Cleaning the throttle bodies...?

[Trimble Epic]

So, I was reading about cleaning throttle bodies in the page here and I was wondering what is involved... I pulled the air hoses off the ends of mine and recoiled in horror at the disgusting filth behind my throttle valves on both sides...

So, I'm curious if I have to pull the whole plenum to get to them, or can I just pull them individually? And I don't have the plenum water bypass job done, so do I need to drain the coolant system before I pull a throttle body? Or does it loose much coolant when you pull them? I can see that I would clearly need new gaskets for each...

I may need to pull the plenum just to get access to a vacuum leak at the EGR junk on the back... I can't get my hands near the hose... Sigh...

[t.mcginley.jr]

Ok first, you shouldn't need to pull the plenum to take the throttle bodies off. There's 4 bolts on each throttle body and 2 (or 3?) holding the center section on where the throttle cables attached. You might be able to take the individual throttle bodies off, but I can't remember if its possible without removing the assembly. You will need new gaskets. As for cleaning them, throttle body cleaner and a toothbrush is all you need. Very little coolant will be in the coolant lines, especially if you haven't ran it in a few days.

And what is leaking on the EGR system? If it's the valve itself, you'll need to at least remove the plenum to do a bypass.

[Trimble Epic]

I can't tell yet what is actually leaking... Could be a hose fell off (found one like that already) or it could be a bad part leaking . All I know for sure is 1) I can hear it hissing and 2) when I spray starting fluid near there, the engine revs (it shouldn't... Right?)

I'm mentally preparing myself to pull the plenum to find the leak, bypass water, bypass EGR, And fix anything else I can while its off... But it may take me a while to get that done... Sadly

It's a 93 , so it's emissions exempt in North Carolina