sT04Louis

iTrader: (5)

Ok so this past weekend i installed the Thermoblok Intake Mainifold (IM) and Throttle Body (TB) Spacers. Everything was fine with the tear down/install.
What caught my eye were a few issues that i will list with pics.


Issue #1:

The studs for the TB where horribly rusted and im guessing oxidized would be the right word? Not exactly sure how this happens/d.
As you can see in the pics it was just the upper studs that rusted, (the lower bolts were fine). Some rust was also inside the stud holes on the TB housing.

My question is how this even happens to two of the studs, but nothing else. From the oxidation (white) i would have to speculate coolant??? But i am no expert..hence why i ask so i can prevent this from happening to the new hardware.







Issue #2:

I had no idea that under the center Plenum cover there would be oil. Once again my GUESS is that this has some cooling effect since there is no moving parts in the IM. This is fine, a little cooling never hurts. ( For those interested in where the oil comes from, look at the left side of the forward Valve Cover for the tube the connects to the left front of the IM ). My issue with this is the amount of dirt that was just sitting in the bottom of the Plenum. Now this isnt full of oil, infact by the time i got to removing the cover all that was left was dried up oil, and the dirt.
Is there any way to help prevent this dirt from cycling back into the engine? ( FYI, i change oil and filter every 3k miles )

Before, Dirty.


After, Cleaned.



Other than that no issues with anything else. Engine seemed a bit dirty for only 72k miles on a 04...Nothing a SeaFoaming couldnt fix i guess.

As for noticable gains...power not so much on the butt dyno. Although when cruising on the highway at 70mph my ScanGaugeII was reading Intake Manifold Temp at 12 deg. higher than outside air temp.

So outside was 72 deg
IM was 84 deg

Cold air FTW!



Thanks to anyone who can help shed some light on these issues.

jchcmax

Hmmm? Mine did not have any rust, just very dry. Since that you're from the Northwest, I suspect the condensation and moisture may be the culprit for the bolts. Maybe condensation seeped into the bolts, I'm just guessing..Well, you can use WD-40, Liquid Wrench, and Loctite(some formulas of Loctite) can help prevent rusting. When I did my install, my plenum looked like yours. Some oil residue was present, I guess it's normal?

anx1300c

iTrader: (2)

^^ I agree. His location was the first thing that popped into my head after seeing the pics. I recently did my TB spacer and the bolts were like new. My car's an '06 and I'm in NY FWIW.

01tl4tl

Its called electrolosys- happens on older style water heaters for homes too-
now they use a special metal fitting between the metal pipe types-
its a reaction between dissimilar metals in contact with each other.

Spray the throttle butterfly with carb clean/TB cleaner- use toothbrush if needed!!
That gets oil vapors recyled as part of the smog system- been on cars forever-
crankcase breather tube allows pressure to exit and goes to intake so it reburns hydrocarbons
Excellent pic example of why everyone should TB clean, and seafoam now and then, regardless of miles IMO

01tl4tl

what was the temp differance before install?

sT04Louis

iTrader: (5)

Thanks for the info. I made sure to clean out the TB as best i could. With that my TB doesnt seem to be "sluggish" and throttle response is crisper.

Temp before would range anywhere from 25-30 deg more than outside temp when cruising in the open. So it cut close to half the temp.

The only real testing i can do on this is when i drive from Portland to Tacoma every weekend. There is hardly anyone on I5 the time i head back at night and the speed limit is 70, so its clean cool air getting shoved into the CAI.
Even today in mid day I5 traffic with temps around 70, i had a IM temp reading of 84deg @ 60mph.

01tl4tl

good deal- let us know about stop and go driving too- thats when underhood temps skyrocket
every 1 degree reduction in manifold air temp is more compressed air to the engine= better combustion

01tl4tl

spray and wipe or brush the TB plate until both sides and the edges are spotless clean!
G3 owners skip next part-
gen2 owners who are reading this thread:
While you have the engine cover off- and the cables off - lube the throttle cable and cruise control cables- lift end up- spray silicone spray lube into housing- work cable back and forth.
Also clean all the old grease from the throttle return spring assembly and relube with white lithium grease.
Clean smooth flow of motion to the throttle makes the car

The Dougler

iTrader: (1)

your throttle body is very dirty, I wonder if that is a result of having a CAI?

BLACKURA_NY

iTrader: (6)

yea... those studs and your throttle body kind of scared me

when i dissected my 06, it had about 25k on it.. and all my stuff was looking good as new. even on my 08 when i had about 10k....

that looks like something got in there.... maybe just some slight amounts of water or coolant, that oxidized and corroded those parts... i would be slightly concerned

have you cleaned your CAI filter lately? maybe replace it and ensure its on tightly?

what brand CAI do you? is it one of the ones that transform from short ram to cold air ? (because that have a break in the middle with a rubber clamp on them... there could be a bad connection/seal somewhere on the intake.


or it could just be because it rains like 6 days a week up there

stillhere153

iTrader: (1)

for the age of the car... sea foam... ftw...

The Dougler

iTrader: (1)

still need to find the root cause of the problem.

stillhere153

iTrader: (1)

I'd say cai with filter never swapped/cleaned

anx1300c

iTrader: (2)

In theory though, if the filter was not cleaned or changed, the ability to draw in excess moisture would be inhibited. I think it would be interesting to hear from others in the Pacific Northwest as to the condition of their throttle bodies.

The Dougler

iTrader: (1)

I would like to hear from other local users too.