My epoxy'd throttle body experience. (pics)
03-24-2008, 02:37 PM
#1
Staging Lane
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My epoxy'd throttle body experience. (pics) I had my throttle body ported, polished and epoxy'd last year June. I daily-drove it until October or so (maybe later, but at most 4-5 months) before storing it for the winter. I recently got it out of storage and was making the routine fluid/air filter checks, when I figured I'd pop off the lid tube and take a look at the epoxy in the tb. Man was I glad that I did.
I dont have a macro mode on my crappy point-and-shoot camera, but I took the best 2 pictures out of the many I took so you can get a look at what had happened. In the first shot you'll see the removed epoxy. No, it didnt fall out...it actually took some strength to wedge it out with a chisel and mini sledge hammer; I doubt it was going to go anywhere like what other people have had happen to them. (The scoring marks are from me when I was trying to get it out, they're unrelated to what had happened) Mine basically was "deteriorating" away at the drilled holes for the tb sensors. It's a small amount of material, but I hate to think about what would have happened if a large chunk would have broken away and got sucked into the intake.
I've attached a "before" picture that I took the day I received the TB back from being ported. As you can see, the holes weren't like that then.
I dont blame this on the person who did the portwork, I think he did a great job at making sure the epoxy would stay put. In the second picture you may be able to see the grinding he did at the top to hold it in place, as well as the little "dimples" into the throttle body to act as anchors (i circled them in red). Like I said before, this thing took some force to get out; I doubt this one would have gotten completely sucked out in one piece from being incorrectly adhered to the TB surface like most others. Unfortunately I think it probably has to do with using a crappy kind of epoxy, since a lot of people have had their epoxy tb's go for 5+ years with no trouble, and this started to deteriorate in less than half a year.
Either way, I'm leaving the epoxy out and I'll probably try and smooth out the grinded surface as much as possible before putting it back on. I don't want to take any chances at this point. I guess this is just one more thing that could go wrong with epoxy in the TB, and why you might not want to do it.
I dont have a macro mode on my crappy point-and-shoot camera, but I took the best 2 pictures out of the many I took so you can get a look at what had happened. In the first shot you'll see the removed epoxy. No, it didnt fall out...it actually took some strength to wedge it out with a chisel and mini sledge hammer; I doubt it was going to go anywhere like what other people have had happen to them. (The scoring marks are from me when I was trying to get it out, they're unrelated to what had happened) Mine basically was "deteriorating" away at the drilled holes for the tb sensors. It's a small amount of material, but I hate to think about what would have happened if a large chunk would have broken away and got sucked into the intake.
I've attached a "before" picture that I took the day I received the TB back from being ported. As you can see, the holes weren't like that then. I dont blame this on the person who did the portwork, I think he did a great job at making sure the epoxy would stay put. In the second picture you may be able to see the grinding he did at the top to hold it in place, as well as the little "dimples" into the throttle body to act as anchors (i circled them in red). Like I said before, this thing took some force to get out; I doubt this one would have gotten completely sucked out in one piece from being incorrectly adhered to the TB surface like most others. Unfortunately I think it probably has to do with using a crappy kind of epoxy, since a lot of people have had their epoxy tb's go for 5+ years with no trouble, and this started to deteriorate in less than half a year.
Either way, I'm leaving the epoxy out and I'll probably try and smooth out the grinded surface as much as possible before putting it back on. I don't want to take any chances at this point. I guess this is just one more thing that could go wrong with epoxy in the TB, and why you might not want to do it.
03-24-2008, 08:53 PM
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Say it over and over DON'T epoxy the TB. If you still insist on doing it u must prep mating surface by sanding it with as low as 36 grit sandpaper for the epoxy to bite. Still u were warned!
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Luckily it didn't damage anything. 
03-29-2008, 12:57 AM
#10
Its really not worth it. How much power do you think your gonna gain from that epoxy? Slim to none. A fart in the intake would probably gain more. Its not worth the risk IMO.
03-29-2008, 10:56 AM
#16
http://www.mcmaster.com/
I can't put a direct link because their website is PDF based. Just search for part number 74575A77
Devcon Metal-Filled Epoxy #19770, Aluminum Paste Epoxy, 6-1/2 oz Tube, Alum
I can't put a direct link because their website is PDF based. Just search for part number 74575A77
Devcon Metal-Filled Epoxy #19770, Aluminum Paste Epoxy, 6-1/2 oz Tube, Alum
