So I finally got around to "removing" and cleaning the throttle body on Azumi at the beginning of the summer, and what a difference it made! She no longer stutters at idle anymore.
It took me a little while, but I finally figured out the ECU connector that kept me from doing this the first time was just a pinch clip and needed a good yank. After that, I was able to undo all the bolts, and just left the hoses on the bottom of the throttle body itself attached. So I didn't COMPLETELY remove it, but I was able to move it enough that I could hit it from both sides with the throttle body cleaner and a bunch of the Scott's shop towels. After the initial blasts of throttle body cleaner seemed to get the loose grime off, it seemed like the thing that worked best after that was to spray a good amount of cleaner directly on a towel and just scrub the crap out of the deposits that were pretty well baked on.
The plate inside the throttle body is pretty heavy, so I highly recommend a set of gloved with semi-rigid tips. The plate won't instantly snap shut on you, but it gets to be a bit tiresome to maintain the finger strength to push/hold it open.
I have some pics for reference for anyone who wonders what "carbon buildup" looks like:
Back-side before cleaning:
- BackSideBeforeEdited.jpg (432.13 KiB) Viewed 7702 times
Front-side before cleaning:
- FrontSideBeforeEdited.jpg (308.23 KiB) Viewed 7702 times
Front-side mid-cleaning:
- FrontSideDuringEdited.jpg (262.69 KiB) Viewed 7702 times
Back-side mid-cleaning:
- BackSideDuringEdited.jpg (300.12 KiB) Viewed 7702 times
Front-side after cleaning:
- FrontSideAfterEdited.jpg (316.54 KiB) Viewed 7702 times