Foreign object in throttle body, air cleaner removal

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by facepalm, Jun 3, 2009.

  1. facepalm

    facepalm New Member

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    I did the dumbest thing possible and got the little red straw from the throttle-body cleaner stuck in the throttle body. I was not able to fish it out, so I am thinking of removing the air cleaner assembly. I've never done that before, so any last words before I dig in? I just don't have any tweezers long enough to reach down in there and grab it. If I take off the air cleaner I might be able to fish it out.

    According to the manual there is one clamp and bolt on the air intake and two bolts and one clamp on the back. The biggest pisser is that the dealer told me how horribly dirty everything was, and its almost clean as a whistle at 74k. So any advice, tips, or tricks before I engage in a whole new world of pain?
     
    #1 facepalm, Jun 3, 2009
  2. jayman

    jayman Senior Member

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    You will probably have to remove the throttle body.
     
    #2 jayman, Jun 3, 2009
  3. northwichita

    northwichita .

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    Buy a flexible pickup tool if you still see the 'straw'.
    e.g. from amazon
    http://www.amazon.com/Flexible-Claw-Pick-Automotive-Mechanic/dp/B000RB7AGY

    If this is what you already tried to fish it out with, please disregard.

    somewhat connected to this, my car with 145k miles, when I looked down the throttle body by twisting the butterfly open , had some oily residue resting on the bottom. By the reflection, I couldn't tell how much was there, I used my pickup tool holding a little scrap of paper towel to soak some of this up. Wasn't much. Should I care about this? I just thought it was a little strange.
     
    #3 northwichita, Jun 3, 2009
  4. Patrick Wong

    Patrick Wong DIY Enthusiast

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    Its not very hard to remove the air cleaner housing. When removing the wiring harness connector to the mass air flow meter, be careful not to damage the connector. Note the plastic clip that holds the wiring harness to the air cleaner housing; you'll need to gently disengage that. Good luck.
     
    #4 Patrick Wong, Jun 3, 2009
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