Vortec Lover
Behold the Beast
On the inside of your throttle-body is a little blade that swivels back and forth when you press down the gas pedal, letting more or less air into the engine. On the edge of the plate is a small lip, which slows down the airflow, making for slower accelerations (which some people like). Removing the blade makes throttle response faster and slightly more low end power due to the easier airflow.
I will do my best to make this easy to understand, and if you think I am dumbing it down, that's cuz you never know what people might need to know. There's a couple of things I wish I had known ahead of time.
I have never worked on a throttle-body before and I figured it out, so I'm sure any one else out there can.
ENGINES: '96+
TIME TO COMPLETE: -30 minutes
SUPPLIES: threadlocker, (and rivets if you want them)
1- Here is the engine bay as you should find it- I have already done the airtake-silencer mod, so that is why there is no air-silencer box in this Vortec.
2- We have to get the air intake off, so just unscrew this big plastic wingnut.
3- She'll slide right off, allowing us to move on to the throttle-body
4- The enemy has been spotted.
5- Unclip these doo-dads from the right side of the TB, they just have little tabs you unhook
6- Now there is more than one way to go about this- we could take off the plate now and do our job, but we risk dropping screws into the intake- a risk that could cost you lots of time and $$$, so let's go the safe route and pull the TB off. (if you feel like being risky, skip to step 11)
You will find a 5/16" bolt here on the right-
and here on the left-
7- There is one more in the back, the base of the plastic-wingnut we pulled off earlier. This will be a size 7/32"
another angle of the same spot
8- This 10mm bolt on the front of the TB will need to go. It is holding a bracket to the TB.
9- And Voila! TB disattached. You can unhook the throttle cables and stuff if you feel like it, but that is unnecessary. You have enough play to do the rest of the job right here.
10- Plug the intake with a clean rag- you don't want any dirt or parts falling in there or you will be screwed. Now, unscrew the two tiny torque-bit screws on the TB plate-
11- The plate is NOT screwed onto a bar, it is sandwhiched between two semi-circle bars which I try to show in this picture. So you'll have to pull the spring back so the plate turns on edge, as if the throttle were wide open, and give a tug upwards on the blade.
and she'll pull right out
10- The circled portion is what we want to take off- you can use a hack saw or whatever you want- I just took it to a bench grinder and had her shined up in about 30 seconds. Soft, thin metal, it won't give you much trouble. Hose the plate and the TB down with carb-cleaner since you are already in there. ***
11- Now the easy part- we put her back together. Here is the new profile of the blade. When putting in these screw BE SURE to use RED THREADLOCKER- if you do not, you risk one of those little innocent looking screws jiggling loose and seriously f@*#ing up your engine.
12- Get the TB back on, moving in reverse order. Remember to put your little electric clips on and reattach your throttle cables, if you pulled them off.
13- Now put back on the air intake and screw the wingnut back on.
***some people pull the entire plate off, rivets and all- if you want to go that route, just be certain to replug the holes you create with new rivets or your idle speed and shifting patterns will be all screwed up.
And now you are finished! Enjoy the power gain in low RPM range and off-the-line boost. Some people even report slightly increased mileage.
I will do my best to make this easy to understand, and if you think I am dumbing it down, that's cuz you never know what people might need to know. There's a couple of things I wish I had known ahead of time.
I have never worked on a throttle-body before and I figured it out, so I'm sure any one else out there can.
ENGINES: '96+
TIME TO COMPLETE: -30 minutes
SUPPLIES: threadlocker, (and rivets if you want them)
1- Here is the engine bay as you should find it- I have already done the airtake-silencer mod, so that is why there is no air-silencer box in this Vortec.
You must be registered for see images attach
2- We have to get the air intake off, so just unscrew this big plastic wingnut.
You must be registered for see images attach
3- She'll slide right off, allowing us to move on to the throttle-body
You must be registered for see images attach
4- The enemy has been spotted.
You must be registered for see images attach
5- Unclip these doo-dads from the right side of the TB, they just have little tabs you unhook
You must be registered for see images attach
6- Now there is more than one way to go about this- we could take off the plate now and do our job, but we risk dropping screws into the intake- a risk that could cost you lots of time and $$$, so let's go the safe route and pull the TB off. (if you feel like being risky, skip to step 11)
You will find a 5/16" bolt here on the right-
You must be registered for see images attach
and here on the left-
You must be registered for see images attach
7- There is one more in the back, the base of the plastic-wingnut we pulled off earlier. This will be a size 7/32"
You must be registered for see images attach
another angle of the same spot
You must be registered for see images attach
8- This 10mm bolt on the front of the TB will need to go. It is holding a bracket to the TB.
You must be registered for see images attach
9- And Voila! TB disattached. You can unhook the throttle cables and stuff if you feel like it, but that is unnecessary. You have enough play to do the rest of the job right here.
You must be registered for see images attach
10- Plug the intake with a clean rag- you don't want any dirt or parts falling in there or you will be screwed. Now, unscrew the two tiny torque-bit screws on the TB plate-
You must be registered for see images attach
You must be registered for see images attach
11- The plate is NOT screwed onto a bar, it is sandwhiched between two semi-circle bars which I try to show in this picture. So you'll have to pull the spring back so the plate turns on edge, as if the throttle were wide open, and give a tug upwards on the blade.
You must be registered for see images attach
and she'll pull right out
You must be registered for see images attach
10- The circled portion is what we want to take off- you can use a hack saw or whatever you want- I just took it to a bench grinder and had her shined up in about 30 seconds. Soft, thin metal, it won't give you much trouble. Hose the plate and the TB down with carb-cleaner since you are already in there. ***
You must be registered for see images attach
11- Now the easy part- we put her back together. Here is the new profile of the blade. When putting in these screw BE SURE to use RED THREADLOCKER- if you do not, you risk one of those little innocent looking screws jiggling loose and seriously f@*#ing up your engine.
You must be registered for see images attach
12- Get the TB back on, moving in reverse order. Remember to put your little electric clips on and reattach your throttle cables, if you pulled them off.
You must be registered for see images attach
13- Now put back on the air intake and screw the wingnut back on.
You must be registered for see images attach
***some people pull the entire plate off, rivets and all- if you want to go that route, just be certain to replug the holes you create with new rivets or your idle speed and shifting patterns will be all screwed up.
And now you are finished! Enjoy the power gain in low RPM range and off-the-line boost. Some people even report slightly increased mileage.
Last edited:
Post up whatever you do either way.
