Arrrr!Throttle my Throttle Body!

**boze** · 10th June 2009, 17:07

Hi everyone.

I have an 02 plate 3.2 V6 GSI . Shes been great. Got her with 44k dec '06, now on 108k!

.
in the last 5k the engine idle that used to sit on 6 (and still does until shes warmed) now plays around fluctuating between 8 and 17! sounds like im a boy racer at traffic lights lol, but is now a serious pain. vauxhall code came up as 'PBN' and the verdict was 'unstable Throttle Body' which they wanted to test by swapping with another one. unfortunately this was a few months ago and they havnt had one in to try. They are quoting me over £400 to swap it saying the part has to come from germany. last time i was given the 'come from Germany' thread it was to replace the NCDC Satnav/radio array which 'couldnt be repaired' and would cost oooohh.. about £1200.00 !!!

---unless you goto this bloke in Bath who replaced the bits (spinner motor and Laser blah blah... Alpine listed parts... for £270.00!!!

)still working fine 18 months later btw.

So, is there a reasonable way around this please anybody?

Thanks for your time

Boze

**andymagee1982** · 10th June 2009, 20:17

got my eyes on this one mate mins the saame at 114k

**Spelly** · 10th June 2009, 22:43

I have a similar problem. Ok when cold but soon as ive done about 20 miles or so its up n down or sticks about 1200 rpm sometimes. Mines done 42k and does it, Engine light doesnt come on at all. I replaced the throttle body with a 2cnd hand one i got hold of and it made very little difference. Strangely if i unplug the air flow meter when the idle is erratic it returns to normal around 600 rpm so im gonna try swapping that and see what happens. There was a 2cnd throttle body around on Ebay a week or so ago

**boze** · 10th June 2009, 23:07

allo mate

great car tho isnt it? nearly 70k of fun for me!
Anyhows i'll give you the heads up if i find anything out.
Spelly was on half hour after you and had an angle on it about the Air Flow Meter. Im going to have that checked out.

Also look at:
http://www.courtenaysport.co.uk/inde...ewDoc&docId=21

scroll down to the section called 'Moddified OE Throttle Bodies' for their view

cheers

**Spelly** · 11th June 2009, 06:51

Doze

Let us know how you get on with testing your air flow meter. If any one has a 3.2 who lives reasonably close to me and would be prepared to let me use there air flow meter for half hour then it would be appreciated (beer tokens)as its only a five min job to swap and would save time/money.
Just a thought, i have a spare throttle body that you're welcome to try . Its not a long job to swap 30mins or so. There is a how to on here somewhere that shows you how to remove/clean it.
BTW. I have looked at new AFM prices, About £120 is best ive found so far, will try to find it and put a link up

Spelly

**Spelly** · 11th June 2009, 06:58

Here you go mate..

http://www.vauxhallworldparts.com/va...umber=93172747

**paul.sessions** · 11th June 2009, 20:00

i had the same problem on my old seat leon with erratic idling got throttle body all cleaned out, it didn't make much difference then found out the egr valve needed replacing.. replaced that then it was fine.

**andymagee1982** · 11th June 2009, 20:23

Originally Posted by Spelly

Doze

BTW. I have looked at new AFM prices, About £120 is best ive found so far, will try to find it and put a link up

Spelly

Have a look in your local factors mate. I got one for my DTi last year for 35- 40 quid. You only need to replace the working part and not the funnel pice. That does keep the price down too. If you need me to get a quote for you from my local factors that doo them I will mate.

Also when or if you replace the working part, Put t back in with std self tappers for ease to change in the future

(edit) New laptop and I cant type on it

**Spelly** · 12th September 2009, 10:52

Finally got this sorted out . After using opelscan to check the various components on my car i noticed that my ECU software data/version looked odd. (mismatch of letters rather than the usual numbers). I removed the ECU to investigate. As the unit is mounted to the side of the engine the heat tranfers from the block and through mounting bracket into the unit,(electrical components dont like too much heat) As engine temp rises the heat tranfers into the unit and over a period of time of being cold then hot it causes the unit to 'track' and breakdown. 1.8 vectras and astra used to suffer a similar problem .I have now replaced the ECU (not cheap) and all is fine again. I have looked at the posts from other people on this site with similar problems and it only seems to affect 02/52 plate cars. This may be due to the age/mileage or that the ecu/software is different on the earlier cars.I am now constructing a new 'insulated' bracked using rubber mounts and an earth strap and also a cooling duct to prevent future problems

HTH

**sirnapper** · 12th September 2009, 11:15

Had this problem diagnose at the dealers, they also quoted me £400 to replace. http://www.247spares.co.uk/ had a look here and found a refurbed unit for £90 with 3 months garantee, replaced it myself and its been about 5 months now havent had a problem yet