my valve guides went bad forcing my seals to do the same, so i decided instead of the hassle of machining and all that, id just buy new heads...i just bought the car and heads so money is TIGHT, pluss i HATE using rtv, ive been told you dont really need it that its just really there to keep the gasket still....is that so? do i not really need the rtv on there? and if so, is that also true for my intake

also, every now and then (havent found a reason i.e. engine temp, ambiant temp, electrical draw like radio, ect...) my car just wont idle....ill start it and have to keep my foot on the gas to stay idling...and then sometimes will be to high, like 1100 ish...i know i need new plugs and wires, but ive never heard of an effect like that...could this possibly be because of extra oil getting in the chamber via the seals, or maybe a sticky float. any help would be great

 

What type of heads? Centerbolt, perimeter? They make silicone rubber seals that need no RTV, and do not compress and leak like the old crappy cork ones. On top of that, theyre reusable.

 

im not sure as i havent got the old heads off and the new ones arent in off the hub at autozone yet(i still have to get to work and school so im squeezing it into a day off), but what ever comes on a stock tbi 305 for a 89 firebird...do they make the rubber ones for both center and perimitor though?and what about the intake? i remember i had a 79 cutlass that i switched the stock intake over to a low profile high rise and had a hell of a time getting the rear to seal up, is that a problem im likely to run into again

by the way thanks for the reply

 

a tube of rtv is 5.99 whats the big deal? you only need to use that on the end of the intakes and maybe around the water ports onthe intake if thier are pits. other than that no need for rtv i use thread sealant on the heads bolts and intake bolts. there is another cost...

 

the big deal is i just payed 850$ for the car 180$ for registration and another 180$ for insurance and now 700$ on heads and im doing this on a burgerking salary while paying for school full time and paying for my house and helping my girlfriend with gas and food. not everyone kid gets there **** handed to them from momy dady, some of us gotta work for it. and thank you, luckly i still have thread sealant left over from my last job

 

i would of bought vortec heads there only like 500 from jegs plus there better heads
but then you'd need a vortec manifold so i guess the stock ones might be alittle cheaper but the vortecs would be worth the extra burgers you gotta flip to get them

 

haha...i do plan on getting aftermarket parts eventualy, but i want to make sure the engine is worth building first(225k on it), there for i wanna make it run properly. if its not ill end up putting a strait six in, ive seen some pretty impressive numbers out of those.

 

well to the original poster. You dont know me so you dont know what I have to work for and what I get handed. But what I am saying is. its 5.99 for a tube of silicone and your willing to sacrifice the quality of your job because of 5.99 item is kind of crazy.

 

i didnt mean to say you dont have to work for anything, what i am saying i know alot of kids like me dont have to, so the money i make is valuable, and its not that i dont even have the 5.99 for the rtv, i do, the question was asked because if i dont NEED it, then i wasnt going to buy,kinda like how i dont NEED 93 octain gas, there for i run 89....was just a question. but as you said, i need for the ends so i will obviously end up getting it

 

i also was going to eliminate my smog pump/lines while i had it all apart, are these things i can just leave of or will it mess with my ecm?

 

you need to cap off the tubes on the manifolds and on the tube coming from the catalytic converter

 

oh ok, is that your camaro? its sharp, i like those rims. do you happen to know what trans i have? i always thought it was a 700r4, but auto zone said its not, but they couldnt say what it is

 

shoot

for less than 1/2 that the machine shop I use would have completely redone the heads and that includes parts.

How is the deck of the block?

On some engines that i just needed to get back together and at least working I've used the spray on copper prior to setting the head gasket.

 

wow, where is that? prolly not near me unfortunetly...as far as i know the deck is fine (im assuming your refering to the serface of the block reletive to the heads), autozone said the heads would be here either today or tomorrow so thats prolly when ill tear it all down, as i said, still gotta get to work and school, so i cant drag this out.

 

well if its an automatic it has a 700r4 or a 200r4 depending on the year. yes that is my car, those are stock wheels powder coated. and thanks for teh compliment.

 

its an 89, thank you for all your help, im sure ill have more questions later about eliminating the ECM, and converting to a carb pros/cons

 

oh thier is a thread already on that..do a search

 

Good news, EQ Engine Quest makes a 350 vortec head for the non vortec intakes.

 

Vortec heads have taller ports. GM raised the ports on those heads to allow for a taller tarrower port with a larger radius towards the intake valve. The taller port allows for better airflow through/around the pushrod pinch and the larger radius allows for increased velocity.

There's no point in Vortecs that either A) aren't raised port designs or B) Have intake manifolds that dont fit correctly on them.

This is a vortec head with a regular intake gasket on there so you can see the huge difference in port sizes. You'll ruin your airflow and you'll have a fun time tryin to get a combination of gaskets and tricks in it to get the regular style intakes to seal against the vortec port pattern.



https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/tech...eads-pics.html

It's just a gimmick, don't bank on it working super awesome.

