What is the point of the throttle body heater and is there any reason I shouldn't bypass it? It's leaking and I have it bypassed for now because it was leaking, but it seems pointless to me for the throttle body to be heated. If there won't be any ill effects the I'll just leave it as is.

Thanks!

 

I think it may have something to do with keeping the intake warm during cold weather like if you live up north but Im not sure. I just replaced my throttle body heat plate and gasket, the kit is cheap enough that I would suggest just do it and move on with other things. If you work on it, invest in some cheap rubber fuel line before you start the job because you may accidentally break on of the plastic coolant tubes......

 

Does that help it start or run better? It seems counter intuitive to want to increase the temp. of the air in an intake. Many people install cold air intakes specifically so that they can get colder air, resulting in more oxygen meaning more fuel is burnt.

My mechanic said it wouldn't hurt anything to leave it unhooked, but I'm losing faith in him after he switched the 4 and 6 cyl wires resulting in a melted catalytic converter, and it appears he didn't tighten down the secondary air or the alternator as well as they were supposed to be. Time to find another shop!

Thanks for the advice, I'll look into getting one of those kits

 

A throttle body will experience a drop in air pressure at several points within it - and this drop in pressure also causes a drop in temperature. The air going into the throttle body contains water vapour and the temperature drop can cause this water to freeze, with the obvious results - it sticks to the inside of the body and butterfly and chokes it.

The heater reduces the risk of that ice sticking to the throttle by keeping the metal warm.

 

Boy, your post brings back memories of when I had a two barrel Weber on my Series III. The carb would ice up when the temperature got below 35-40 degrees F. Pierce, the makers of the manifold for the Weber developed a method for keeping the carb from icing up. I can't remember all the details but whenever I read about the throttle body heater on these DII's it brings me back to my old Series!

 

Interesting. It makes sense, but surely as warm as the engine bay of these specific trucks stay it's not really a problem?

 

One could say the same thing about those old Series Rovers. The intake manifold was intertwined with the exhaust manifold and yet the carb, sitting almost directly over these manifolds, would ice up. It has more to do with the temperature of the incoming air than the heat under the hood.

Nevertheless, I know plenty of people in warmer climates have cut the throttle body heater out of the loop without any negative consequences.

 

It's a cheap fix, so I would keep it and do it right.

 

mine has been bypassed for over a year now. but im in hot Austin tx.


maybe oneday I will hook it back up. I did put a new gasket in. just haven't needed to hook it back up yet.

 

I'm in South Kentucky and have had my 99 bypassed for many years with no issues. Just be sure to bypass with a splice and clamps and not just block it off.
I fixed the leak 3 times and it would start leaking again after a few months.
One year we drove out to Colorado in the winter to ski and there were not any issues then, and it was very cold there.
So you can make the choice