I am in the process of upgrading my injectors, and while I have the UIM off, I figured I would clean up the engine bay. I will be removing the rats nest (I'm single. ) I am also looking at what else I can remove.

I see there is a hard line that is fed from the back of my waterpump. It snakes through the side of the rats nest and comes up veritcal right above my spark plugs (under my greddy elbow). I believe this is the called the throttle body coolant line? And, it feeds coolant into my UIM to keep the TB from freezing correct?

Can this whole apparatus be deleted? do I need it for anything? What are the cons of removing it? Finally, what all needs to be blocked/capped if it is deleted?

Thanks for the help.

 

Yep, it can be removed. The only thing you have to do is remove or disable the thermowax on the throttle body, or you'll have a permanently high (1500 RPM) idle.

Cap both nipples off - the one on the water pump housing and the one on the back of the block. Do NOT just get cheesy rubber caps from the Help! section - they will fail in record time. I always take the stock line, cut a small portion, plug it with a bolt, and use 2 hose clamps - one on the nipple, one on the bolt. Seems a little cheesy, but it works great and won't fail on you.

Or, if you're really enterprising, drill/tap and plug the holes, or have them welded shut.

Dale

 

What would the thermowax be that you are referring to?

 

http://robrobinette.com/throttle_body_coolant.htm

 

you can also run a line from the back of the block to the waterpump to complete the cycle. A lot safer than capping the orifice. The factory clamp that is used for the air hose going to the brake booster from the intake works perfect for this setup.

 

Mahjik = master info finder!!!

Thanks!!!!

 

So what all has everyone used to "CAP" the holes on the block and waterpump? I tried the bolt and hose idea that Dale suggested in this thread, but I am not a 100% convinced that this will work? Has only one capped these off in different way not mentioned in the thread already?

Any other suggestions?

 

the bolt and hose will work fine. not pretty but unless you find a better cap....

 

That's what I thought, just worried because the system is under pressure. Don't want a bolt flying through my engine bay.

 

well the assumption is that you will secure both sides with the appropiate hose clamp.....

 

Jesuscookies, I did things the simplest way I could. I removed the FIC completely, and for the coolant line, I didn't bother w/ capping etc. I just connected the hose from one end to the other, completing the circuit, and completely bypassing the TB. Real simple, uses the stock hose, uses the stock clamps, end of story Been like this for over a year, no probs whatsoever (minus inability to 100% phase out the PFC idle fluctuation - which is very common - since I don't have the FIC on anymore)

 

The throttle body does not have a water jacket to keep it from freezing .The hot water is for the hot wax rod . On my car and my customers I drill and tap the rear nipple on the block . The nipple on the thermostat housing gets welded . Never a leak and it does not looked rigged with hoses , clamps and bolts .

 

I've done the "run the hose from one nipple to the other" on FC's, and have had problems with the hose getting pinched by the upper intake manifold and eventually having a leak from the hose.

Like I said, the short hose/bolt/2 hose clamps DOES work. It isn't pretty, but I've YET to have that setup fail on me on the umpty-ump FC's I've done it on. Garco is right, though - drilling/tapping for a plug is the *best* way to do it, but it's pretty irreversible.

Dale

 

I did this on my last motor after having an firebird/camaro buddy show me instances where is crowd deleted their tb coolant and gained around 5 rwhp. Nice and clean, no problems, and it makes taking off the uim alot easier

 

by disabling the thermowax, do you mean the wire solution that is described in the link, or is there some better/more elegant way?

 

Look down further on the page for this:

Jay did this instead of using safety wire: I took the adjustment screw out and took off the spring. Then I reinstalled the screw without the spring and tightened it all the way down. That props it up at angle that seems like it will work. I only did this because I had no safety wire and this just seemed to make sense.

I did it that way as well.

 

thanks, i only skimmed, since i am at work and wasn't going to tackle it right away.

 

This is the way I did it as well. Easy, and no strings attached

As far as capping the lines, I decided to go with the bolt and hose technique. Running the line across, for some reason, just seems like it defeats the purpose. Plus it clutters up an area I was trying to clean up for my secondary rail install. Drilling and tapping, although the most professional looking of the bunch, is permanent, and a pain in the ***.

 

The rear line is long enough to reach the front hole; thus, I just used it as a bypass.

 

Ditto. Dale, I'm not sure how it interferes w/ the UIM... maybe you're referring to the actual standard bypass that ppl do? This is the short version. The two nipples are very close to one another...just go from one to the other. Hose is long enough not to get kinked, and isn't anywhere near the UIM IIRC (can't see it now cuz I'd have to take off the elbow, but I'm pretty sure it's clear of everything else, and doesn't take up any room).

 

I did this to my car about a year ago and have had no problems. Buy some silicone hose. Either 8mm or 10mm ( I forget right now). Remove the factory rubber hose that connects to the TB from the engine. Run the silicone hose from the block to the waterpump to complete the cycle. Order two hose clamps from Mazda. I forget the part #, but just ask for the hose clamp that is used for the brake booster hose. Someone may contradict this, so I figure the next statement is my rebuttle. Silicone CAN be used for coolant. It CANNOT be used for oil. Also if done right, the hose will not interfere with the UIM. I routed mine under the harness for the solenoids. It was a perfect (although snug) fit.

 

Dale, the coolant hose shouldnt go under the uim, at least it wasnt on my car...it went behind the uim, throttle body, and under the elbow.

 

I just use the rubber vacuum caps from autozone (that Dale mentioned not to use). Now, he is correct in that, by themselves, they'll quickly fail due to the heat and pressure. However, I drain the block, and allow it time to dry (or, this is more often done during the course of a rebuild anyway, when the block is dry). I take the same ultra black RTV that I use on most other sealing surfaces, and push about 1" worth down into the nipple, then put a little bit into the vacuum cap itself. Now install the cap, and a clamp. Of course wait to add coolant until the rtv is dry. The rtv prevents any coolant from even getting up the nipple and anywhere near the vacuum cap...the vacuum cap prevents the rtv from coming out of the hole, so they work together. I've run this setup on engines for months and years at a time with no ill effects. And it looks a HELL of a lot more professional than a hose with a bolt and 2 clamps.

 

On the Robinette site, he calls for wiring the cam 1/2 open. Wouldn't it be easier to remove the thermowax apparatus, etc. Has anyone removed these components? If so, which pieces can be removed?

 

Go to my site at www.rotaryresurrection.com, and go to the tech section. There, click on the 87-91 turbo emissions removal. Scroll down to the part about the throttlebody mod, near the bottom. There you'll see how the thermowax is removed, along with the cam and such. IT is similar on the FD TB, except that the TPS must also be removed to get the cam off the rod, since it sits underneath the TPS.