Icv + throttle body clean M54

Iv been having an issue with the idle on the car when pulling up to lights or parked somewere ,the revs would bounce up and down they would dip to about 400rpm and rise to about 800rpm then back down again

So I set about removing and cleaning my idle control valve amd done the throttle body whilst I was there as there side by side

Its also good to get a good view of the right hand side of the engine and check all hoses rubber boots etc as these perish with age and most will have hairline cracks that you cant see normally

I found one perished hose that leads from the rubber boot to the fuel filter and I also found a small tear in upper rubber boot (again not visible to the eye) so I replaced the hose and have ordered a new rubber boot from keanes

This job is very easy and you will only loose minimal knuckle skin id rate it as hard as an oil change

First you need to remove the airbox car completely and the passenger side cabin filter box ,

Next remove the rubber boots theres 2 you will now see the throttle body

Unclip all connector blocks from the throttle body ,and the disa (black box above it) now unclip the vacuum tube at the back of the block there is also one screw holding it in remove it and move the black tube out of your way

Now take your torx t27 iirc and remove the two screws holding the disa remove the disa

Remove throttle body 4 10mm bolts

Now your at the icv small silver tube just above the throttle body

So now you will have the disa, icv and throttle body in your hands tale them inside and clean them mine were not excessively bad but there was carbon as you'd expect after 12 years it will be a lot worst if the cars been babied around with little slow short drives

Airbox removed
Attachment 485

Cabin tube removed and pipe on rubber boot also remove cabin filter housing for easy access
Attachment 486

Next remover the rubber boot and the disa (black box)
Attachment 487

Now we move the black vacuum pipe in the way of the throttle body one torx screw holding it
Attachment 489

Now you can see the throttle body clear as day (iv removed the 2nd rubber boot also)
[attachment=562]

I borrowed the pictures with writing from bimmerforums just to help aod people visually

So as you can see clearly this is your view so far disa removed amd throttle body and icv left
Attachment 490




Ok so now we remove the throttle body you will see a black box that all cable connectors come out of theres one nut holding this in place remove the nut so the connector box can move freely this allows the throttle body to come out easier

Now onto the throttle body theres 4 10mm bolts holding it in place remove them and wiggle the throttle body out ,now we move on the icv remove the 2 t27 torx bolts and remove the icv and your done :)
Attachment 491

Now take them inside and clean them
My throttle body had a ring of carbon around where the flap opens and shuts so this was cleaned and polished after with a soft cloth

The icv theres a small flap type thing inside it use flathead screwdriver to move it up and down it should move freely if not then it needs a good clean

I used cotton buds dipped on hot water first the stuff came off with ease and they were great for cleaning the icv

I then steam cleaned them wasn't necessary but done it as it was there

If you have a really bad build up I suggest getting carb cleaner from halfords they have a can that has a really powerfull blast ,( you can also use atf fluid thanks valdas )

The disa had the most buildup I cleaned it with steam and warm soapy water
Attachment 492

Throttle body (looking at it now id advise changing the orange seal its only a few pence from the dealers and you want that seal tight)
Attachment 493

Other side which is the outside looks pretty clean and you only notice after its removed the buildup under the flap
Attachment 494

So now you can see the ring of buildup when the flap is rotated this came off very easy with the q tips
Attachment 495
Attachment 496Attachment 497

Attachment 498

So thats throttle body done we move to icv

Again q tips are you friend here there was a nice build up on the icv the piece inside moved freely but moved a lot better once cleaned try clean the moving piece in the middle as much as you can I then flushed it out with boiling water

If no afters of this I forgot ,it came up spotless though
Attachment 499

And lastly clean the disa

Then to put it all back start with the icv first make sure it sits snug into its rubber grommet place two torx screws back

Next throttle body 4 10mm bolts and done reconnect connector blocks to icv and throttle body

Now place the vacuum hose back one bolt holding it and place back the black connector box lastly place the disa back with the 2 torx bolts

Then replace both rubber boots and finally the airbox itself

Attachment 501

Conclusin took it for a short drive on the dunboyne/lucan backroads spent 45 minutes out there throttle response is excellent(some placebo possibly):) pulling like a train right from take off and no more odd idle with revs moving up and down sits rock solid at 700rpm :)

Total cost 0 euro unless you find any problems

Rubber boot 30e
Flexi hose - free
Seal (which I should have bought) about 3 euro

Great write up Gar. I had a go at this on the touring a couple of years back but didn't go to the level you have, I think I might do it again. Good tip on the orange o ring. At the time a rubber boot into the ICV was split which I replaced. :D

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Andy

Great write up Gar. I had a go at this on the touring a couple of years back but didn't go to the level you have, I think I might do it again. Good tip on the orange o ring. At the time a rubber boot into the ICV was split which I replaced. :D

---

Cheers andy the last post came out a bit wrong but have tidied it up beat I can for now will fix it once im at the laptop , in hindsight the seal and boot should have been purchased first but the right hand side of the m54 is nice area to work in plenty of space this could be done in 90 minutes start to finish I took my time removed everything saturday night and cleaned it then replaced sunday morning