 

i think with this engin though, im aiming for mods that wont **** up my gas milage, like inake, headers, roller rocker/lifters,, ram air, stuff like that, i know it wont be anything particularly amazing, but its also my everyday driver

 

southwest florida. A shop closer to me who I feel is expensive charges $170 per head. Guides and seals are cheap enough and unless looking for performance, the springs and valves are probably fine to be reused. So, that gives you almost $300 toward labor for cleaning and machining.

I'm surprised you couldn't find a place to re-do the heads for under $400 and save yourself some coin

 

thats great! another reason i opted to do it myself is to eliminate or clean some things a shop wouldnt care about, and to FINELY change the spark plugs/wires i cant get to due to the smog pump lines going into the exhaust manifold (one of the objects on the "to be removed list"). but i live just south of tampa in bradenton and there is about 1907493 shops around me and none of them will say a three diget number accept one, said 600 just for seals and they wont do the guides (wich is why is was three digets), so i figured for a hundred dollars more i could have brand new heads and not have to worry about it for a long time

 

yeah especially on these engines you have to change the guides out.

 

shoot

drive a little, save a lot. The guy in Venice is expensive but the guy in Englewood charges fair prices.

With all of the ricers and shade tree mechanics in Bradenton I'm surprised that there aren't any reasonably priced shops.

 

I know. But, nice detailed post.

 

maybe i just called the wrong ones, but either way, the heads are in my living room now so its game time

one thing that is odd to me though, just ran up to mcdonalds for some sweet tea, got back and turned the car off but the fan is still on, its i unplugged it for now, but any ideas on that? maybe a stuck relay or bad sensor or something?

 

stuck relay or bad sensor or something!

 

I have a hayden fan controller and my fans will run with the key in the "on" position if the radiator temp is high enough

 

thats what i thought at first, i restarted the car and turned it back off and they were still going....i did some wire tracing when i woke up this morning since i now have the addition of sun light. and found that my fan is rednecked. my wire (assuming hot wire) goes into a 30 fuse in my fuse box, thinking its wired around a relay. i unplugged it and pluged it back in and it didnt come on till i tuned the car on, once i turned it off it stayed on again.is my sensor bad???

 

get the hayden, they work great and can be adjusted

I didn't even bother messing with the fan switch in the block.

here you go; $25 and free shipping and never look back. If you ever go to dual fan it has that as well. If you can't figure it out, I'm north of Venice and you could look at mine. I must warn you though, I've sold the car and will be delivering it within a few weeks. it's time for my next project


http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000C3BB6M/...SIN=B000C3BB6M

 

well before i get it, i can see that metal rod (thermomitor), where do you put that, i plan on changing my engine up a good deal after i do my heads and want to make sure it will sill work on future applications

 

good question and it's always good to be forward looking

I found the best place to put it was on the drivers side. It slides through the radiator fins. You then need power sources wit one being always hot and the other when the key is engaged. You also need to jumper into the A/C clutch

always hot simply runs to the DC power block near the battery

ignition hot - just use a lead form the AIR pump which you probably removed a while ago

A/C- self explanatory

I have I believe a 190 thermostat. I started the car, let it idle and waited until the top hose got hot which meant the thermostat was open. I looked at my temp gauge, waited until it moved a little higher and then I set the potentiometer (or is it a rheostat in this case???) so the fan engages at that point. I didn't want the fan to be always on the minute the thermo opened

 

right, thats pretty smart...sounds like a pretty goodt investment, it will have to wait till payday but, its alot better than my current situation, consdering it just runs as long as my car is on. thank you for the help.

im actualy doing my airpump today along with my heads...as long as the rain holds off!

 

ahahaha....i was talking so confidently that i was going to do my heads today, i got all of my sensors off, radiator drained, and pcv valve pulled, then really realized that esentialy everything you can see has to come off.......got demoralized and put all back together, took my buddy home, now im just gonna pay my friend to do it...he offered 200 for the labor...now i see why its a "14 hour" labor

 

How good of a "buddy" is he and is he a shadetree mechanic or a pro who does it for a living? You are now paying someone to do a job that you don't want to tackle, but that someone isn't charging the going rate. Are your expectations in line with the small fee you are being charged?

I'd say pay him the $200 and have him show you how to do it with you doing all of the work. It will be money well spent

 

he worked at the midas that closed down near me yesterday, hes been at it for 35 years and is ASE. and i know how to do it, i replaced the head gaskets on my first car by myself (79 cutlass 3.8)...i just dont have the motovation for a big job like that anymore...i think lower intake is as far as im willing to go now. but ill definetly be there when he does it, and im sure ill probly lend a hand. he isnt actualy MY buddy, its a friend of a friend, but he owes my friend a favor, thats why the rate is so cheap.

 

have fun. I understand about motivation. It's all about the mindset. With me, my cheapness always seems to be enough to get me going. I just hate paying people to do what I can do myself

 

yeah....i think if my friend who was with me knew more what he was doing i would have been more gun ho, because sometimes when i start something big ill be thinking about it so much that ill skip a small (sometimes important)step, so i want to make sure who ever is helping me wont do the same. and i wasnt sure. so i think that contributed....i didnt want to look like the fool who tried to do a job, found out he was in over his head, then had to pay some one to finish it. a smart man can fumble his way through a project thats over his head, a wise man knows not to before something gets messed up