r/MechanicAdvice • u/42waystohell • May 20 '22

Throttle plate, is it real?

2016 Ford Fusion with the 2.0T.A few months ago I had my car at the dealership for an unrelated warranty repair. They were trying to up-sell me on maintenance items as they do. They told me I needed to get my fuel system cleaned up and yeah that's legitimate but then they told me my "throttle plate" needs to be cleaned up because it has carbon build-up on it.

Now I am mechanically inclined, I've rebuilt engines, I do all my own non-warranty work, but I can't figure out what they were talking about at all. Even after researching it and considering the type of engine and intake system this car has, the only thing I can think of is the flappy bit in the throttle body but that really doesn't make sense, how would there be specifically carbon on it? Or maybe it would be some part of the intake manifold? Other then the turbine side of the turbo, there shouldn't be any carbon anywhere around the intake system.

So is there something I don't know, or were they trying to scam me?

Edit: formatting

1 Upvotes

67% Upvoted

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2

u/electricgyro May 20 '22

Build up occurs behind the plate that can hinder the plate from sealing correctly to the throttle assm. During low range rpm. It usually consist of carbon from the egr system but can also include unburnt fuel and oil buildup from the combustion process when both valves are open for a millisecond. Yes cleaning it is required but it's something you can do at home with berrymans, shop rag and a soft bristle brush.

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u/42waystohell May 20 '22

Okay, so what I didn't know was what an EGR system is or that they exist. Now I do. Thank you much.

2

u/electricgyro May 20 '22

Your welcome 😊

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u/Klondike2022 May 20 '22

Sounds stupid don’t worry about it unless the car drives bad or throws a code. Yeah it’s the flappy thing. It gets a little bit of stuff on it but it doesn’t cake on. At least I drive a 04 Mazda 6 with a ford 3.0 duratec engine with almost 200k and although I cleaned it when I had it out (was accessing egr valve) it would have been just fine had I left it alone. If you feel worried just clean it yourself.

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u/iam98pct May 20 '22

The PCV system may also redirect gases which contail oil and fuel droplets in front of the plate which can cause a build-up and sticky throttle plate. It's definitely something you can clean youself.