Turns out one of the bolts ended up stripped on my intake and now it's seeping coolant. The aluminum just turned to dust. Case temporarily fixed it and can fix it permanently by drilling and tapping it out and using a bolt to go all the way through, but what I wanted to know is if I can swap a 99 upper intake in there? Will it bolt to the lower intake fine? And will the TB bolt up to it too? I sure don't want to get rid of my throttle cable and get that drive by wire crap in there. We're not sure of what differences there are other than how it's straight and not angled like what mine is already.

 

I am not sure if they ever made the straight upper intake without DBW. I think you will be stuck with the style you have.I have pictures of the DBW TBI. I think the bolt pattern is different,







When we design things out of aluminum and we need them to be strong we put in steel inserts for threads. You can repair your intake in the same way and it will be stronger then new. Also you do not need the whole "Kit" shown in the video. you can get the Tap and install tool with like 6 inserts for $20-25. I have not bough any for some time. If you guys do it never tap dry like he does in the movie. That tap will not last and the threads are not be clean. Get some cutting oil or better yet tapping oil.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFYa6sjhh_E

 

Hm, thanks Gorn. That TB looks way different than mine, so I'm assuming that's a definite no for getting the 99 intake. I don't have a problem with my intake as it is (other than the stripped issue), but I was just thinking of swapping them since they're straight and I could do something different with my air box lid and such. It was just an idea, but I guess it just won't work since I want to keep my cable setup and refuse to get DBW. I'm sure Case knows how to tap it out, but I'll make sure he looks at that. I appreciate the info.

 

Nice video Gorn. Was that supposed to be a "how to" or a "how not to"? lol
Man, in addition to dry tapping, that guy is a hack with the drill.
And, what's a "Heely Cole"?

 

NO they will not work together. The upper bolt is not as high on your intake as it is on the 99+ and to put the DBW in the car you need to add a mess of wires, the resolver on the petal assembly and the TB unit, and the PCM is different as well. Not something I would want to do!! Stepping back in this case is alot easier.

Massey

 

Haha, even if it was simpler to convert, I still would not want to down-grade to DBW! I held out some slight hope that the TB would bolt up, sometimes it's hard to tell from pictures if it might or might not. I think I'll just get him to fix it, I don't feel like cleaning, prepping, and repainting another intake either.

 

I personally like the TBW in all aspects except one. I cannot revv the engine while working under the hood. I dont have to worry about a IAC or cruise control module since the TBW setup takes care of both jobs. I have been playing with Fly-By-Wire systems on the Navy aircraft I used to work on and the TBW system is very similar to the FBW modern aircraft uses. Now with my Camaro I dont have traction control so my TB and gas petal are on a 1:1 ratio but with my Avalanche my TBW system had the Torque Management built into it where it would not allow me to punch it and get out and move! This really sucked at times when I really needed to get that big truck going fast and it would fall on its face because it thought I was going to break the tires loose. Even on those systems you can have the TM programed out of it but I never had the chance.

Massey

 

That's what I don't like about it. There's that loss of physical connection. That's why I consider it a down-grade. I like knowing my pedal is actually directly connected to the TB.

 

i never thought of a heli-coil. ha, and i had just been talking about that at work the other day when a plug blew out of a head on a highlander. it will still require removal of the upper intake, but i think working with a vacuum cleaner attached should be alright to leave it in the car. i just hope no more strip out.

btw, the "repair" was adding strips of copper wire into the hole to allow for more bite. learned that trick in my r/c car days

 

my moms 300 has the TBW and i HATE it you give it gas and have to wait for the computer to make the car go LAME