But my throttle body sure is shiny.

[oldhess]

Hey guys, I have a 96 pathy and the throttle was sticking. I cleaned the throttle body and now I have the high rpm idle, and when in gear, I get fluctuating rpms as well 1200-1000(no more sticky throttle though). Tried adjusting the tps. Tried leaving the negative battery disconnected to"reset" the ecm. It's throwing tps code, knock sensor and O2 I think. P0120,P0135 and a P05XX. Any advice? This is my hunting rig and I only have a couple more weekends to get this kitty purring again. Since it's a 96 I was told by my stealership it doesn't have any "learning codes" and it's all in the idle adjustment screw. I have messed with that screw for hours and no joy. anybody have any advice specific to the 96?

[yeldogt]

The T body can be damaged with improper cleaning. Even using the wrong spay will damage some .. can't help. You may be best to find a good used one.

[atraudes]

I'd start with just replacing the TPS. Fluctuating RPMs like you describe is exactly what I experienced when mine bit the dust. Just make sure you calibrate it per the FSM after installing.

[chester88]

The T body can be damaged with improper cleaning. Even using the wrong spay will damage some .. can't help. You may be best to find a good used one.

Yeah this isn't really a thing...Well I guess if you're "cleaning" your throttle body with some hydrochloric acid you could damage the aluminum but short of that you're not going to mess up the throttle body itself.
Check the TPS as the other user stated, also on the idle position sensor there is an adjustment screw see if backing that off a bit fixes anything.
Odd that it only fluctuates in gear though... Those are good places to start, and if you accidentally grabbed the HCl instead of the TB cleaner you could go drop 60 bucks on a used one but unless you're breaking bad and have copious amounts of chem lab chemicals around your garage then your TB is probably fine.

[yeldogt]

chester88 - actually ... you can damage the Tbody. Many of them have specific instructions not to clean them -- they are coated ... the butterfly can be damaged ... this has been the case for many years. But .. do as you wish. Also the seals/ seats allowing leakage.

It certainly could be a position sensor ... not overly expensive for an attempt. I have had 3 pathfinders .. never replaced them.

It also not uncommon to get air / vac leaks that throw them off.

[yeldogt]

chester88 - actually ... you can damage the Tbody. Many of them have specific instructions not to clean them -- they are coated ... the butterfly can be damaged ... this has been the case for many years. But .. do as you wish. Also the seals/ seats allowing leakage.

It certainly could be a position sensor ... not overly expensive for an attempt. I have had 3 pathfinders .. never replaced them.

It also not uncommon to get air / vac leaks that throw them off.