Suggestions for throttle body/idle air control valve cleaning & emissions tests

Heartbeat - '95 SL2 · 10-20-2001, 05:37 AM

Well, this has been a good week for the Saturn. Cleaned the throttle body and idle air control valve with excellent results, and today, I passed smog, which has had me worried since I almost didn't pass 2 yrs. ago.

For TB and IACV cleaning, I highly recommend removing the TB from the car, and removing the throttle position sensor and IACV. This allows thorough cleaning, especially of the IACV pintle and air passages. I've cleaned the TB before while it was on the car, but all it did was relieve the sticky pedal syndrome. This time, I noticed better throttle response. At first, I thought I'd botched the job, since the car would idle fine, but then would stall between gears. However, after I cleared the PCM, it ran great. While attaching the throttle cable, fuel was dumped into the intake, so the car stumbled upon starting it, and the PCM must've sensed a rich mix.

I was worried that I wouldn't pass smog, since 2 yrs ago I almost didn't pass, and my car is consuming more oil now. Back then, I had the car tested first thing in the morning, and the car had just reached operating temp. This time, after learning so much from everyone here, along with the freshly cleaned TB, IACV, and retrained PCM, I was also running on 91 octane Chevron Supreme, which has more Techron than low grade, and is suppose to be so good at lowering emissions that the car mfgs. ship the fuel at their own cost from Louisiana to Michigan in order to perform their EPA testing. Lastly, I drove on the fwy for 10 miles to get the catalytic converter hot, thereby more efficient, and drove straight to the smog test station. Ssicarman had also recommended revving the engine above 2k RPMs for a couple minutes just prior to the test, to get the PCM operating in closed loop mode, but I did not do this since my car was tested right away, and the test is done on a dynamometer at both 15 and 25 mph. Whoo-hoo, I passed with flying colors, and I don't have to worry about it for another 2 yrs --

Yeah baby!

ssicarman · 10-20-2001, 10:01 AM

Jason, congratulations on passing the emisions test. I know that was a big worry for you.

10-20-2001, 05:37 AM	#1
Heartbeat - '95 SL2 Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Southern California Posts: 1,324 Heartbeat - '95 SL2's Photos 1995 SL2	Suggestions for throttle body/idle air control valve cleaning & emissions tests Well, this has been a good week for the Saturn. Cleaned the throttle body and idle air control valve with excellent results, and today, I passed smog, which has had me worried since I almost didn't pass 2 yrs. ago. For TB and IACV cleaning, I highly recommend removing the TB from the car, and removing the throttle position sensor and IACV. This allows thorough cleaning, especially of the IACV pintle and air passages. I've cleaned the TB before while it was on the car, but all it did was relieve the sticky pedal syndrome. This time, I noticed better throttle response. At first, I thought I'd botched the job, since the car would idle fine, but then would stall between gears. However, after I cleared the PCM, it ran great. While attaching the throttle cable, fuel was dumped into the intake, so the car stumbled upon starting it, and the PCM must've sensed a rich mix. I was worried that I wouldn't pass smog, since 2 yrs ago I almost didn't pass, and my car is consuming more oil now. Back then, I had the car tested first thing in the morning, and the car had just reached operating temp. This time, *after learning so much from everyone here*, along with the freshly cleaned TB, IACV, and retrained PCM, I was also running on 91 octane Chevron Supreme, which has more Techron than low grade, and is suppose to be so good at lowering emissions that the car mfgs. ship the fuel at their own cost from Louisiana to Michigan in order to perform their EPA testing. Lastly, I drove on the fwy for 10 miles to get the catalytic converter hot, thereby more efficient, and drove straight to the smog test station. Ssicarman had also recommended revving the engine above 2k RPMs for a couple minutes just prior to the test, to get the PCM operating in closed loop mode, but I did not do this since my car was tested right away, and the test is done on a dynamometer at both 15 and 25 mph. Whoo-hoo, I passed with flying colors, and I don't have to worry about it for another 2 yrs -- Yeah baby!

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10-20-2001, 10:01 AM	#2
ssicarman Super Member Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Western Canada Posts: 10,461 ssicarman's Photos	Jason, congratulations on passing the emisions test. I know that was a big worry for you.

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