Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting TB clogged with carbon?!? Is this for real?

took my wifes 95 LX V6 ATX into the dealer the other day becuase it's been having a problem (see previous post: "mother #(*&%#$er", heh) and they're saying "Uh, the TB is clogged with carbon deposits. Looks like it's never been cleaned before. I also recommend a tune-up too." so I'm like: "ok, how much?" and he says $315!

So my question is, WTF is this carbon deposit crap he's talking about? I've never heard of this being a problem. The cars got 92,000 miles on it and I've always followed the maintenance schedule very strictly. Any feedback?

The culprit is mostly the EGR. You can't really do anything about it. SVTs come with a teflon coating on the TB inside which cuts down on deposits but doesn't eliminate them.

What does the tune-up include? If it's plugs, air and fuel filters, and the TB cleaning, the price doesn't actually sound that bad (as far as service goes). But before you spend $300, try cleaning the TB and combustion chambers with ford's spray cleaner. It's $7 and an hour of your time.

A Dealership explained to me that a tune-up only consists of the plugs and plug wires(if they need to be replaced). What actually really kills you is the labor to do these things. I'm doing a tune-up on my zetec in a week and its costing me $40 less than what Ford would do it for. Zetecs are easy and will take like 20 mins. at the most.

For the carbon build up, louisw is right. Do it yourself, that way its done the way you want it and its much cheaper.

unfortuneately i've never done this before. I'm assuming this is the part (going inward from my KKM) just past the large rubber part between the MAF and what I assume is the TB. Am I on the right track? And if I'm this fresh about this project, maybe I should have them do it? They want $156 to just clean the TB

I cleaned my maf and tb in less than 2 hrs. I used non chlorinated brake cleaner. Just take your time, as you take everything apart, remember where it goes. Remember not to get any cleaner on any electrical wires. I only had 55000 miles on mine and it was f#*kin disgusting. All kinds of carbon buildup.

I would say that $80 of the $156 labor charged is for an hour of drinking coffee and shooting the sh*t with all the other techs.

I'm just wondering how much I have to take apart. I mean, do I have to take the large butterfly off? Or do I stop just short of it?

All you have to do is just disconnect the rubber intake hose and manually operate the throttle while spraying. Ford makes an EXCELLENT degreaser/carbon cutter. Go pick some up from the parts counter.

Im no Terry Hains but i took the throttle body off with no prob. just take your time dont destroy the little seal in between the throttle body and manifold. My car has 47,000 miles on it and the throttle body was descusting and it was sticking. I also put high octane in it all the time. save the money and do it your self.

Definitely do it yourself. I'm pissed as hell at myself for letting Ourisman Ford here in Northern VA hit me with some $400 in labor charges on it. Granted, I thought I had a bad starter because I couldn't get the car to start (somehow it went from "not starting" to "starting but stalling" while it was being towed). At any rate, lesson learned.