If your heads are anything like mine you can go from this:




To this:



Just don't get greedy and drill into the jacket

Doc: that looks like you matched it up with the headers.. is this correct?


-justin

ya know I've never really made a comparison, I just ordered the machine work to be done. I wanted the exhaust to be a bit larger than the intake so I ordered the 'stage 3' - thus is what you see

Ah.. would you happen to have a diameter of the exhaust port? It looks to be about the size of the header diameter. You think I will be okay taking off that much material? I feel confident taking that much material off the intake ports.. but I am still skeptical about the exhaust.

Also, Doc.. how'd you get the heads so clean? And did you paint them before putting them back on the engine?


-justin

I'm not sure on the diameter of the exhaust, sorry I can't be much help there. Just uhh...be careful? heh

Mine was cleaned at a shop, they call it a 'hot tank' and oooh it'll get anything spanking clean. Prolly like $20-30 depending on what you're cleaning and where you go. I got a 2 gallon jug of concentrated degreaser, poured it in a bucket, put parts in it for 1 week, scrubbed with a brass brush, and still couldn't get it 20% as clean as the hot tank did.

Yeah I had most of the engine painted black. Here'* some pics:




And yes, they're dry

Niiice. Looks like I'll be taking it slow..

I'm not too concerned with getting it super clean.. however, I would like the paint to stick.. I think I may as well bite the bullet, and start the porting this weekend. It seems all the info is laid out for me.. may as well do something with it. I will take pics along the way, of course.


-justin

good luck

I am trying to remove the valve springs, but I am getting hung up. I have a Valve Spring Compressor, and I put in the little feet as low as I can on the spring, lower the spring fully, and.. I have no clue how to remove the keys. I tried pliars, but I am afraid to damage the valve stem. How do I remove them? Or am I not compressing the spring enough?


-justin

they come off in two halves. look forthe split between the halves.

I haven't had a whole lot of time this week, and only got time to mess around with the valvesprings today. I sucessfully got them all off. I took some creativity since the keepers were stuck to the valve stud, and didn't want to come off. But, after 30 minutes of dicking with them, all is well, and they are all nicely laid out.

The valve seals are the little rubber things, that sit on the thing that the valves go in, right? I removed them, with a lot of care, just in case I have to reuse them. They look pretty good, but they feel a little dried out, and a little stiff, but 16 years, and 150,000 miles makes everything act a little differently.

On another note, the valves had a lot of crap on them. Does that mean anything? There was like some dried up coolant [or some light coloured crap, but not carbon].. but only on the intake valves. I can get most of it off by hand. Is it supposed to be like this? It'* on the stem, and a little on the top of the valve [the part NOT exposed in the Combustion Chamber].


-justin