HOW TO DO; Idle control valve clean and throttle body clean

[Georgey dee]

Reet, here goes

Click on the pictures for a closer look

All should have a go at this as it's a simple job and there are alot of posts about rough running, stalling on autos and high tickover.


First of all get your self a can of carb/injector cleaner. The wynns stuff is very good as it's a high pressure can which shifts all of the gunk. I used the whole can to clean my Idle Control Valve and throttle body.

Also you will need a 7mm socket and a means of reaching with it, as some of the clips are hard to get to.

Also get two 25mm jubilee clips for re-assembly. (about £1 from a hardware store)
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Open up the bonnet and unscrew the throttle body cover to reveal the Idle control valve.
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Then prize off the clips top and bottom of the Idle Control Valve and unplug
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Then pull off the top and bottom pipe of the Valve and pull upwards to remove, pulling the rubber sleeve with it.
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Then remove sleeve and give the valve a really good clean. It should rattle when it's all clean and the spindal inside should be completely free of muck when rotated.
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All nice and shiny!!
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Next bit is to remove the Inlet hoses from the throttle body. Mine is a turbo so yours may be different but the principle is the same.

I chose to remove the pipe from before the plastic IC hose because it was easier to get to and would be easier to refit later on.

First unscrew the Throttle body Hose clip using a 7mm socket (A flat blade screw driver can be used but it can damage the clip)
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Then remove the IC top hose just before the Plastic pipe (or similar on non-turbo model)
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Make a note of how the Idle Control Valve cable routes. Then remove the pipes from the car.
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Now give the Throttle a good long squirt with the Carb/Injector cleaner, at the same time open and close the throttle valve using the throttle cable wheel above. Then wipe round with a cloth, making sure nothing gets inside the inlet. Mine was quite clean already but I've seen much worse!!
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Now it's all clean time to rebuild--------

First refit the IC pipes
The pipes should have white lines and white blocks painted onto them. This is to indicate how they're positioned.

The Throttle body hose has a White block painted on, this locates next to the metal lug sticking up from the throttle body flange.
When tightening the jubilee clips be careful not to over tighten.

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Now the IC top hose, note this pipe has an arrow on the plastic pipe and a white line on the rubber pipe, these should meet when inserted.
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Now time to re-fit the Idle Control Valve. The rubber sleeve is a bit of a pain to fit but I sprayed WD40 on to aid re-fitting. The rubber block goes towards the airbox and to the rear. I fitted the front lug first then slid the valve in the pressed the rear lug in and then looked round the rear and felt underneath the check it had located.
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Slide the jubilee clips on first before you fit the Valve.
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Hook the rubber sleeve on with the 'block portion' to the rear.
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Then fit the valve in with th Bosch sticker facing you
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The view from the rear of the rubber sleeve fitted onto the metal bracket
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You can feel to make sure it's fitted properly from the bottom of the bracket


Now tighten up the top and bottom jubilee clips for the Valve. Note the position of the clips.
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Then plug the Valve back in
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You may need to modify the throttle body plastic cover to fit the new Jubilee clip. I had to.
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Then Refit cover making sure both the metal teeth locate properly on the cover.
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Now go round the engine bay and make sure all connections and clips are fitting correctly and all your tools are out of the way
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Now it's time to start the car. NOTE,,, It will take some starting and it will run like a bag of spanners for a minute or so. It will also smoke like a Glaswegian terrorist.

Take the car for a good hard drive to blow it all through.

Check the engine bay on your return to make sure all is well.

JOB DONE.