Ian

Todd,

Your symptoms do not sound like the ICV to me.

But if you choose to proceed, you most definitely DO NOT want to remove the boots off of the horns.

By far, the easiest way to remove the plenum is:

Open a cold beer.

Loosen the hose clamp to the valve cover hose and the hose beside it (disappears underneath the plenum but you'll soon learn that it goes to the very ICV valve you're trying to clean) and pull the hoses off of the plenum.

Loosen the large hose clamp that connects to the AFM and pull the hose off of the plenum. Pull the plastic coolant hose attachment out of the plenum (at front) but leave the attachment on the hose.

Note: First timers may want to remove the air filter housing and AFM. Not required but might make things less intimidating.

Remove the top bolt on the coolant reservoir and loosen the one underneath it. Lower reservoir attachment point is slotted so you don't need to remove the bolt. Move the reservoir out of the way as far as you can.

Reach underneath of the plenum and try to remove the oil drain hose. The fitting on the plenum is barbed so it may or may not have a tiny hose clamp on it. If the hose is original, you'll probably have to cut it to get it off. Removing this hose is the biggest PITA of the whole job. I'd suggest replacing this drain hose with a newer one if you have to fight with it for very long. This hose holds no pressure so almost any hose of similar ID will work fine.

Remove the 12 nuts that secure the air horns to the throttle bodies. I use a small magnet to help me remove the wave washers that just love to fall down into the bowels of the engine bay.

Gently fold the throttle cable assembly back towards the master cylinder and out of your way.

Pull the plenum away from the TB's a little, then stuff the rigid vacuum hose that connects to the ICV down between the air horns.

Lift off the plenum and marvel at all of those shiny brass throttle plates.

Pull the throttle linkage to open the throttles and peer into the intake passages of the head. Notice that the ports are machined? That's what you've paid for! Can you see the back of the intake valves? Cool, huh?

Back to the project at hand.

The ICV sits under the second throttle body. It has an electrical connection on the front and two large vacuum hoses attached. You have only two more hose clamps to loosen to remove it. One attaches underneath the large vacuum block and one attaches to the front of the large vacuum block. It might be easiest to slide the valve rearward to remove it from its mounting bracket and then remove the hoses from the valve.

If the valve is nasty, I would also clean out the hose that connects to the plenum - it may have some oily residue in it.

Reassembly is the reverse.

Don't be intimidated by these lengthy instructions. It took me twice as long to type them as it does to complete the entire procedure.

In fact, I can complete the entire job before that cold beer gets warm.

Hope this helps!