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CNC Machined Throttle Body Coolant Covers

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    CNC Machined Throttle Body Coolant Covers

    Hey everyone, I just finished making a few of these today and wanted to gauge interest. These are replacements for part number 13541711042 and are CNC machined from billet 6061 aluminum. I personally decided to make this as a replacement for my incredibly pitted and corroded oem, genuine BMW part. Being newly billet machined, these parts are manufactured to a far greater degree of accuracy and will likely far outlast even the genuine BMW cast parts. Lets not even get into the crappy cast aftermarket parts that often leak from the start. I've been running one of these on my car for several weeks with zero issues.



    What I'm looking for now is someone to test one of these out. I will send you a brand new one for free if you agree to install it within one week of receiving and then get back on here and let me and everyone else know the good and bad. That way I can fix and improve the design if need be. I also plan on running a lengthy pressure test on one in the near future to ensure that the gasket and hoses will hold consistent pressure.


    If anyone would like to buy one, I'm starting them at $25/ea not including shipping. In the future, if the demand is there, I will be getting batches anodized in both blue and black as well. I also plan on offering a block-off plate for those of you who want to delete this section of the cooling system.



    As another side note, when I swapped this part out on my car, the mounting face for it on the throttle body was equally pitted and corroded. I decided the only reliable fix would be to machine the face down to get rid of the pitting. If you are interested and are willing to ship your TB to me, I can do the same procedure for you. It's fairly quick and inexpensive given all of the equipment I have available.





    The beatings will continue until morale improves

    #2
    That is a very nice looking part and the fittings ad an extra op, and a very complex one at that.
    I run a machine shop and would never in the life of me touch that part for $25. I have not seen or even know that I need one, but would buy just to help the OP get this going.
    I cant tell from the pics, but it looks like you milled the fittings, correct?

    Comment


      #3
      That looks like so much more than $25 goes into it, but I have to ask, why? There are no issues caused from deleting that cooling circuit.
      Byron
      Leichtbau

      Comment


        #4
        Originally posted by E30SPDFRK View Post
        That looks like so much more than $25 goes into it, but I have to ask, why? There are no issues caused from deleting that cooling circuit.
        Maybe not in Newport Beach..... frozen TB in the winter is not fun

        Comment


          #5
          Well done sir. I think it's a great idea, especially if you plan on making the block off plates too. This obvious isn't something you're going to get rich on, and you'll probably never get paid what you're worth on the time you spent designing/ programming/ setting up, but as far as the cool factor goes, looks awesome.

          3 position op with a good fixture setup, doesn't seem completely out of the realm of being cost effective at $25 a unit if you're running a couple of these on the same fixture. It's not like they need to be +/- .0005 or anything. A couple Miteebite expansion pins and a locating surface.. Or a boss and some clamps until you poke holes then throw some cap screws through.. p2 and p3 can be done without anything crazy, just flip the fixture 90 degrees after p2, have a vise stop and some quick Z offset math you could spit em out quick. Kinda similar to what I did here, albeit with a much larger part:



          Comment


            #6
            Originally posted by slippery View Post
            That is a very nice looking part and the fittings ad an extra op, and a very complex one at that.
            I run a machine shop and would never in the life of me touch that part for $25. I have not seen or even know that I need one, but would buy just to help the OP get this going.
            I cant tell from the pics, but it looks like you milled the fittings, correct?

            Thanks! Correct. They are milled on a 3 axis vertical mill. Indeed, if someone walked in and asked for a quote on this as a one-off custom part, I would probably quote it somewhere in the $300+ range considering programming, setup, machine time, etc.


            Originally posted by 4x4_e30 View Post
            Well done sir. I think it's a great idea, especially if you plan on making the block off plates too. This obvious isn't something you're going to get rich on, and you'll probably never get paid what you're worth on the time you spent designing/ programming/ setting up, but as far as the cool factor goes, looks awesome.

            3 position op with a good fixture setup, doesn't seem completely out of the realm of being cost effective at $25 a unit if you're running a couple of these on the same fixture. It's not like they need to be +/- .0005 or anything. A couple Miteebite expansion pins and a locating surface.. Or a boss and some clamps until you poke holes then throw some cap screws through.. p2 and p3 can be done without anything crazy, just flip the fixture 90 degrees after p2, have a vise stop and some quick Z offset math you could spit em out quick. Kinda similar to what I did here, albeit with a much larger part:

            Do machinists ever get paid what they're worth haha? Thank you!

            Yes, three different OPs. Custom cut jaws are hugely beneficial. This is definitely an example of a part where a few extra hours and dollars spent on programming, setup and specialized tooling allows you to make parts at an economical price.


            I work with fairly complex parts often so this isn't too far off the beaten path for me.


            I'm actually working on a list of some custom E30 products currently, though I'm not too sure how much demand there is for some of them.



            What did you make there? It looks like a motorcycle fork triple clamp.
            The beatings will continue until morale improves

            Comment


              #7
              Throttle body coolant block-offs are now available! Compatible with all M20 engine throttle bodies. Looking at $11 with free shipping to the continental US.



              The beatings will continue until morale improves

              Comment


                #8
                Nice. Turbo guys would benefit from completely sealed block off plates (removes center fitting), since that's where the crank case gets reintroduced into the motor which needs to be vented elsewhere.

                1991 325iS turbo

                Comment


                  #9
                  Originally posted by ak- View Post
                  Nice. Turbo guys would benefit from completely sealed block off plates (removes center fitting), since that's where the crank case gets reintroduced into the motor which needs to be vented elsewhere.
                  Agreed. I'm rocking a 3d printed one right now, but if you make some with the PCV port blocked off, I'd buy one in a heartbeat. Should be pretty easy too, just don't completely machine the design you have now!

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Originally posted by citizen_insane View Post
                    Agreed. I'm rocking a 3d printed one right now, but if you make some with the PCV port blocked off, I'd buy one in a heartbeat. Should be pretty easy too, just don't completely machine the design you have now!

                    Sure. I will literally make one up today and can ship it by the end of the day probably. Dumb question, but how difficult is it to pull that steel press-fit tube out of the throttle body?
                    The beatings will continue until morale improves

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Also, for those of you interested, I rigged up a test on one of the ported covers. I put a closed-loop hose system on it with a dial gauge and dropped the whole thing in boiling water. After it was completely heated up, I pressurized the hose to ~15psi and closed it off. Bolted onto a stock throttle body with an oem cork gasket and no additional sealant. I left it submerged in the boiling water for two solid hours. At the conclusion of the test, pressure had not dropped any appreciable amount.
                      The beatings will continue until morale improves

                      Comment


                        #12
                        Originally posted by THE DUDE ABIDES View Post
                        Sure. I will literally make one up today and can ship it by the end of the day probably. Dumb question, but how difficult is it to pull that steel press-fit tube out of the throttle body?
                        I built a pulling tool out of a long socket head cap screw (I ground down the head to fit the bore in the throttle body) and then put a socket over the tube on the outside and ran a nut down onto it. Was pretty easy.

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Crankcase vent block-offs are now available! Designed to work with the oem gasket and screws. Sorry, the pictures aren't super good.

                          Last edited by THE DUDE ABIDES; 03-08-2019, 04:29 PM.
                          The beatings will continue until morale improves

                          Comment


                            #14
                            Nice!!

                            1991 325iS turbo

                            Comment


                              #15
                              Wow nice machining! Are you making your cuts all in on feed and speed or are you roughing and then finishing?

                              Looks like a really nice finish

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