Well I hooked up the G-Tech to check out my throttle
body mods. I gotta tell you this truck was feelin fast.
Well the G-Tech said 233HP! My readings before the
throttle body mods were 217-220 (that was with the
Mopar performance Air cleaner, K&N air filter, 180
thermostat and Amesoil synthetic oil). The 233 is
about a 13HP gain for the throttle body work (not bad).
If you not interested in throttle body mods better delete now.
Here's what I did if anyone is interested. I removed the
throttle body and got out my hack saw. Cut everything
flush to the top of the throttle body leaving 4 small nubs
at the corners for the air cleaner and cutting around the
center threads for the S-bolt I use for the air filter. I then
disassembled the throttle body removing everything except
for the cable bracket (makes a good handle while grinding).
Next I ground down the part of the butterfly screws that
stick out past the throttle blade shaft (They are slightly
flattened as to keep them from backing out but back out
easily once you grind this part down). Then with the top
of the throttle body on the work bench twist open the
butterflies and slip them out pulling them toward you after
you have removed the 4 screws holding in the butterflies.
(the slot in the shaft that holds the butterflies has tapered
ends so you'll be pulling them out of the larger side of the slot).
Once you have the butterflies out the shaft just pulls out (look
at the spring before you pull out the shaft so you will know how
it goes when you reassemble). Now you should be holding the
bare throttle body except for the bracket that's still attached that
I use for a handle. Next is the fun part put on your safety glasses
and grind the top flush. Next comes the bores. I agree with Sean
on the best procedure for the bores. My grinder sits on the table
and has a wand much like a dentist drill so it's pretty easy to do.
I took the sanding drum attachment and starting with course and
made passes on the raised lip just above where the butterflies were
(you can feel the lip with your fingers). Holding the grinder I did
about a 1/3 of the circumference of the bore at a time continually
working around the circumference of the bore. Once you start getting
close to eliminating the ridge switch to a fine grinding drum. You'll
know when you have gone far enough because you will just start to
see sanding marks on the polished part of the bore. After this is done
put a bevel into both bores with the fine sanding drum. Next starting
with course and finishing with #400 start sanding! After everything
is pretty well sanded you will need to purchase a disc brake caliper
hone that fits into your drill if you don't have one. I recommend getting
one that you can adjust the pressure of the honing pads. Pick up some
"Mothers Mag & Aluminum Polish" and coat the inside of the bores
with it. Then insert the hone with pressure adjusted pretty high and
start honing. You will have to do this a few times slowly decreasing
pressure on the honing pads. Go completely from the top to the bottom
of the bores. This will straighten out any ridges or imperfections in the
bores as long as you have done a half decent job grinding. After you
are done I would also hand rub the rest of the throttle body with the
Mothers polish. When your done it will have a mirror finish! I also
marked the butterflies with a pencil before I removed them so I
would know where to sand them (I only tapered them slightly and
not at all where they slip in between the rod). After that just wash &
dry. Two notes on reassemble. I had to grind down the throttle stop
slightly because the butterflies were not opening all the way. I also
adjusted the idle screw although it doesn't control the idle (just how
far the blades close). Hold the throttle body up to a light before you
start
and see the light that comes around the butterflies try to set it the
same when your done. Also use loctite on the butterfly screws.
Well I know its kinda long but that's what I did for about 13 HP
and it looks great!
Mike Catlin
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Fri Jun 20 2003 - 12:08:50 EDT