Cleaning throttle body - 1.8T engine

[chicken_eyebrow]

Cleaning the throttle body only takes half an hour and costs you the price of a gasket and a can of spray cleaner. It could be done as part of a yearly maintenance schedule, and many members have found it cures stuttering or flat spots in the rev range.

You will need:

New throttle body gasket (a few quid from Skoda/Seat/VW/Audi, part number 028 129 748)

Spray can of carb cleaner

Hex key (I think it's 7mm but have a set with several sizes just in case) EDIT - 5mm

Screwdriver

A sock

Plenty of cleaning cloths and cotton wool buds

A willing helper

The throttle body is located here, it's the block shaped thing on the end of the inlet manifold that the big rubber hose connects to:

First you need to undo the hose clip, with a screwdriver or small socket. Pull the hose firmly away from the throttle body.

At this stage it's advisable to put a sock over the end of the hose while you work, as if you drop a bolt or tool down the hose you'll have to mess around with the intercooler to recover it :thumbdwn:

You can clean the outside half of the throttle body at this stage before you remove it to do the other side. Spray it with carb cleaner and wipe it clean with an old microfibre cloth. Use cotton wool buds to clean around the throttle plate:

Next use a hex key or a hex bit and socket & extension to undo the four bolts holding the throttle body to the inlet manifold. The bolt nearest the engine is a bit of a pain to get to but be patient Put the bolts to one side.

Gently pull the throttle body away from the inlet manifold. You may find it is stuck to the manifold because of the oil on the old gasket, in which case give it a tap with a hammer whilst you support it with your other hand. Don't unplug the wiring plug to the throttle body, as if you do this you will have to reset the throttle position (see below). Rest the throttle body on the manifold or keep hold of it while you clean it so you don't put any strain on the wiring.

This is what a dirty throttle body looks like doesn't look too bad in this picture but there was loads of oil and cack inside it, especially around the throttle plate!

Remove the dirty old gasket (the green/blue thing in the above picture), then clean the inside half of the throttle body with carb cleaner and cloths and cotton wool buds. If you are lucky enough to have a helper then get them to sit in the drivers seat with the key turned to position 1 on the ignition and apply the accelerator pedal. This will make the throttle flap open so you can clean around the edges with a cotton wool bud.

The finished article looks a lot shinier!

Make sure you don't leave loads of carb spray on the throttle or in the inlet - mop it all up. Put the four bolts back into the throttle body and seat the new gasket on the bolts. There should be some writing on the gasket to indicate which side should be facing the inlet manifold and which side should be facing the boost pipework:

Tighten the bolts again with the hex key, then push the boost hose back on and replace the hose clip - in the pic below I replaced it with a new hose clip because the screw on the original one was rusty.

Job done! Start the car up and let it idle for a few minutes then take it for a drive.

Note: If you unplugged the throttle body you will need to have the throttle position reset using VAG-Com. See the thread on these forums for local VAG-Com users.

Edited 22 May, 2009 by chicken_eyebrow

[Lex Dysia]

Great guide Hex key is 5mm BTW as I did my own tb recently.

[skinnyman]

Brilliant guide and very clear pictures. Top job.

[Stug]

Cleaned my throttle body this morning,it was really dirty in there.

Excellent guide Chicken eyebrow Thanks very much.

[jtcedinburgh@gm]

Just did my vRS this afternoon, after being both inspired and informed by this post. Thanks!

Only notes to add are that the VW-dealer sourced gasket I got had no writing to indicate which way around to fit, but there was a slight difference to the texture of either side and so I chose the one closest to the equivalent on the old gasket. Oh, and I used 3-in-1 Power Degreaser, kitchen roll and a fair amount of patience and it worked fine. Now the car has lost the hesitancy it had had before, and feels much smoother to drive...

[VRSKendarr]

my cars done 39K wud it be worth doing yet?

[chicken_eyebrow]

my cars done 39K wud it be worth doing yet?

Loosen the hose clip and pull the big rubber pipe away from the throttle body, then you should be able to see whether it's dirty enough in there to be worth cleaning.

[1977leeb]

Hi !!!

Quality pics and step by step info chicken_eyebrow .Im about to tackle my throtle body tomorrow on my octavia VRS as it splutters at 3000rpm .Dealers told me yesterday i needed new one and said it would cost me £500 !!!!!!! but thought i would check the forum out first,fingers crossed it just costs me a gasket,carb cleaner and some elbow grease.........

[doolie]

excellent tutorial, I have just cleaned mine in an attempt to cure hesitation

[Jimbo vRS]

Loosen the hose clip and pull the big rubber pipe away from the throttle body, then you should be able to see whether it's dirty enough in there to be worth cleaning.

I'm not so sure that's such a good way to check as mine was loads worse on the manifold side than it was on the hose side.

Brilliant guide, thanks

[Ader1]

I have followed this tutorial to clean the throttle body and indeed it was quite dirty. I didn't unplug it. I still however have the engine management light on. The fault code which was registered was 16786 EGR System Flow (P0402). Anybody have any suggestion what I should try next?

[Guest westallc]

you have a fabia diesel not a 1.8t octy maybe thats the problem as this guide is for a 1.8t octy:rofl:

[gocfella]

I just cleaned my throttle body as per this guide and found it to be accurate and concise. I have had very good results from this small task and my car feels a lot smoother accelerating through the entire rev range. It has seemingly eliminated my flat spot at 1800rpm. Thanks chicken_eyebrows! :rolsmile:

[Diesel]

Did mine yesterday. My TB was solid black inside, so was about due a clean!

20 minutes later and I have much smoother throttle response especially from cold!

[1.8tsplutter]

:rotz: Hi Guys & Girls,

Need some drastic help. Was cleaning the tb yesterday as per the great instructions above and i managed to drop 2 of the bolts both of which bounced of the engine bay straight into the drain. Can anyone help tell me what size they are or where to get two replacements, spoke to the stealer and they said, cant sell just the bolts you will need to by a new housing costing £££££.

Much help needed here.

Thanks in advance!

[David 8]

That sounds like horse 5hit to me.

I can let you tomorrow if they are talking borrax

[David 8]

The part number is highlighted.

HTH:D:D:D

[SuperbOne]

You don't need Vag-Com to reset the throttle body.....

Turn the ignition on (All lights on dash) but don't start the engine.

Open drivers door

Open bonnet

You will hear the throttle body aligning. Takes 30-40 seconds

Thanks to Simon Coe at Upsolute for telling me this one!

[David 8]

Tell Simon he's got it wrong mate.

That does sweet FA.

If you remove the boost pipe and have a look whilst doing the above, you'll see that whilst it does indeed sound like a TB reset it doesn't actually do anything.

HTH

[MikeLawrinson]

skoda says £329.00 for throttle body is that the best price

Edited 20 January, 2010 by MikeLawrinson

[VRS Mike]

the throttle body might need re calibrating, you can do this using VAG comm.

[mikey vrs]

Very good guide! i cleaned mine & it was filthy on the inlet manifold side,it now runs a lot better when cold! i suspect this was the first throttle body clean in 120k!

[huwants2no]

great guide!!

ive a stuttering boost problem and was advised i should swap the N75 valve (yet to locate) and was reading threw an endless amout of posts re similar problems. saw lots of suggestions to clean throttl body and now i find this guide...things are looking up!

will definately try this first up...73k in car now and i doubt its ever been done so hoing it will help with boost problem

does anyone have the part number for the gasket??

thanks for the time and effort mate

[RobClubley]

http://www.ross-tech.com/vag-com/cars/throttlebody.html

[gordonium]

Can anyone confirm if you need VAG-com to do this?

Thanks