On Wed, 11 Aug 2004 11:09:29 -0400, "Mayday" <mayday@nospam.net> wrote:

>My dealer recommends "decarbonizing" the throttle body (by soaking it in
>solvent) of my Odyssey every 2 years for $179. He says it's due to the
>cheap gas and, god forbid, the carbon migrate all the way to the catalytic
>converter.
>
>I'm a little confused since I picture the throttle body as being before the
>cylinders/combustion, and the catalytic converter as after...
>
>But, none the less, has anyone heard of this and is it worth it?

It's not a big deal - the only symptom I've seen of this gunked up throttle
body is a sticking accelerator when cold: you press on the pedal and it
feels sticky and when it lets go the car lurches a bit. IME I haven't seen
this on non-EGR cars so I figure that's at least partly responsible for the
gunk build-up.

$179. seems excessive for what's required - remove the rubber intake from
the throttle body, hold the throttle plate open, spray with TB cleaner and
brush with a toothbrush, wipe off with a clean rag. It shouldn't take more
than 30mins - 15mins with practice.

Rgds, George Macdonald

"Just because they're paranoid doesn't mean you're not psychotic" - Who, me??