Like most of us, a few times a year I clean the throttle body blades with the throttle body on the car.. routine maintenance.. tonight I finally took it off and cleaned every inch of it! WHAT A DIFFERENCE!!!!

After building the 383, adding the cam, and having a new chip programmed i was a little disappointed with the idle charecteristics of the car.. it seemed to run rich, it would stall in the mornings sometimes (embarassing) and didnt feel that powerful for all the work i did.. After double checking my programming with the programmer, doing a fuel pressure test and reading the archives.. i decided WTF i'll give it a shot.. what I found was astonishing.. the gasket between the mainfold and the TB was as hard as a rock.. as was the IAC gasket and the throttle plate gasket.. after chipping away all the gunk, making a new IAC gasket and replacing the TB-intake gasket its a whole new machine.. heck, i spent 15 min just cleaning the back of the TB bores/blades.. they had crap on the back side you just couldnt see much less get to from the from..


the nonly down side is it idles so well it took all of the lope away from the engine.. I have a comp cam X269 cam (just a tad bigger than the hot cam) and it idles like it did stock.. now im wishing i would have put in a bigger cam.. this one is too small for a stroker..

anyways.. for all you guys with higher milage cars.. (I have 134k) I would recommend this service.. it only takes a short time (depending on your skill level) The ride i took made me smile ear to ear..


[Modified by BluByU, 9:14 PM 10/11/2003]

 

:iagree: Excellent!!! And ask what carbon can do for you... Good job, and some people don't believe it can make a difference. :chevy

 

It do make a difference, don't it!

:seeya

 

got a chance to open it up on the highway this morning... WOW I couldnt stop smiling!! I'm finally realizing the power of the 383..WOW!!

It feels like I picked up at least 30hp on the ol' butt dyno! :party:

 

Very Interesting I am going to do that soon. I'm sure my has never been cleaned in 136,500 MNiles :bb :bb
Thanks for the tip!

 

:party:

You gotta like the CHEAP and EASY things in life :D

 

You have my interest. How long whould it take for me to do this myself (5 on the 1 to 10 amateur mechanic scale). Any parts I should order before I jump in?

Thanks

Dan

 

Have me hooked now...

 

I used the following..

a new TB - intake manifold gasket, a new throttle body top plate gasket(seal thingy), a can of throttle body cleaner, a toothbrush, a pick, and a gasket scraper (razer blade whatever). I also ended up needing a new IAC gasket (i didnt know it had one till i took it off touched it and it broke into bits! However, I just made a new one using the cover of the hypertech thermostat box I had laying around.. using an xacto knife to cut the right shape.. works great! I also used my wire wheel to clean some of the stubborn gasket off.. the stuff was rock hard and stuck on the throttle body like it was part of the alum. Because aluminum is so soft i didnt want to scrape at it (it might gouge the alum. causing vaccum leaks).

if your a 5 on the mechanic scale I would say that means you can change a tire, your own oil, the alternator/serp. belt and air filter.. if thats at or below your skill level than it shouldnt take you more than 3 hours.. tops! just make sure you have a good bench to work on and all your stuff before you begin.. I cant say enough about having the right tools for any job! good luck!


[Modified by BluByU, 10:13 AM 10/12/2003]


[Modified by BluByU, 10:13 AM 10/12/2003]

 

Good information. :cheers:

 

itllfly just dropped me a note asking if I re-adjusted the TV cable.. He mentioned his helms manual suggests that.. I really don't know the answer for that question.. I didn't re-adjust.. does anyone know the definative answer for this? if re-adjustment is nessesary what is the proper procedure?

 

I think I answered my own question.. no adjustment is needed for the LT1 TV cable.. see this thread for more info! http://forums.corvetteforum.com/zeropost?cmd=reply&id=1545377972

 

It makes a tremendous difference, yes! :yesnod:

 

That linbk brings up a blank reply-to post screen. The TV cable is for the transmission on 700R4 and 4L60 cars. 94 - 96 LT1's have the 4L60E, the E meaning electronically (ECM) controlled shifting. Not sure which year your LT1 is.

As for the throttle cable (gas pedal cable), yes it can need adjusting on an LT1 same as any other. Sit in your car with motor off and floor the gas pedal. If you don't hear a distinct metallic tap sound then you probably need to adjust a little slack out of it. The metallic tap sound is the sound of the throttle actuator on the TB being pegged against the stop on the body of the TB. Don't take too much slack out or you loose a little throttle resolution, just take enough out so it pegs lightly when you floor the pedal and doesn't start to drift back off if you reduce foot pressure on the pedal but leave it floored: Has to do with the non-linear tip-in curve on the throttle actuator, the way its shaped. You'll see what I mean when you commence adjusting it.

 

yuppers works fine!! :iagree:

 

I took your suggestion and removed my Throttle Body yesterday. It took me 20 minutes off and 20 minutes on. I spent about an hour cleaning the TB and cleaning inside the plenum (say ahhhhh!). I replaced the gasket; that and the carb cleaner were my only expenses. Everything went fine. I did not experience any change in performance; the TB wasn't very dirty. The experience and knowledge gained were the big benefits , however.

This is a good project for a beginner owner/ mechanic. Few tools are needed and, with patience, the end result will be positive.

Dan

 

BluByU,

Just out of curiousity, how come you didn't just put a bigger throttle body on it? After building several LT1's, I found that bigger cams, ported and polished heads work better with bigger injectors and throttle bodies...

Just curious, glad you found some more HP.

Mark