Throttle Body Coolant Bypass

[Mciamp99]

Hello again

Has any used a Throttle Body Collant Bypass kit from ecklers or mid america on their LT-1? I was wondering if you just plugged the nipple on the Throttle body or if it can be left open? I guess my question is, if I leave it open will collant eventually work its way out of the engine and out that opening?

This board has been a tremendeous help to me with my current project.

Michael

[Vettelt193]

all the coolant does is run through the TB to warm it up.... so if you drain all the coolant out when you bypass it, you won't ever have any coolant coming out of it... if you really want to you could plug it up so dirt doesn't work its way into it in case you want to run the coolant through it again

[c4fan]

Don't bother ordering the kit from Ecklers or anybody else. Go to your local parts store and buy a straight heater hose connector and a couple of clamps. Should run you under $7.00 and is the same thing you get from Ecklers.

[Hotred94]

I was just going to put caps on mine, and remove the crossover tubes all together. Total cost is $4.

[qwall]

Originally posted by Hotred94
I was just going to put caps on mine, and remove the crossover tubes all together. Total cost is $4.

that's how i did it in my talon

q

[Chris N]

Has anybody had the throttle body freeze up or even frost from the pressure change?

I think that is the reason for the coolant warm up.

Wouldn't cold winter driving (30s) make the problem worse?

Thanks for input, Chris N

[qwall]

Originally posted by Chris N
Has anybody had the throttle body freeze up or even frost from the pressure change?

I think that is the reason for the coolant warm up.

Wouldn't cold winter driving (30s) make the problem worse?

Thanks for input, Chris N

i havent had that problem, althou last years winter was pretty mild.......and also i dont think it can just freeze that easily unless you pour some water on it or it's really really cold, and besides the heat from the engine would keep it from freezing wouldn't it?

q

[Mciamp99]

The Reason I asked was I did not connect any hose to the throttle Body on my 75 project and as it warmed up water started to trickle out of the Tube. Upon further review I think it was just left over water that once it got warm decided to leave. I will blow it out with my air gun and that should do it.

[Vettelt193]

Originally posted by Chris N
Has anybody had the throttle body freeze up or even frost from the pressure change?

I think that is the reason for the coolant warm up.

Wouldn't cold winter driving (30s) make the problem worse?

Thanks for input, Chris N

I have seen test results for both with and without the coolant line connected.... With it disconnected, even in cold temperatures (i think it was in the 30's if I remember correctly), the Throttle body registered over 100 degrees... with the coolant line hooked up it was over 200 degrees.

The explaination of having it from the factory was highway driving in extreme cold, where you get a steady stream of cold air, and the engine is running cold, and the engine is running steady... they were afraid the TB blades would freeze into place and cause an accident.... it is just highly unlikely unless you live in extreme cold conditions

[sothpaw]

Even if the blades froze in those conditions, if you have a manual,
you'd just but the clutch in and pull over. It would thaw if you
revved up the engine.

I think it might be dangerous if it was 20 outside and you were
on a long trip in auto. Still, you'd have to have a steady foot--
even cruise control varies the throttle.

[Vettelt193]

good point... and there always is neutral in an auto, so not really unsafe there either

[Chris N]

All of this information seems right to me and I'm not worried about the mod, which I will try soon.
It is nice to have this site to get some reassurace before trying something on manufacturer/sales claims only.
Thanks again guys.
Chris N

[DWC]

Having read a lot about this modification on the forum, I understand the basic idea but have two questions. Some have suggested that instead of bypassing the throttle you install a shut off valve.

One question is this: Where would the valve best be installed? It seems that installing on the longer piece of hose that runs alongside the air intake and enters the front of the throttle would be the natural place to install it.

My other question is: If you shut off the flow, does it negatively impact the cooling system? It would seem that if you shut off the flow that merely passes through the throttle, you would be forcing the cooling system to adjust to the change of flow in some way.

I think I like the idea of a shut off valve that would allow you to turn it off until and unless you needed the flow of water through the throttle, such as driving in extremely cold weather conditions. But my questions keep me from attempting to install a shut off valve.

Any input will be appreciated.

[Hotred94]

I believe the change in flow would be very minimal if you shut off the flow through the TB. The flow through the TB is really comparable to a short curcuit in an electrical flow. It just makes a path open for coolant to move from the hot side of the curcuit to the cool side. Since this flow is quite small, and since the coolant moving through the TB is not really cooled in the process (not like it would be in the radiator), the impact on cooling is probably more negative than if the TB flow was forced to move through the regular cooling circuit.

On my 87 Vette, I set up the TB bypass to work with the hot water flow through the interior heater radiator. The TB flow was bypassed until I wanted heat in the cockpit, then the TB also got flow. To be honest, I could not tell any difference in the cooling temp, so I just bypassed the whole thing on my 94.