Well i got some rubber fel-pro gaskets for my valve cover i kno you have to remove the entire plenum/runner/manifold assembly to get to the valve cover so i bought a can of air intake/throttle body cleaner can i use this to clean the iac? Also should i use silicone on both sides of the gasket? Also ive been thinking about buying a porting tool kit anybody got tips on porting and polishing the heads, intake, and throttle body?

 

Right, you need to remove the upper plenum assembly to gain access to the valve covers. You don't need silicone or RTV if you are using gaskets, just place a dot of RTV on the intake/head split line. As far a porting heads and and intakes, many have gone that route on these boards with mixed results.

 

unless you really know what you are doing, avoid porting. Or pratice on a spare set of heads.

If you do not get all the runners/ports close to equal, you will do more damage to performance than good.

 

correct! I have done my own porting on my heads and the main goal is to gasket match the ports to each other. You want to get rid of the casting bumps in the intake ports of the heads as well as the exhaust side. remove any sharp angles or casting ridges. The bump in the intake port is there for a reason... do not remove it. It helps with air flow as I understand it! the intake side you leave with a mild rough texture... the exhaust side you want to polish it down smooth. Same for the combustion chamber. You need to do the work with a set of junk valves in. You do not want to hit a valve seal surface or you will be in for a valve job. If you hit it bad you may ruin the heads!

Iron heads are a bear. Safety mask, gloves, and a face mask are a MUST!They take forever and you must not rush it. Patience is the key... My ported ones came off for a valve job 2 weeks ago (70,000 miles since it was done last) Only to find out one head was cracked. The other had a gash in the valve cover seat. So it was on to a new set. I worked solid for 4 days... 17 hours I put in over those days to get the port job done! Now they are all set with new valves and a mutli angle valve job and a bit of milling... new beefier springs and seats... all new locks and retainers... Yeah!

This time I used a dremel and a tungsten carbide cutter to rough in the porting where i had to remove alot of material (gasket match) The key is to keep the tool under 10,000 rpms! The dremel is a supposed NONO, but the first time I ordered the Standard Abrasives head porting kit. My only complaint was that the bits were too larger to get into alot of places on our tinny v-6 ports... Hence I had to do some dremel work. As time was the prob was time, I could not order a kit and wait, so I used the dremel from the start.

So I recommend you go to google and seach on "Standard Abrasives" They have a site with detailed pics and instructions on porting heads! This is what I did! This is something i would recommend only to the dedicated serious person. And yes do pratice on some junk pieces as you have to get used to working with the tool and get used to what pressure removes how much material. You DO NOT want to cut thru the chambers into a coolant passage or such! You also want to be sure you really want to do this... as once you start you have to finish! You may go to a yard and try to get a good replacement set of heads to port. Limit the vehicle down time... POrt the new ones have a valve job done and resurfacing. Then you can just swap them. May have them checked for cracks before you port! Sucks to find out if you have a prob after all that work. For a machine shop to go thru your heads... mine was $430, but I had a ton of extras! Call around and see!