Throttle Body Heater Leak

DiscoPhoto

Well-known member
Jul 23, 2012
2,581
76
Vermont
Y'all are doing it wrong if it's leaking that often. In VT we get extreme temp changes, almost to 100, to negative 30. Mine didn't leak after I changed it.
 

kcabpilot

Well-known member
Mar 26, 2006
334
1
California
... Mine didn't leak after I changed it.

Well neither did mine - until it did. Fact is they should NEVER leak...EVER. You shouldn't have ever have had to do yours to begin with. There's obviously a flaw in the design, maybe a square plate with three bolts I don't know. For most people the bypass works without flaw, obviously it can't leak and the "frozen throttle" conundrum is so rare we can't really pin it on the heater, not enough info. It could have been just plain old crud for all we know.
 

kcabpilot

Well-known member
Mar 26, 2006
334
1
California
I own a 1972 Alfa Romeo that I've had for 36 years. It's got FOUR throttles and in all the time I've owned it, over the course of 350,000+ miles it has never had a coolant leak of any sort. Oil? Okay, that's a different story ;)
 

JohnB

Well-known member
Oct 18, 2007
2,292
12
Oregon
Been by-passed on mine for about 5 years. If you are driving on the tri county Portland area please stay clear.
 

gthphotography

Well-known member
Aug 27, 2008
317
3
chicago
www.greghanrahan.com
I bought the kit from AB. My plate had an irregularity which helped allow more that enough coolant to come out.
My homemade gasket didn't work (I'm hoping because of the plate deformity). It does seem like a weak design.
 

ezzzzzzz

Well-known member
Apr 22, 2010
604
7
SE Va
My homemade throttle body de-icer and gasket seem to have done the trick. The throttle body was flattened to ensure uniformity. That last trick may well be the answer to many suffering from this crap design.
 

The Fourth Amigo

Well-known member
Apr 20, 2009
641
2
I once replaced mine with an aftermarket kit and it didn't last long.

The next time I replaced it with a genuine kit from the dealer. The gasket had steel imbedded in it and I was told it was an "updated kit". Perhaps this one will solve the problem.

I also took the time to actually remove the throttle body (had to buy an extra gasket) and clean everything up on the bench. Its tempting to just whack on a new gasket in place........
 

jymmiejamz

Well-known member
Dec 5, 2004
6,008
361
35
Los Angeles, Ca
Anybody ever heard any feedback on the Falconworks bronze replacement throttle body heater plate?

http://www.jewellamberoil.com/sales/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=65_67&products_id=303

Mine's leaking again and might just be worth it to pony up $230 for this stupid part.

I think it would be worth a shot. I can't remember what year, but I think some '04 Discos had a different gasket setup that looks like a thicker metal gasket. I've never seen one of those leak. I actually used to have one of those throttle bodies set aside but tossed it when I moved to NYC.

I once replaced mine with an aftermarket kit and it didn't last long.

The next time I replaced it with a genuine kit from the dealer. The gasket had steel imbedded in it and I was told it was an "updated kit". Perhaps this one will solve the problem.

I also took the time to actually remove the throttle body (had to buy an extra gasket) and clean everything up on the bench. Its tempting to just whack on a new gasket in place........

I've seen plenty of Genuine ones fail after a year or two of use. I think they are better, but still not great.
 

Blue

Well-known member
Mar 26, 2004
10,043
856
AZ
Thanks for the feedback guys. Mine has been replaced with genuine in 2009, 2012, 2014 and 2016. I'll talk with my mechanic about it.
 

acg

Well-known member
Anybody ever heard any feedback on the Falconworks bronze replacement throttle body heater plate?

http://www.jewellamberoil.com/sales/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=65_67&products_id=303

Mine's leaking again and might just be worth it to pony up $230 for this stupid part.

My old throttle body starting leaking again during the summer (4 years after the last gasket replacement). I ended up ordering the Falconwerks brass body. It has been 6 months now. Will report back in a couple of years.
 

Blue

Well-known member
Mar 26, 2004
10,043
856
AZ
My old throttle body starting leaking again during the summer (4 years after the last gasket replacement). I ended up ordering the Falconwerks brass body. It has been 6 months now. Will report back in a couple of years.

Thanks, I'll be here.
 

squirt

Well-known member
Nov 13, 2008
824
13
Los Angeles
Contemplating whether or not to spend the $229.12 on the upgraded part.


I don't know about you, but I've got better ways to spend $200.

I've proactively done the bypass on a handful of trucks, and never had an issue... even when I lived in Minnesota with below-zero temps for weeks at a time. The design is poor, and the risk of failure far outweighs any benefit I can see, even with an updated plate.
 

Blue

Well-known member
Mar 26, 2004
10,043
856
AZ
I just replaced with original but this will be the last time. Next time it leaks I'll be connecting the 2 lines together and forget about it.
 

binch

Member
Oct 8, 2019
5
0
Canada
So far I've had to replace my throttle body heater 3 times!!! And it's all due to poor design/quality of the part that would just warp when heated up too many times. The inlet and outlet are beside each other with a single, thinner, metal anchor point between them. The results warpage and leaks.

I was looking for solution that didn't include bypassing the original system and I found this outfit that has built a better "mouse trap"! It's similar to the original LR design but this unit about 2x thicker with a far more substantial hunk of metal between the inlet and outlet tubes that just won't warp!!! A simple solution that's solved an original design flaw. I've had this on my wife's disco for a couple of years now and now issues at all. And it didn't cost me and arm and a leg.

https://www.sportscarcentre.ca/MGM000010K?mid=948
 

binch

Member
Oct 8, 2019
5
0
Canada
Check this thread for an excellent solution to the Throttle body heater (THB) leaking issue. It's a very good solution.

 

binch

Member
Oct 8, 2019
5
0
Canada
Check this thread for an excellent solution to the Throttle body heater (THB) leaking issue. It's a very good solution.

Living in northern Canada the temps we get easily exceed that range. But since we acquired the 2001 disco 11 in 2004 we've put 374,000km on it and the only two parts that have given us undue grief are the throttle body heater and the top coolant hose 'T' connection with the bleeder screw. But this shop has solved both of those problems for me and the disco is still running strong. We've already had our first snow of the year and I know I can rely on those two pieces to work from now on. Just made it the way it should have been made in the first place 😉