Thanks "Jabez" and "kcabpilot" for your replies!!! I'm going to bypass for a few days then use the kit and repair it correctly (hopefully).....only to move on to a failing starter and my leaking rear suspension I've done some reading on the lovely airbags or bellows if you will, and I'm looking to convert to springs through Strutmasters. Doing the soapy water test this weekend now that spring has showed up to find leaks.....Thanks again guys!!!!

 

Your lucky! I'd defiantly
Do away with it. You will
Never need it and if
It leaks one day and you overheat..... Not worth it

 

Really? Someone else who doesn't know what throttle body heat is for.

_YOU_ may not need it in Louisiana. Do you know where the OP is? I don't.

But any place that can be around freezing and might be humid is a place where you need TB heat. Before it was standard on all fuel injected cars, dealerships would install them as aftermarket equipment in the north east. Yes, it's that big of a problem.

Just because you live in a climate where it doesn't affect you doesn't mean everyone else does.

THe lack of understanding on car forums about what TB heat is for is really staggeringly moronic.

 

a big mod around here in NJ for some muscle cars is to bypass the tb heater to get cooler air intake temps... i did it to my 96 trans am and ran it all 7 winters i owned it without a single hitch, and it was sure as hell sucking alot more air then these motors are, and ram air with maybe 4 inchs of exposed tubing in the engine bay to heat up. mind you i live 3 blocks from the ocean and drive year round (around 0 F some mornings in jan/feb) and only ever a few miles from the ocean at sealevel and i never (nor know anyone else) who ever had sticky throttle plates from frost. i say loose it, you might just get some extra hp and fuel eco out of the deal while youre at it

 

Don't be a moron.

We already know where he lives. And I still call bull sht.

If it's that cold outside you won't be sitting in your truck freezing your *** off. As for it freezing over because air is passing through it, it's not going to get cold when it's attached to an engine.

If it were that big of a deal cars wouldnt start because the iacv would be frozen shut. Also if anything it would freeze in the closed position with the car off not on.

I understand the "theory" and possible cheap security for an automotive company. Give me proof if this happening.

What I can say for a fact is..

THESE THINGS WILL LEAK
YOU WILL LOOSE COOLANT
YOU DO TAKE THE RISK OF RUNNING LOW ON COOLANT

 

Just google throttle body heater and you will find thousands of posts about bypassing the TB heater on every conceivable vehicle. So it's not just an LR thing. I also think it's BS that it will freeze up, have you felt how hot the engine bay gets?

 

Exactly, every vehicle does it. All your doing is heating up the air before it goes into your engine.

I understand the theory behind it, the fast flowing air over the throttle plate and under vacuum water freezes slightly higher temp. Like .01* C

Which is nothing

 

As I said earlier, airplanes (with carburetors) all have a carburetor heat function that diverts intake air from filtered to heated through a shroud around the muffler. This problem with carburetor ice occurs mostly, not when it's freezing out, but on humid days when the temp is between 40 to 60 degrees F. The cause of this is the venturi in the carburetor.

Throttle bodies do not have a venturi and airplanes that are fuel injected do not have a carb heat function. They do have an alternate air function but that is to bypass the intake filter if it were to become clogged by ice externally - which is an entirely different thing that is particular to airplanes.

Old cars with carburetors were fitted with heat risers from the exhaust manifold to induce warm air upon initial start. This is purely an emission control device to reduce emissions during cold starts and initial operations while the engine gets up to operating temperature. I believe the throttle body heater serves the same purpose. I believe that cold running emissions is probably the main reason for it.

One needs to also understand that once the engine is up to operating temperature and the thermostat is opening the throttle body heater then actually becomes a throttle body "cooler" - after all, it is "coolant" that is flowing through it. I would say it probably increases efficiency somewhat but probably not enough that anyone could tell whether or not it was bypassed.

As I said, I replaced the tubing with heater hose and installed worm clamps. I also resurfaced the bottom of the TB and installed the kit which supposedly has an improved design. I also used sealant and let it set overnight. So far so good but only time will tell.

If anything at least be certain to get rid of the plastic return line to the expansion tank - it's a ticking time bomb waiting to go off.

 

i might pick up an ir thermo in a few days, just for ****s and giggles i think ill warm her up to temp stock and read the temperature of the throttle blades, then the next day remove the lines, warm it up and see if the tb blade temp is up, down or the same.