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Cleaning of IACV - My Experience

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delphipad
Idling
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Joined: Tue Dec 10, 2013 1:13 am

Cleaning of IACV - My Experience

Post by delphipad » Tue Mar 25, 2014 11:01 am

learnt how to clean up IAVC from jengwe and there is a very encouraging improvement of idle and start/stop vibration issue. really appreciate the help and hands-on "tutorial" in airwave meet up from jengwe!

these days i got the right tools and most importantly, a spare used IAVC to play with. so i could look into this thing further. i feel i shall share what i know and find out.

tools needed:
1. bought a tactix toolset from homefix first. costs less than $30. this is the set i got:

http://home-fix.com/estore/all-products ... 00221.html

i found it's a must to get the T-shape screwdriver. it's impossible to loose up some of the screws using straight type screwdriver.

2. Pentalobe pin for the IACV: TS20 5 stars torx pin which not found as part of tactix toolset. I saw a set from one of the local hardware shops. it comes whole set of pins from pentalobe TS5-TS30. but without screwdriver and costs $28+. no point to get that.

it's possible to get from ebay, for example:
http://www.ebay.com.sg/itm/360597909571 ... 1423.l2649

but we only need TS20. it's a waste to get a full set with all the rest not needed. in the end, i got a TS20 pin from taobao:

http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?id=35450131596

it's dirty cheap at about 50 cents only and it fit the tactix screwdriver i bought. shipping from china to sg costs $7 via taobao agent but overall well worth it.

Disassemble
the whole process is straight forward except there are some real tight screws, which i have to use the T shape screwdriver with full strength to loose up. but all goes well, nothing broken and screws are in good shape even after loose up. it's hard to describe step by step. i think have to see how jengwe does it at least once to understand. hehe

it's best to do dis-assembly when car is cold, because i found the "expand ratio" of screws seems higher which makes the screws very tight when things are hot. it's good to leave the car cool down overnight then in the morning everything is just as easy. otherwise some of the soft head screws can not withstand strength.

cleaning
this is the important part:

the method jengwe used is soak the IACV with paint thinner first. spray with WD40 and use cotton stick slowly clean the carbon dirty. i must say this is a very safe bet. but i also found this could never fully clean the IACV. no matter how much effort i tried there is still a jerky feel when i turn the valve.

i realize the carbon dirty in the valve chamber contributes about 70% of the issue. it could be removed (with great patient) using cotton stick. but the rest 30% eyes cant see is a thin carbon coating on the bearings. it's not possible to see and clean the tiny bearings using cotton stick. i found without cleaning this, the valve is never smooth as new.

it's not good to use things like carb cleaner as jengwe advised, because it will dissolve the original lube on the bearing. but i found there is already a carbon disposition on the bearing and how much lube left after years of air blowing the IACV? good thing is i have a spare IACV so no worry to try. hehe

i used brake cleaner, about $10 from autobac. important thing is it leaves no residue and will fully evaporate. somehow i always feel WD40 leaves something inside and will attract and build up dirty again along the way.

i heard there is special throttle body/air intake cleaner from STP and CRC but never manage to find it. if anyone can try it, please share. hehe

the brake cleaner is so much more powerful. the chamber is sparkling clean just after spray. i spray it to the bearing part also while turning the valve, the valve feels so much smoother like never before.

after clean and air dry, the bearing needs to be re-lubed. i heard jengwe mentioned he used white lithium grease before. for now, i applied a tiny drop of clean engine oil only. and now, it feels smooth like NEW. :)

i am not sure if the engine oil is best for the bearing. perhaps too thin? but so far it's so good. i will check the valve every a few days so see since it's spare for me.

again, thanks all the help from jengwe.

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