[Homeboy981]

As an 02 S owner and someone who cleans my TB almost every other month I can say from experience….it IS a tight fit! It is supposed to be. If you are not cursing, have bruised hands, and are crawling all over the car…you do not have the correct technique!

It is not a fun task but doing it when it is WARM helps. If you are in PA, at this time of year, the parts are not going to be pliable enough to do it without some lube. I use plain old WD-40, in moderation. It DOES help to clean the parts AROUND the TB.

Another tip would be to put the intake tubes on and 'slide them back' to allow the TB to 'wiggle' in over it. The TB will want to "catch an edge" but with the other side slightly deflected you should be able to ensure it is FULLY SEATED. So you slide the intake tubes as far up and onto the manifold as possible to get them out of the way, place the TB, move them 75% of the way there, check your clearances, and that everything is seating, them move them 100% in place. Also tightening down the clamps HAS TO at a certain angle AND within about a ¼" of the edge of the tubing to bite properly in the groove provided.

If you have any probs, get out a blow dryer and give your TB tubes a good warming but IF IT CLEANED inside and out it should not be AS DIFFICULT. Gloves don't seem to help either as you cannot apply enough friction force to the parts to get them in place. I may use Nitrile (doctor's gloves) during cleanup but assembly is best done by hand.

Good luck!