Deleting the throttle body heater

msggunny

msggunny

Well-known member
Aug 3, 2007
2,978
3
Holly Ridge, NC
So, after many, many attempts to stop a leak at the throttle body I have decided it might be best to just delete the heater and make it a single loop from heater hose.

04D2...

Any issues with this? I have heard that on rare occasions the throttle body can ice up....

Thanks
 
Lake_Bueller

Lake_Bueller

Well-known member
Aug 11, 2004
2,105
59
56
Beloit, WI
I had a shop do an engine swap a few years back. They thought it would be a good idea to bypass the throttle body heater. Nothing scarier than your throttle stuck open at 70 mph on the freeway.
 
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rovercanus

rovercanus

Well-known member
Apr 24, 2004
9,651
246
I had it by-passed on my 2000 for a couple of months. Throttle stuck open twice in that time.
Temps were in the lower 20's upper teens.
Is your TB flat were the plate goes? You can run a file on it to flatten it.
 
mlnnc

mlnnc

Well-known member
Mar 23, 2008
267
31
Charlotte
If you decide to bypass it (as I did) there is no need to loop it. Just plug both hoses with small bolts and hose clamps and call it a day. If you follow the path of the lines they serve no purpose other than to supply the throttle body heater.
 
J

Jrod

Active member
Oct 8, 2015
38
1
Boise
I've had the bypass for years and around 60k miles. For whatever reason, I have yet to plug the holes, only thing I did was reroute the hose. This rig is my daily driver and has spent thousands of miles in the high desert during the winter with temps well below zero.
 
Blue

Blue

Well-known member
Mar 26, 2004
10,056
869
AZ
I bought my truck in April 2008 with 49,800 miles on it.

I've replaced my throttle body heater at the following intervals:

9/2009 with 63.5K actual miles

11/2012 with 104.1K

4/2014 with 124.4K

3/2016 with 140.9K

1/2018 with 163.4K

I'm now at about 179,000 miles and it's been just over 2 years since the last replacement. I better go pop my hood....it should be leaking by now.

I think it's time to plug the hoses. Do y'all just yank off the hoses, plug them, and leave the evil TBH in place?
 
Swedjen2

Swedjen2

Well-known member
Sep 12, 2018
594
127
California
In case you want to keep the heater -

I put in one of these. Made of brass and much thicker than the stock one. So far, so good.

1582239527139.png
or

1582240669613.png

The cheaper one is out of Canada, that's the one I've installed.
The pricey one is from Tucson, Ariz., but has a hi-tech material gasket.
 
B

BarryO

Well-known member
May 15, 2018
98
8
Bend, OR
I assume the engineers and bean counters wouldn't have spent the money to put it in if it was superfluous. But maybe it's something that's not needed in the Lower 48, or anywhere in the UK. But they advertise and test these rigs as working north of the Arctic Circle. Maybe if you're in Finland, you don't want to delete it.
 
Blue

Blue

Well-known member
Mar 26, 2004
10,056
869
AZ
It can really ice up nearly anywhere, doesn’t have to be in the frigid north. I’m just sick of throwing hundred dollar bills at it. Maybe I’ll have a bout of conscience and get the brass one. Should have done that in the first place.
 
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eburrows

eburrows

Well-known member
Apr 22, 2004
316
27
46
Orange County, Ca, USA
www.erikburrows.com
My mechanic disconnected my throttle body heater years ago, and it's been fine, but it's always been a little irritating itch in the back of my mind. I travel in the Sierra a lot, and have a family... So I ordered the brass upgrade kit. $80 over a lifetime is nothing. There's a challenge in that the above seller doesn't have shipping rates setup for the US. I'm sure it'll be worked out though.
 
Swedjen2

Swedjen2

Well-known member
Sep 12, 2018
594
127
California
Maybe you can order the fancy gasket from Falconworks and the brass plate from the outfit in the Great White North.
I had no issues getting the parts from Edmonton, Alberta - the address on the ebay site.
 
pdxrovermech

pdxrovermech

Well-known member
Jul 3, 2009
1,807
57
Portland, OR
i quit using the gasket. I now take the lip off the plate with a surfacing stone and install them with Right Stuff. Never had a problem with any of them since i started doing that about five years ago.
 
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SGaynor

SGaynor

Well-known member
Dec 6, 2006
7,148
162
52
Bristol, TN
pdxrovermech said:
I now take the lip off the plate with a surfacing stone
Click to expand...
This apparently is the key to fixing it.

Mine leaked years ago (over 10? 12?) and I got the replacement gasket from PT. He told me to file the surfaces smooth, then reassemble. That's what I did and didn't have a leak since. That D2 lived in MI (temps below 0F) and SE Tx (Temps > 100F) and NC and TN (in between). Never a problem.
 
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