300,000kms worth of cr*p in plenum and TB * Photo Heavy*

[smokin_vx]

Hey guys decided to clean my TB and Plenum today as for a car thats done 300,000kms ex-cop mileage i thought i should be able to get a noticeable performance gain if theres any gunk in there.

And jeez, i know for a fact that the top had never been off every in its life!!

I'll let the pictures show you what I found.

After cleaning it up with carb cleaner i noticed a huge gain in performace, immediate throttle response, kicks down gears much faster and with less throttle, the missifre has disappeared now but the stalls at start up sometimes is still there. While i was in there I also tighten / adjusted my accelerator cable as it was slightly slack.

It took me about 1 1/2 hours to do it all so pretty happy with it!

Also, i cleaned out my MAF with cleaner but didn't take it for a spin as i did that when i got back from testing the TB and Plenum.
Didnt clean out the lower plenum as I didn;t have a fuel line remover to take it off!! I'll just get back in there tomorrow when i pick up my
fuel line removal tools Going to change the fuel filter and get a new Fuel pressure regulator from holden aswell.

Note: All the liquid is the Carb Cleaner with dissolved crap, not engine oil etc.

[crewsy]

yuck!! i didnt think it would be that bad haha, would definately make a difference cleaning all that stuff out.

[phatvtcom]

fark me thats some grimy sh*t

[VjamesY]

seeedy, looks like mud

[fuzzy2308]

dammnnn thats some hard core build up

[SIG-054]

haha nice work maybe install a catch can now?

[smokin_vx]

haha yeah it was more like a burnt cake in a cake tin.. it looks greasy as the carb cleaner dissolved a little. But actually another member did the same thing on here and thought i'd do the same.. didnt think it would be this bad!!

If you've got over 200,000kms i'd say it would def be worth doing it if its never been done before.. And its dead easy to.. there's really only about 15 bolts to take of 2 of which are on the TB.

[danja]

Nooo!!! Don't take it off! That's where the flavour is!
....oh wait that's not your BBQ? Yeah, Ok good move

I did that on my VT, was pretty bad, though not as bad as yours. Have to say it did sweet FA for me, I suspect most of your gains were from cleaning the TB, not so much the plenum, but can't hurt to do both. Good job, it's nice when you can get a cheap result

[SMIT]

lol, massive. I thought mine was dirty.

[Sladdo]

Not to mention the quicker times you'll get cuz of the weight reduction

[smokin_vx]

Not to mention the quicker times you'll get cuz of the weight reduction

haha you know it!

[daron]

wow thats really surprising to see that much gunk
i cleaned t/b ages ago and i thought that was heaps better for car after now i might do this too soon

[Philthy]

Wow thats a lot of crap! Maybe this weekend I'll rip into mine and see what I can get off it

[Jesterarts]

Holly cr@p!! That is alot of sludge on the TB butterfly.

[delcowizzid]

looks like burnt on oil from the EGR valve cooking it on the throttle butterfly maybe the EGR valve is a little knaffed and not closing or the cars not heating fast enough or something ive never seen one like that ever

[Boonz]

nah that looks pretty average for A 300,000 km old ecotec to me... work on the things for a living and believe it or not ive seen worse than that! not around the throttle body but around the 5 and 6 intake runners especially.... crappy oil and long service intervals are the main contributors to that carbon buildup

[HoldenOnn]

Would you like sauce with that

[feg]

nah that looks pretty average for A 300,000 km old ecotec to me... work on the things for a living and believe it or not ive seen worse than that! not around the throttle body but around the 5 and 6 intake runners especially.... crappy oil and long service intervals are the main contributors to that carbon buildup

I don't doubt what you are saying but don't get how it is crappy oil that would do it. It used to be a monthly thing on my two stroke bike, however in a four stroke I would have thought crappy fuel and lack of servicing?

Maybe I am believing the advertising for BP ultimate too much

[vxcalais_01]

Nothing to do with the oil, its all about how these engines breath etc. Plays an important role in the longevity of internal seals as well. Check the PCV valve for this. EGR valve worth checking too. I hope you didnt wash all the gunk down the intake runners ?

[mainpath]

What is the best way to take the cover off?
Do you have to disconnect anything like the battery or?

and can a novice attempt this?

Thanks

[Philthy]

The cover is simple a case of removing the 6ish hex bolts around the top of the cover and pulling it up.
The throttle body is a little bit more involved, and I can't remember the exact steps but I figured it out yesterday without having ever done it before.

While I mention it, I cleaned all mine out yesterday as well. It was nothing even close to as bad as smokin vx's, but I had some spare time and figured it can't hurt. Havent taken it for a drive yet though

[Boonz]

I don't doubt what you are saying but don't get how it is crappy oil that would do it. It used to be a monthly thing on my two stroke bike, however in a four stroke I would have thought crappy fuel and lack of servicing?

Maybe I am believing the advertising for BP ultimate too much

crappy oils that dont have many detergents and that are left in the motor for too long, go thick and hold alot of carbon and when it gets into the manifold thru the PCV, it sticks to the flat surface on the plenum....
it also attracts even more carbon and basically the longer it is there, even more carbon sticks to it

[Mc Nugget]

would it help the engine and make it more responsive, then if its not done?

[ozengines]

I did my VL once and got a fright like you did.
I now have a VX SS V8 ex-chaser, what is involved in doing that to a V8??

[vxcalais_01]

crappy oils that dont have many detergents and that are left in the motor for too long, go thick and hold alot of carbon and when it gets into the manifold thru the PCV, it sticks to the flat surface on the plenum....
it also attracts even more carbon and basically the longer it is there, even more carbon sticks to it

Peanuts, it would happen with any oil you use, at the end of the day its a oil vapor settling on there, oil is not doing what its supposed to be doing in its natural form. If it was then they would allow oil to flow in here. Its only a venting of oil vapor, EGR unburnt fuel and pressure of the engine, its either going to happen in the plenum how Holden designed it to be, or it could be into your engine bay(some gets out around plenum, lower intake etc), take your pick.........