I've been experiencing throttle body sticking issues on my 97 XJ6. When the engine is hot and running the throttle sticks and is hard to open after the butterfly is closed. When hot and not running there is no stickiness. When the engine is cold there is no stickiness. I had convinced myself this issue was related more to worn internal parts than to a dirty throttle body. I was wrong.

I took the car to my local independent Jag specialist for throttle body cleaning. Watching him work was a great learning experience. Over the course of 2 hours my Jag man removed the TB and completely disassembled it. He took out and cleaned all the bushings and seals that fit around the moveable shaft. The amount of crud covering the butterfly, the bore, and internal ports was huge. After cleaning the parts he lubed the seals and the ends of the shaft and reinstalled all other parts. He even put a new return spring on the outside of the TB. Total cost for this service was $100.

The $100 was money well spent. I have no doubt I could have performed most of this job myself. I wouldn't have known that there were internal seals and bushings and so they probably wouldn't have been attended to.

The car is now running great and it's a pleasure to drive once again.