulletin referenced earlier in the thread if you're constantly fighting with this issue. It made a major difference for me.

-- Joe