[mikehawk]

Okay, to avoid getting flamed, I've done a little research. Just looking for confirmations and anything I may have left out.

I'm planning on porting and polishing my upper and lower intakes this summer. I've read I need a dremel and a lot of bits, but what kind of bits? Is there a specific grit (like sandpaper) that I should be using? And I'm only opening it up to a gasket matched p&p job. Also, since the fuel doesn't get injected until right above the intake valves, I would want to do a really smooth finish on the intake manifolds, right? Is there anything I should be aware of or careful about when doing this other this?

If I get crazy, and decide to try and p&p the heads, I've heard that you want a rough finish on the intake ports. Somebody recommended an 80 grit bit to provide turbulance to mix the air and fuel. But would I do a really smooth finish on the exhaust ports? And, should I even attempt the combustion chamber?

How come we don't have a how-to article on this? Has anybody ported and polished a gen3 duratec?

Thanks.

 

[DMX]

I followed the steps in this article: http://www.sa-motorsports.com/diyport.htm when I did mine a couple of years back. I used a porting kit and electric die grinder (both from ebay) ( http://search.ebay.com/ws/search/SaleSearc...=6000&catref=C1 and http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dll?q...0&BasicSearch=) to get it done.

The dremel may do the trick but it really will slow you down, and for it you also have to use the teeny 1/8" shank instead of the 1/4" you find in the kit. Stock up on a few cans of WD40 and some Carb Cleaner spray(or the equivalent) and get busy.


We demand pics!!

 

[mwt]

From experience if you have a decent air compressor get an air die grinder.
For the periods of time you will be using it you can surpass the duty rating on the electric unit.

If you have a wholesale tool place in your area you can go and pick and choose different size,shapes and grits of stones. Also be sure and get plenty of dust masks.

I won't get into what to grind and what to stay away from cause I am too tired to get in a flame war tonight.

If you have never done this before it is not an afternoon project, expect to spend many hours doing it.

GOOD LUCK

PS none of the head I have done were a duratec

 

[Bob Gervais]

I haven't done a Tec yet, however some good guidelines exist in the links posted by DMX.

Basically, you want to gasket match, remove casting flash, etc. The UIM on these cars is atrocious for casting flash and roughness. Being that it's aluminum, you'll have a tough time with stones. They will clog up and eventually stop working. Sanding drums (down to about 120 grit) should work well. Personally, I like to knock everything back with an aggressive carbide burr made specifically for aluminum, but they remove a lot of material fast. If you've never done anything like this, you can go too far very quickly with those.

I always use the rule of thumb, everything above the fuel injectors gets polished, leave everything below the injectors alone.

You mentioned combustion chambers. Are you planning on doing the heads also?

And take pics. Write a story and submit it, we'll get it up in the mods section. An engine is an engine, and most respond the same way to porting and polishing. In the case of the 24V engines, I'd need to see the combustion chamber with the valves removed to really pass judgement on what should be done. Sometimes unshrouding a valve or blending a bowl can screw more things up than if you just left it stock.

 

[mikehawk]

Thanks for the replies guys.

The more I think about it, the less I even want to attempt the heads. The heads require the most skill for p&p PLUS with the duratec, I'd have to remove both timing chains, right? I'm too much of a noob to risk F'ing all that up. I'm just going to go with the upper and lower intake manifolds.

Since I'm going to have the lower manifold off for p&p, is there any way I can get some larger secondaries? I mean, ShoSHop sells those big bore butterflies for first and second gen SHOs, is there any possibility those might fit?

Also, when p&ping the lower manifold, is it a good idea to do the ports with the butterfly valves or will that cause sealing issues and cost me low-end torque?

Thanks

BTW, I'm still reading through those links DMX posted. :redface:

 

[Bob Gervais]

Originally posted by mikehawk@Feb 18 2004, 11:23 AM
Since I'm going to have the lower manifold off for p&p, is there any way I can get some larger secondaries? I mean, ShoSHop sells those big bore butterflies for first and second gen SHOs, is there any possibility those might fit?

Screw SHOshop.

They won't fit anyhow, but Kirk and I are working on Big Bores for the Duratec. They are machined, and ready to be installed on the test car. Once the dyno is done, and we know if they're worth it or not, we'll have more details.

 

[Makousa]

I don't want to cause an uproar but Doc does some P&P work for vulcan's and maybe duratec's too right?? Any pointers from his end just to get an allround ideas from everybody!

 

[Doc]

For porting I use an air die grinder and a combination of metal bits and sandpaper rolls. Don't care for the stones much. I tried using a dremel once... what a waste of time that was. I killed it right away. After getting an air set up, I killed a compressor the first day I used it. Finally I said hell with it and spent the money on some quality industrial sized compressors and tools. It still takes time to port but there is no substitute for the big toys.

My compressor/grinders look like these (different brand)

 

[DMX]

I still think thats a higher initial investment that most people would need. Unless you're running a shop or really LOVE porting heads for your friends, i dont think you need anything more than a 240-300 watt electric die grinder. Right around 1/3 horsepower its really not as weak as some may say.

<$50 vs >$200


After two or so years, the only reason I am not using mine now is because my garage..... well .... eats tools sometimes