Stiff/sticky throttle

(Um, as an Accord owner, do I have the right to post general questions that
apply to other cars?)

I just bought a 98 240SX SE off Ebay. A little buyer's remorse here -- not
as exciting as expected, a tad noisy, and not much different than my 95
200SX SE-R. Eh...

One problem that I can't forgive is a really sticky throttle. It takes a
SHOVE to get the throttle to move from rest, which results in too much
off-the-line acceleration. I noticed an unusually high amount of resistance
is built into the first inch or so of travel. Is it supposed to be like
this? How can I fix it?

Thanks...

 

Well, if this were a Honda, I'd recommend cleaning the throttle body.
This is a known problem with Hondas, and certainly this is worth a try
on your Nissan.

Get some throttle body cleaner (specifically!) and a rag. Take the
intake hose off your throttle body, get the rag damp with cleaner, and
get in there and start cleaning. You may even spray some in there to
get it a bit wet.

When this is done, your car will run rough as it runs the cleaner
residue through the engine.

 

just press the pedal before you start the car to free it up, then start
& drive as normal. if it's still sticking after that, you have other
issues that need fixing.

 

Cookie.
Try cleaning inside the throttle body, excessive gum and varnish
builds up in the area and causes a problem just like the one you
describe. I've run across this problem on few fuel injected cars.
Hope this helps.
JerryR

 

One problem that I can't forgive is a really stiff/sticky throttle. It

Ahh thanks. Once again I have to go to the Honda group to get an answer to
a Nissan question.

The apathetic guy at the dealership said I should just "follow the throttle
cable" to where it ends (meaning that thing on the engine you can crank by
hand, I guess) and WD-40 that part. Did that; didn't do anything. So you
guys are saying it's not the cable at all, but crap inside the throttle body
itself.

 

"Crunchy Cookie" <> sprach im

Yep.

While you're in there, check your crankcase breather for the presence of
oil. In the absence of oil, the throttle body will acquire a thin skin of
dry black soot that doesn't do much harm. If oil is being pumped through
the breather into the intake, this will mix with the soot and create a
gummy substance that will stick up the throttle.

If you discover oil coming from the crankcase breather, your PCV valve is
plugged.

 

yeah. This is a big time problem on Accords, for sure. Well known.

 

I've had this same problem come up on a '91 240sx and a '96 I30. Take off
the air intake tube (which is way more involved than it need to be) and
clean the air intake on the throttle body. It gets sticky around the
butterfly and that is what is making the pedal hard to move the first time
you push it every day.

You might also want to take a look at the FAQ on http://www.240sx.org/ It
covers in one way or another pretty much everything you will encounter.

 

Ok. Just thought I'd mention that I just remembered this problem happening on
our 2000 Accord this year. But it's a more occasional thing, somehow.