I just got home from racing my buddy around town, and i pulled into my garage and opened my hood just to make sure nothing was wrong. I noticed that my "eBay Cold Air Intake" was a bit dirty, and this intake looks like a Chrome Intake with a red thick mesh cone on the end, a very normal piece, so i removed it. I also turned my car on after i removed it and noticed hot air coming out of my throttle body. And my car was not idling smooth.

So my two questions are...

What can i clean my intake with around the house, beside an intake cleaner?

and

Why is my TB pumping out small amounts of hot air and idling unsteadily?

 

It's not one of those with the metal screen over the end is it

 

nonono, Its a chrome cold air intake, even looks like the k & n kind.... any suggestions?

 

If its a K&N, it started "red" to indicate that the filter was evenly coated with the red filter oil. It is normal for the filter to darken as it is used. It means the oil is trapping dirt. K&N recommends a 50,000 mile service interval for "normal" environments, and also recommends that you not clean the filter more than 25 times, or it will be worn out. To clean it, if it is really a K&N, get the K&N "recharger kit".... a spray bottle of cleaning solvent and a spray bottle of filter oil. Read the instructions VERY carefully, and do NOT over oil the filter.

Your comments about hot air coming out of the throttle body - what year is your car? You can only directly access the TB on a 93 that lacks an MAF. If you remove the complete air intake system on a 94 or later, you remove the MAF and it isn't necessarily going to run smoothly. And it would be sort of odd for hot air to be coming out of the TB, because its supposed to be flowing into the TB. Might want to clarify what you meant.

 

Well, heres the best i can do. You got the TB and then the rubber bend and then your intake. Well, i took the intake off and the hole at the end of the rubber bend where the intake goes, i put my hand there, and feel hot air slowly pumping out.