Throttle Body ReBuild?

[A-Red Bill]

With 102,000 miles on the clock I can't ignore the right trottle body on by 2000RT any longer. It is clattering off idle and showing signs of air leakage. You can grab the bell crank and move it back and forth at least 1/8th inch. It is now difficult to sync the bike and surging has returned intermittently.

 

The best price for a new one is just over $150.00 from Chicago BMW. It is hard to find a used one at Beemer Bone Yard indicating that it is a common wear item. Rebuild parts are available from Bing Carburetor. Total price for rebuild parts is $75.00. The spendy part is the butterfly shaft. It is a fairly soft brass and wears at the bearing points. My impression is that it is about an 80,000 mile part.

 

Has anyone had success rebuilding this unit?? I already have it apart on my desk and seems like a piece of cake.

[Rydrhard]

I have never actually overhauled a R1100RT throttle body but I have done many car and truck throttle bodies. Throttle bodies have few moving parts and few adjustments upon assembly. Buy some spray carb cleaner to clean the peices and passages thorouhgly before assembling. I would ensure that after the throttle shaft and butterfly have been postioned in the body that the screws be made so they will never loosen or fall out. I have used an punch held in a vise and the head of the screw rested on the punch then use a chisel to stake the threaded end of the butterfly retaining screw. A little blue thread locker would not hurt either. Sych the throttle stop screws and cables and finally the idle speed. should be good as new.

RYDRHARD

[Mark K]

I did that rebuild on mine just this summer. Pretty straightforward. The only frustrating part was dealing with the little e-clip on the end of the shaft. It's in a recessed area (at least on mine) and tends to get bent out of shape when removing/replacing. I didn't have a high degree of confidence in it after being "sprung," so I replaced it upon reassembly.

 

Overall, quite simple. With the kit you'll get the shaft and pully, a couple seals and a couple plastic guides. That knocking sound is gone, BTW. It's much easier to sync too, and has stayed in tune much longer than in the past. Do it!

[A-Red Bill]

Thanks for the replies. The TB housing looks good. The bushings in the TB body appear to be make of stainless steel and are undamaged. I was lucky enough to have a pair of circlip pliers that fit and the clip came out easily. Will order the parts from Bing tomorrow and post the results when the project is finished. The parts kit comes with new butterfly screws. I plan to stake them if they do not fit snugly. If a screw works its way out it nowhere to go but a real bad place.

[BMW_Ken]

Has anyone rebuilt the left throttle body? If so, how did you handle the TPS? I would assume one could measure the voltage setting before removing it, and then adjust it back to the same setting after the throttle body overhaul??

 

Thanks.

[ProductUser]

I just rebuilt my RH TB last weekend. The hardest part of the process is getting the two butterfly scews out; they are staked or pinned. I was able to remove them with a little extra umph!

 

The entire process, including the TB sync, took about one hour. Oh, I did this on a R1150R, so there was no need to remove any body panels.

 

ProductUser

[Joe Frickin' Friday]

Has anyone rebuilt the left throttle body? If so, how did you handle the TPS? I would assume one could measure the voltage setting before removing it, and then adjust it back to the same setting after the throttle body overhaul??

 

Thanks.

 

The "0=0" procedure was devised for improving the operation of an already-assembled bike, but it should also work well for reassembling one from pieces-parts:

 

http://ibmwr.org/r-tech/oilheads/zero528.shtml

[A-Red Bill]

The butterfly shaft of my left TB is still good, no play. However at this point the delicate seals and plastic parts could use replacement. I will likely order a partial rebuild kit for this side. They are about $15. This will bring the total parts cost including shipping for both sides to about $105.00. Well worth it if it solves my problem