Yesterday i took apart the intake manifold, cleaned all the egr ports, the gasket and cover with some carb cleaner. I have to say the engine felt great after doing that!

Next i went for the throttle body to clean that out alittle bit, however i couldnt get it off. Is it just the two bolt and two nuts holding it on? Or did i miss something? I want to buy the new gasket first before i do it now anyway, but it stumped me that it was so stuck!

Any suggestions are appreciated!!!

 

Gasket is pretty much stuck in one side of the TB so you will have to rip it off completely..
Insert a flat screwdriver and hammer it out.. Have a replacement gasket in hand.

 

You can clean the TB while it is still on. Just plug up the IACV valve. And don`t forget to lube the plate hinges when done.

 

Ooops i forgot to mention im replacing/cleaning (not sure yet) the iacv because of surging idle. So i need to take it off completely.

Skirm: its not that i cant get the gasket off, i cant get the whole assembly off of the manifold. When i take of all the nuts and bolts theres no give on it at all

 

Skirmich was previously telling ya to use some gentle persuasion removing the TB assembly from the manifold itself ..... not just simply removing the stuck gasket afterwards.

 

^ Exactly.. You need to literally use the Flat screwdriver and insert it between the manifold and TB, hammer the top of screwdriver to remove the TB.


Also you don't clean a gasket with a screwdriver XD you use a knife or cutting tool.

 

If you do what Skirmich says, your going to put a nice little gouge either on the throttle body or the manifold. And there is no gasket thick enough to fill in that gap. The proper way would be to lightly tap on the end of the throttle body with a small dead blow hammer. It's a small, rubber coated hammer filled with lead shot. Or you can use a soft face hammer, available at Harbor Freight.

Also keep in mind that neither Autozone, O'reilly's, or Advanced auto parts carries the gasket between the throttle body and the intake manifold. I just replaced the valve cover gaskets on my 2003 TL, and had to order the gasket from World-PAC. I also work as a auto tech, so finding the gasket was not a big deal.

 

Yeah, using some penetrating solvent and a flat putty knife may be better than a screwdriver .....
if the dead blow soft hammer doesn't free the TB from the manifold.

 

There is no space for a screwdriver, so i suspected i would do some damage, thats why i didnt catch what he was telling me to do.

Im going to try some penetrating solvent. Then rubber mallet, and hope it comes loose.

Im just glad this isnt unheard of

 

A) it doesn't damage a thing (Gasket isn't perma-bond glue to Manifold) you wont bend either the manifold or TB.
B) I have done it at least 3 times in my car with no damage, Last time (4th) already had the Outlaw gasket and didn't have to do anything fancy to remove it..


If you tap the TB with a soft hammer you will do basically nothing the gasket is glued both ways and it needs a little more force than that, at least the first gasket didn't come out this way and tear the gasket in half.

 

Just to finish with this because I found it wierd.. There are like hundreds of Screwdriver sizes.. Did you think I wanted you to use this:






Or perhaps a small electronic flat screwdriver which in FACT fits and pushes the gasket before even touching the metal with its sides?..
This is an Electronic Flat Screwdriver:

And its tip its small enough to be as thick as the gasket itself... It will most likely bend itself before damaging the TB or Manifold.




That's all.

 

So would you recommend the outlaw gasket? Im gonna have to struggle with it soon and get it off i guess

 

No i understand it would be a small screwdrivee. It just looks like there is no space even for a flathead like that

 

The Outlaw gasket doesn't get glued to anything so its easy to remove.. and with the Thermal spacers its useful too.

 

There is a small area that lets you tap behind the throttle body on the 99 not sure on the 03 though its on the top front.

 

if i remember correctly, i saw a 99 and it looked a little bit different in the area where it meets the manifold.I will take a look for it though! Thanks for the info guys!