Pulled off my throttle body plate today and the gasket is all stretched out/beat up. I ordered a new one off thunderracing and since its going to take some time to get it to my house I just put the old shot gasket in and put the cover on. It definitely doesn't sit right. I have other forms of transportation so its not TOO critical if I don't drive it.

My question is with a shot throttle body gasket, can that cause any problems?

 

I make my own gasket out of a piece of cardboard until i could get the right one.

 

Are you talking about that top black plastic piece on top of the throttle body? If you really have to you could run without a gasket. All that is for is overflowed oil really.

 

Also, sometimes you could find a dealer that has one in stock. I think you have to buy the throttle body gasket kit though, can't just get that one.

 

I bought an 87 TPI t-body gasket kit so I could get the gasket that just goes around the edge instead of across the whole plate. This way it wont stretch out from the oil getting on it and fall apart. I think the whole kit was only around $10, maybe less.

Jeremy

 

Mine's been distorted for awhile. Over 2 years now.

 

Any other opinions before I start driving it around? (Extremely warm day the temptation is getting to me)

 

Go for it man. It cant hurt anything. You might get a very little amount of oil on your t-body or intake. But nothing to worry about.

Jeremy

 

The cover is over the passage that supplies clean air to the passenger side valve cover, via the hose from the TB to the valve cover. If any air leaks in through the gasketed surface, the worst thing that could happen would be a very tiny amount of unfiltered air passing through the crankcase, and into the combustion process via the PCV valve. At WOT, its possible for a small vacuum to develop at that point in the intake tract, so you might also see some tiny amount of unfiltered air that has not been through the MAF pulled into the intake system. The amount in either case would be so small, its not worth worrying about.