I'm contemplating cleaning the throttle body on my GS4 sometime soon. I ran a search and came across some throttle cleaning DIY's, but nothing on taking the entire assembly off the IM to clean it. I know the damage that the garbage on the butterfly and the solvent can do, so I was wondering if anyone had removed the TB and cleaned it that way. Any help is appreciated!

 

You don't want to disassembly the TB because it's the drive-by-wire system with a lot of moving parts inside. Just remove the intake hose and use the Carburetor cleaner to clean the butterfly plate.

 

I know we have two completely different cars, but when I cleaned my es300s throttle body I just removed the boot and sprayed carb cleaner inside. Use a toothbrush and wipe it all down, and hold the plate open and go past it if you can.

Your car will have trouble starting but will be fine afterwards.

 

Taking out the throttle body out of the GS is pretty easy. It's definitely better than cleaning the TB on the GS430. I can't remember off the top of my head on what to remove though. Basically any harness that's connected to the TB. Just keep on digging until you get the TB off

 

spraying it only goes so far.
If your TB is really gummed up, you may need to remove it.

 

for now if ur a novice at engine work (dismantling wise) just mremove the intake hoses and the MAS and such.. watevers on the way of the trottle body hose. like rollin rx3 said spray it wit TB cleaner and get as much as you can without moving the trottle plate... after that WOT the trottle calbe thing and clean beyond it, trying to get all the gunk.. ill be a bit hard since its a TIGHT fit hah.

or if you got the money pay someone to open that sucker up. theres a gasket that u have to replace if u completely open up the TB tho hah.

 

I try not to spray throttle cleaner directly into the throttle body anymore because on some models, the IAC (idle air control valve) bypass port is located down low. This allows all the carbon and gunk you're flushing out to run down into the IAC valve and possibly gum it up. The best way is to spray the cleaner onto a clean rag and just wipe off any gum and varnish that way. Just make sure to clean the top as well as the bottom, as well as the edges of the throttle plate. I don't think there is a real issue with the drive by wire TBs, but completely removing it seems like a lot of wasted effort(IMHO) since its only the buildup around the throttle valve that affects performance.