Yellow Gunk in throttlebody!?

**prater_1** · 12-17-2012, 10:00 AM

I was changing my water pump and had to remove my tb! When I did I found this yellow gunk!! What is it and how do I make sure it doesn't come back?!?!?

**0rion** · 12-17-2012, 10:36 AM

when was the last time the car was ran until it was good and hot? That's what happens when you get water ( condensation) and oil mixing. You could say that's somewhat normal for a car that sits and then doesn't get hot enough to burn off all the moisture. You could put a catch can on it and that would help some but driving the car and getting it up to temp is about the only sure fire fix for it. That looks excessive to me but like I say....depends on how much the car has been ran recently.

***SMWS6TA*** · 12-17-2012, 11:12 AM

coolant leak from head gasket? How's the oil look?

Also looking at the first pic your pcv hose is cracked enough that you're getting some oil pooling just underneath it. That black dirt is from oil vapors.

**prater_1** · 12-18-2012, 07:14 AM

Originally Posted by 0rion

when was the last time the car was ran until it was good and hot? That's what happens when you get water ( condensation) and oil mixing. You could say that's somewhat normal for a car that sits and then doesn't get hot enough to burn off all the moisture. You could put a catch can on it and that would help some but driving the car and getting it up to temp is about the only sure fire fix for it. That looks excessive to me but like I say....depends on how much the car has been ran recently.

Its my daily driver and I drive roughly 60 miles a day! I drove it home from work Friday and thats when the wp took a shit so it sat from 5pm Friday to 2ish Saturday when I got a ride to get the wp!

Originally Posted by SMWS6TA

coolant leak from head gasket? How's the oil look?

Also looking at the first pic your pcv hose is cracked enough that you're getting some oil pooling just underneath it. That black dirt is from oil vapors.

Oil looked fine, not milky or any discoloration at all! Thanks for pointing out the pvc! U didn't even notice that!!

**sjsingle1** · 12-18-2012, 08:15 AM

i had the same thing .....until i did the LS6 VC .......it was also on the oil cap................dont have it anymore

**prater_1** · 12-18-2012, 08:32 AM

Originally Posted by sjsingle1

i had the same thing .....until i did the LS6 VC .......it was also on the oil cap................dont have it anymore

I already have the LS6 intake so shouldn't I have the LS6 valley cover? I had a flat this morning so I'm driving my daughters car so when I get home I'll take a look at my oil cap!

**sjsingle1** · 12-19-2012, 10:44 PM

i dont think LS6 VC came with f bods.......if you dont see a metal nipple under the TB leading to the manifold........you dont have a LS6 VC......looking at the first pic i dont see it

***SMWS6TA*** · 12-20-2012, 06:57 AM

Originally Posted by prater_1

I already have the LS6 intake so shouldn't I have the LS6 valley cover? I had a flat this morning so I'm driving my daughters car so when I get home I'll take a look at my oil cap!

No, you only have the LS6 intake. See below

Originally Posted by sjsingle1

i dont think LS6 VC came with f bods.......if you dont see a metal nipple under the TB leading to the manifold........you dont have a LS6 VC......looking at the first pic i dont see it

Correct. No F-bodies came with LS6 VCT's.

The good news for you (OP) is that you can easily swap to the LS6 VCT. The 02 LS1 blocks were actully LS6 blocks with LS1 internals. Having this block means you do not have to notch the block. I recommend doing this for you because - (1) The stock PCV is a worthless POS. This mod moves it out of the oil path from the valves to underneath the VCT. (2) it's about half the cost of replacing the OEM PCV.

Here are a couple of threads that can help you.

http://www.ls1.com/forums/f6/explain...ct-mod-156010/

http://www.ls1.com/forums/f63/ls6-va...r-pics-145557/

**Firebirdjones** · 12-20-2012, 11:17 AM

Looks like condensation build up from years of running ethanol mixed gasoline. Usually found in the PCV system as well as the oil fill cap. Ethanol/Alcohol attracts moisture, and lots of it, gets in the crank case etc...

Usually this happens with seldom driven cars and/or very short trips like Orion mentioned. Only time I've seen it that bad is on an alcohol burning race car. Nasty crap. Required very frequent oil changes and when the car was going to sit for a week or more, we would flush the fuel system with regular gas as well as fill the float bowls with regular gas and let the engine idle and die with it, so it would flush this crap from the cylinders too.

***SMWS6TA*** · 12-20-2012, 06:29 PM

learn something new ever day....

**Firebirdjones** · 12-20-2012, 06:59 PM

Honestly I wouldn't expect to see it with regular pump gas since the concentration in E10 is so small, but I've seen as much as 17% in what is supposed to be 10% (seems to vary from station to station) Still not enough to cause that much I don't believe.

If you are running E85 however, what you see there wouldn't surprise me.

**prater_1** · 01-17-2013, 06:56 PM

Sorry for the delay in my responce! Been working alot of hrs at work! I looked at the oil cap to day and this is what I found...

Reminder, I drive roughly 60 miles a day!! I get my gas at QT! I Haven't rechecked my oil but I'll do that before I go to work tomorrow!! Other than condensation what causes this, how do I clean this shit completely out of my system and how do I keep it from happening again?? I also plan on doing the ls6 vc in a month or so! Thanks for all the help and info thus far!!!

**98TransAmWs-6** · 01-17-2013, 07:28 PM

Idk to me that looks like a mixture of condensation and coolant contamination.

**reaper ws6** · 01-17-2013, 08:11 PM

i would clean it real good turn the car on and let it idle for like 20 to 30 mint or till hot and see if it comes back, mine dose that two but i only drive 2 miles a day on mine and this cold weather dose not help lol

**Too Fast** · 01-18-2013, 02:06 AM

Where you see the yellow stuff is a cold spot on the engine, water vapor (natural byproduct of combustion) mixes with oil vapor. Is your t-stat ok? I've seen this for what others have posted about, and also on engines not running hot enough. I know you drive 60 miles dailey, but if it's always under temp, that won't allow the water to evaporate properly. Maybe your t-stat is opening too soon, seems like my car takes longer than it used to to get all the way up to temp, compared to 5 years ago. Gonna change mine soon...you could also do a TB bypass and not have to worry about that section again. That coolant thru the TB is only for severe situtations to prevent TB icing.

It probably isn't beyond those cool spots, how does it look under the valve cover? Clean out the nasty with a rag. Some solvent maybe and a rag for the TB. Fix the PCV hose, use a catch can, that will all help.

Your engine oil is ok so that's good, what kind of oil do you use? How often do you change it?

**Firebirdjones** · 01-18-2013, 06:00 AM

That is most certainly in your oil too. Grab a small sample and send to to Blackstone for annalis. That will tell you exactly what it is and you can determine from that a course of action to take.

**transamtom** · 01-18-2013, 04:47 PM

Water vapour causes that,plus the poor crankcase ventilation.

Rebuild your PCV system with new rubber hose,plus relocate the PCV valve and get a catch can problem solved.