Throttle Body on 99' 3.2L V6 Rodeo

[dmbland]

I just cleaned the throttle bodies on my 99' 3.2L V6 Rodeo. I removed the air intake duct first. Next I used a tooth brush to scrub the inner workings of the throttle body, mainly the ‘butterfly’ and walls of the body. Sea foam was my solvent of choice. I followed that up with a few shots of carb-cleaner and wiped the grease out using a paper towel. I buttoned everything back up and started the engine. It ran for about 5 min. I was surprised that it ran rough. Did I do something wrong? The CEL didn't come on. Perhaps I should just let it run for a while and put some fuel additive in to help out? Could I have pushed the tooth brush back too far and damaged somthing? Any suggestions would be appreciated.

[Ramblin Fever]

Nothing wrong. But, do jump in it and take it for a good 25-30 mile drive preferrably today to help wash out all that goo before it sits for the night.

[dmbland]

I went for a short 20 min. drive last night. By the time I got home it was purring like a lion. I just hope this helps out with my 13.5 mpg I have been getting. I'm putting on new tires sometime this month, I jut need to figure out which brand first. Hopefully that will help out. Thanks again for your quick response. -Derek

[Ramblin Fever]

If you're looking for greatest mpg - stick to highway/all-season tires unless you live in an area or travel to areas where you might need all-terrains.

Myself, my Rodeo came with a good set of LONG lasting highway tires, i.e BFG Long-Trails, and they lasted a LONG time, got excellent gas mileage with them too. But, they actually had to be replaced about 10k miles before needing too, as they had soooo many holes/punctures from traveling through the desert/mountains on off-road adventures.

Needless to say, every truck/suv of mine gets a set of all-terrains. Not too bad though, I'm running Yokohama Geolander's now in the 265/75 R16 size, which averages me 17-18 city/21-23 highway.

For your gas mileage improvements, take a look at your air filter, pcv valve, fuel filter, and report back here on what your tire air pressure is now.

Your gas mileage seems a little low to me, you should be getting at least 15mpg, unless you've got some BIG tires and a lift. Tire pressure can be your friend or enemy here, whether or not you have the OEM size or aftermarket.

[Gizmo42]

I run 35 psi in my tires. For the last year I've gotten a steady 15.5 mpg just driving to work and back but for some reason on this last fill up I got 17.5 mpg. My commute is only 8 miles each way with half city and half slow or stop and go highway so not the best for mileage. With a combination of highway/trail I've been getting around 19 mpg.

For the price I like these dayton timberlines. Good in rain and snow, no problems so far offroad, and half the price of BFGs. They dont seem to hurt gas mileage either though I put them on as soon as I bought the rodeo so nothing to compare to.

[Ramblin Fever]

If you're looking for highway tires, personally I'd go for the Firestone Destination A/T (they're marked an all-terrain, but primarily for highway use).

Otherwise, if you're looking for all-terrain's, personally as long as you stay away from BFG AT KO's and Goodyear Wrangler RT/S, I think you'll be ok. Goodyear has some newer at's out that might be good; my Dodge will be do for tires at the beginning/end of next summer, not quite sure just yet as to when, but, they may be replaced by Firestone Destination A/T or Goodyear wrangler MT/R's.

But, that's only because the original Geolander AT II's are being discontinued; and they are wanting a $$$$ for the new Geolander ATS that superceeds the older ones.