5.0 Throttle Body Disassembly / Powdercoating.

How to take apart your 5.0 throttle body (and possibly other Ford throttle bodies of this era) for rebuilding, replacing bearings, powdercoating, etc. without destroying anything or buying a puller.

Required for powdercoating a throttle body, as the throttle shaft bearings would be ruined if not removed.

General Disassembly:
Obviously, the throttle body has to be removed from the car first. Consult a Haynes or Chiltons if this is a problem for you…
Remove the TPS (throttle position sensor) from the housing by removing the two bolts. Pull the TPS away from the housing.
Remove the two (phillips head) screws from the throttle blade, apply pressure and be careful to not strip the heads.
Once they are removed the blade will come out, as will the shaft from the linkage end.
If powdercoating or painting, you may want to remove the throttle stop screw and spring – but first measure the distance from the flange to the end of the bolt so you can replace it in the same position.
You are now left with the bearings.

Building the Tool:
You will need:
* a piece of 3/8 (.375) aluminum rod, maybe about an inch long – the length is not especially important
* approximately 4 inches of 3/8 rod, or anything of that length to fit through a .390 hole rigid enough to withstand a little pounding
* under .750 (3/4) rod, socket, etc.
* 8-32 flat head screw 1/2 or 5/8 – length not critical
* 82 degree countersink tool
* 8-32 tap
* #29 drill for tap
* hack saw or similar

Drill through the center of the 1″ long alum. piece with the #29 drill, then countersink to the edges (or close,) and then tap the hole. Saw down the center of the alum. about halfway, (.5 or .6 deep) enough to allow it to spread easily. That’s it for the tool.

Removing the Bearings:
First tighten the screw into the tool so that it won’t slide through the bearing. The idea is you will be spreading it enough so that it will catch and pull and not slip through as you use the 4″ 3/8 rod to pound the bearing out from the opposite side. It may take a couple tries to get the tool to the right size. Once it does, it should pop out and you can repeat for the other side and you’re ready for powdercoating or paint. See the diagram for a visual aid.

Reassembling:
If you’re powdercoating, remember to mask to avoid coating gasket surfaces, threaded holes, and especially the bearing holes. If you already powdercoated your threaded holes, you can retap them to clean out the powder with an M4x.7 for the TPS and an M5x.8 for the throttle stop. The OD of the bearings is about .750 or 3/4 so you will need something slightly smaller to tap the bearings back into place until they bottom out. The more area you have, the better – as long as you’re not pounding just on one part (the inner, central, or outer portion) of the bearing but on as much of all three as possible, it should work fine. You could potentially damage them if you’re not careful. Replace the throttle stop, setting it to the measurement you recorded earlier, and then the rest is just putting back what you removed.

bearing removal diagramthrottle body bearingbearing removal toolpowdercoated throttle body

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