Hi all,

I feel like I got lucky with finding an issue before it caused any damage so I thought I'd share. When I first purchased my truck two years ago it had been neglected. One of the first things it needed was a good clean and flush of the radiator and block. Four months ago I had to change my water pump. When I did, I discovered that the input tube for coolant in to the Throttle Body was rusted. There was enough for me to cut it clean with a dremel and attach the hose and clamp, so all was good. At least that's what I thought then.

This weekend I decided to clean my air intake tubes and throttle body. I decided to take the throttle body off. When I did I discovered that there's a small cap in the back of the throttle body....almost like a small freeze plug, and it was rusted through in two small spots. The only thing keeping coolant from going in to the intake was the thinest piece of gasket I'd ever seen. I also discovered that the input tube back in to the block from the hose going from the bottom of the throttle body to the block was rusted through too.

Because I live in Miami I decided I really didn't need to worry about my throttle body freezing up any time soon, or ever, so I eliminated those hoses so I didn't need to get a different throttle body. So I guess my advice is if you have any rust issues with those coolant input or ouput tubes on the throttle body I would recommend you check the backside too. Mine clearly rusted from previous neglect of the cooling system.

 

I bypassed mine years ago. Even with subzero temps I've never had an issue

 

You can bypass the throttle and route that hose to the water inlet near the thermostat. It is intended to heat the throttle body/improve driveability in cold weather, though its true purpose has been debated here and I'm sure someone will come along and tell me otherwise ... Either way it won't hurt to move the hose.