hey, i was working on my car and decided to clean my tb from the outside the best i could and when i took off the hose there was a screen on the inside that came off by removing a retainer. all i was wondering is, is the screen a necessary part of the system, cuz it seems very restrictive. a quick response would be appreciated thanks

From what I've heard, yes, it'* pretty mandatory

do a search, you will find the opinions of many and discussions about the pros and cons of the screen

*MOVED TO 87-91*

your TB should not be dirty except for some dust maybe from the outside.. if you actually took it off with the 3-10mm bolts you would see the backside of it is filthy... clean it up with some castrol superclean

be prepared to buy a new gasket if you do this



as far as the MAF screen, i have took it off on both of my cars, but i was running aftermarket intakes. are you? it is not really necessary on a stock intake

Back in the day... when my engine actually ran, it ran good without it and idled fine. However it really only helped counteract my dirty TB and once I cleaned the tb, MAF box, and put in a new air filter, taking it off or leaving it in really didn't make any difference.