How am i looking so far?

Topic: How am i looking so far? (Read 3739 times) previous topic - next topic

How am i looking so far?

Reply #30 – February 02, 2009, 06:58:42 PM

it's always nice to see green coolant and not mixed with that brown (I.e. headgasket fix

)
in that pic were you had the area circled when I replaced my intake manifold gasket the gasket looked like that, slightly worse and on the right bank in the front.
I'm surprised no one commented on the rust in your cylinder, even if the gasket wasn't blown doesn't mean the head wasn't cracked there?
I wouldve had them checked for that.

if my car wasn't 400 miles away and loaned out i wouldntve minded doing an article on replacing the gaskets and on it since I got all this free time now:/

How am i looking so far?

Reply #31 – February 02, 2009, 10:22:41 PM

Quote from: danzajax;254904

I wouldn't belt sand an aluminum head. Take it to a shop and have it milled. It shouldn't cost too much. Cheaper if you disassemble them yourself.

Also, Ive always had good luck cleaning the engine surface with cheap flat blade safety razors.
What does the combustion chamber look like on the 3.8L NA Heads?
What are you using to clean the heads? They look really good.

One of the local machine shops says it would cost a minimum of 53.50 per head to re-surface~Is this average price?
Disassembly is no problem.

Carbon is cleaning off very easily.

Quote from: Haystack;254941

I'd just check for warpage. If its not warped, and the valves appear to be closed all the way, I would just clean it and leave it as is.

I used carb cleaner, Toothbrushes, Hand Wire Brushes and Razor Blades (Carefully!).

**Note the indentation on the valve in the cylinder to your left... Can i just replace that one, Or do i need to replace them as a set?
They all looked to be setting in the EXACT same spot as before i dissembled.

Quote from: danzajax;254965

I have heard it both ways. Some people say that an aluminum head gets an impression from the old HGs and that they should always be resurfaced. I did this for my SC (because it was a huuuuuge biish and I would never want to do it again).

I have also just pulled the head, cleaned and slapped it back on with fresh gaskets. Both these cars are still on the road. The ladder is a boosted engine gets routinely flogged. So I guess its up to you. I would probably just clean them and install them unless there is obvious damage/warpage like haystack said. I still stand behind my "no belt sanders" recommendation.

Yea, There's little dimples in the metal from the original gaskets.
It's definitely going to be resurfaced before its put back on, I just need to figure out how... Money is tight.

Quote from: Ductape91;254982

it's always nice to see green coolant and not mixed with that brown (I.e. headgasket fix )
in that pic were you had the area circled when I replaced my intake manifold gasket the gasket looked like that, slightly worse and on the right bank in the front.
I'm surprised no one commented on the rust in your cylinder, even if the gasket wasn't blown doesn't mean the head wasn't cracked there?
I wouldve had them checked for that.

if my car wasn't 400 miles away and loaned out i wouldntve minded doing an article on replacing the gaskets and on it since I got all this free time now:/

Well i'm still cleaning, It's taking longer than expected, And i don't want to rush anything~But so far i don't see anything catastrophic!.

Thanks Guys!

How am i looking so far?

Reply #32 – February 05, 2009, 05:55:55 PM

about 20 bucks a head milled flat and was my guys rate for a v6.
about 65 for a fourbanger.
he'd take off more, as much as you wanted no charge but wouldn't be responsible for wrecking them by taking off too much.

How am i looking so far?

Reply #33 – February 06, 2009, 09:36:03 AM

Ok majority of the cleaning process is done, and taking longer than expected.
No cracks, But i noticed a chip (Valve Guide~Top):

Should i be worried?

Here's some of my progress so far:

How am i looking so far?

Reply #34 – February 06, 2009, 10:36:53 PM

Is it going to cause any harm if i leave the valve guide like that? its such a minor chip and on the top end...
Machine shop wants $30 to swap it out. :punchballs:

How am i looking so far?

Reply #35 – February 08, 2009, 11:50:09 AM

If no one gives me a reason i shouldn't~I'm just gonna figure its ok and leave it. :-P

Took a flat edge to the HGasket surface, It does not appear to be warped at all.

How am i looking so far?

Reply #36 – February 08, 2009, 01:44:31 PM

I would just make sure it doesn't have any burrs and forge ahead. I wouldn't think it would cause any problems. Just remember what cyl/side you install it on.

How am i looking so far?

Reply #37 – February 12, 2009, 08:57:48 AM

Since this is already taking longer than expected~And i would rather not have to pull the heads off for a long while after re-installation.

I got to thinking about grinding (porting/polishing) and such.
Should i even bother?
Only really finding info on '94 and up V6 stangs.

Right now the ports are already clean enough to eat off of, lol~But the factory castings are a little jagged/rough on some of them.

How am i looking so far?

Reply #38 – February 12, 2009, 09:24:10 AM

Any porting guide that applies to aluminum heads will work, unless you plan to go really crazy about it. Just general a general cleaning/polishing. I wouldn't expect to get a reading on the butt dyno from porting work though.

Surf on over to SCCOA and do a search for porting. Your heads are similar (smaller camber, softer aluminum) but you might be able to find some info that way.

I would expect your best gains to be had by using mustang tubular manifolds (for the v6) and open up the exhaust, K&N that type of thing. I could be wrong. I don't know how much can be done to open up the intake.

Talk to jcassity and check out his site, he seems to be the local V6 guru.
http://www.foxtbirdcougarforums.com/showthread.php?t=2984

How am i looking so far?

Reply #39 – February 12, 2009, 04:17:46 PM

Well, I had some time and after reading up on it, I got in the mood.

Just spent 5 hours it, My hands are silver.

I'll post pics soon of my progress.

How am i looking so far?

Reply #40 – February 19, 2009, 09:35:16 PM

Alright guys, I took a break after "porting" and just took another look at some stuff online (swirl flow specifically) as well as my previous work...

I'm worried i may have went a bit too far on the porting/polishing now.

Please take a look at the pics and confirm if a need to buy a new head or not. *facedesk*

How am i looking so far?

Reply #41 – February 20, 2009, 10:34:01 PM

Argh~
Been searching and reading through so many different things on Head Porting, I just cant seem to come up with a for sure answer myself.

From what i can tell, and looking through pictures of other port jobs~I went past a standard "street" polish (grinding smoothing down sharp edges), And got into the heavier straight up porting stuff?

And (I THINK) i should be fine, as long as i get everything matched up, and measured out.

As for swirl flow~I've either screwed that up or it wont affect anything (much).

So, Should i continue with it? Or just start over (CAREFULLY) with a parts car head?

How am i looking so far?

Reply #42 – February 21, 2009, 07:11:54 AM

I think it looks fine, especially for the exhaust side. As long as you are not into water jackets you should be fine for the exhaust. The intake side is where your air/fuel mixture will have to deal with altered port designs the most. On a CFI type of engine like you have, the air and fuel mixture will have to travel down the length of the intake runner as well as the head. Improper porting can cause the air and fuel to slowly move through the port, decreasing the velocity. On the exhaust side there is nothing like that to deal with. The more open the port...the better.

Ensure that you leave the intake side a little rougher than the exhaust to enhance the fuel distribution.

How am i looking so far?

Reply #43 – February 21, 2009, 08:13:06 AM

*takes a deep breath of relief*
Thanks so much for clearing this up.

Its like i read up from a few sources and start on it, Then after i've done work~I read up more from other sources and the info conflicts with what i've done just done...And freaks me out. >.<

How am i looking so far?

Reply #44 – July 22, 2009, 04:13:20 PM

Any updates? That was a good read and I always enjoy watching other people do work.:)